Preston Campbell claimed his maiden World Cup Rally 2 stage victory on stage two of this year’s Desafío Ruta 40, as Monster Energy Honda HRC once again completed a clean sweep of the podium.
Following a landmark day for the Rally 2 squad yesterday, when Bruno Crivilin secured his first-ever World Rally-Raid Championship stage win and the team celebrated a historic podium lockout, expectations were high heading into today’s action.
The stage began with a 113 km liaison from San Juan to San Rafael in Mendoza province, a region last featured on the rally route in 2016. More than half of the 128 km special stage was made up of sandy terrain, including demanding dry river beds, before riders faced a gruelling 393 km liaison back to the bivouac in San Rafael.
Although Campbell admitted to not feeling fully comfortable in the opening kilometres, the young American quickly found his rhythm. By the first waypoint, he had already built a lead of nearly 30 seconds over Martim Ventura as he pushed for a breakthrough stage win. Excelling in the sandy sections aboard his Honda CRF450RX RALLY, Campbell powered to victory with a commanding margin of 2’49” over second place. The result also elevated him to the overall Rally 2 lead, where he now holds a 2’17” advantage over Ventura.
Portuguese teammate Ventura endured a difficult day, particularly with navigation, but was pleased to reach the finish in San Rafael and secure second place on the stage. Bruno Crivilin continued his impressive form by finishing just one second behind Ventura in third, sealing a second consecutive all-Honda podium sweep.
The trio now firmly control the Rally 2 overall standings, covered by just 2’35, while extending their advantage to more than seven minutes over fourth place.
Tomorrow’s stage three takes the riders into the dunes of Nihuil on a southern loop from San Rafael. Marking the midway point of the rally, the stage will feature a demanding 575 km in total, including 408 km against the clock for the Monster Energy Honda HRC riders.
Ruben Faria – General Manager : « Stage 2 was a relatively short stage, with only 128 kilometres against the clock, but the terrain changed a lot throughout the day and made conditions quite demanding for the riders.
« Preston delivered an amazing performance and took the stage victory with more than two minutes advantage over Martim, who finished second. Bruno was also very close, ending the stage just one second behind Martim, which shows how competitive and consistent the whole team has been.
« All three riders are maintaining a really good rhythm while avoiding major mistakes, which is very important in this kind of rally. At the moment, we are showing strong pace in Rally2 and the team is working really well together. Now we focus on Stage 3 and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. »
Bruno Crivilin #69 – Stage: 3rd Overall: 3rd : « The stage was very long, not the stage but the day. I’m felt good in the stage, even though in the last 45 km in the bumps and the sand, I pushed and sometimes made mistakes in the navigation but the day went well. Tomorrow is a big stage, so let’s go, the bike is ready. »
Martim Ventura #84 – Stage: 2nd Overall: 2nd : « I got into a good rhythm but made a mistake of my own with the navigation and I lost quite a bit of time. On such a short stage every bit counted. It’s been a tough start of the rally, I’m looking to put everything together tomorrow. The bike feels good and I feel good too. I just want to do good things, so let’s see tomorrow. »
Preston Campbell #85 – Stage: 1st Overall: 1st : « Today was super good for me. When I started off, I felt a little uncomfortable, like I was kind of fighting myself and just had to relax a little bit and adjust my riding style as quickly as possible. Halfway through the stage it changed to just sand, sand roads, sand whoops and I felt super comfortable and was able to push. I’m super stoked on the stage today, looking forward to the rest of the week. »
Rally 2 Result – Stage 2
1. Campbell Preston (USA) – Honda HRC, 01:47:05
2. Ventura Martim (POR) – Honda HRC, + 02:49
3. Crivilin Bruno (BRA) – Honda HRC, + 02:50
4. Mulec Toni (SLO) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, + 02:58
5. Pascual Benjamín (ARG) – Kove Argentina, + 03:55
6. Pellicer Alfredo (SPA) – Xraids Experience, + 04:17
7. Herrera Ried Benjamín (CHI) – Xraids Experience, + 06:24
8. Pascual Jeremías (ARG) – Kove Argentina, + 07:42
9. Duplessis Diego Martin (ARG) – Fantic By Med Racing Team, + 09:28
10. Escofet Marti (SPA) – Joyride Race Service, + 11:23
Rider Standings
Provisional Rally 2 Standings after Stage 2
1. Campbell Preston (USA) – Honda HRC, 05:46:04
2. Ventura Martim (POR) – Honda HRC, + 02:17
3. Crivilin Bruno (BRA) – Honda HRC, + 02:35
4. Pellicer Alfredo (SPA) – Xraids Experience, + 09:27
5. Mulec Toni (SLO) – BAS World KTM Racing Team, + 10:00
6. Herrera Ried Benjamín (CHI) – Xraids Experience, + 21:36
7. Pascual Benjamín (ARG) – Kove Argentina, + 29:09
8. Pascual Jeremías (ARG) – Kove Argentina, + 29:22
9. Escofet Marti (SPA) – Joyride Race Service, + 32:22
10. De Gavardo Tomás (CHI) – De Gavardo Team, + 01:00:35