It was a great day for Hero MotoSports Team Rally all around as Mike Docherty secured his first Rally2 stage victory of the rally in Stage 4, and Nacho and Shlok also delivering a strong performances through another demanding day in the Moroccan desert.
After three consecutive stages of finishing on the Rally2 podium, Mike turned up his performance by another notch today to convert his consistent pace into a stage win on the penultimate day of the rally. It was well deserved and much-awaited win for Docherty who has been knocking on the heels of a stage win right from the get go. With this stellar run today, he strengthens his position in the overall Rally2 classification heading into the final stage.
It was a good stage for Nacho Cornejo as well who continued his strong comeback in Stage 4, maintaining his pace and focus through another demanding day in the Moroccan desert. After securing his first podium of the rally in Stage 3, Nacho continued with solid performance today to deliver a top 5 finish, securing a 5th place in stage 4 today, which will help him to further consolidate his position in the Rally GP standings heading into the final stage.
Shlok restarted his campaign today and battled it out in the tough terrains, tricky navigation and challenging weather conditions. Having had to take the consecutive restarts in the last 2 days, he made a good run today for most part of the stage and even stopped in the middle to support another rider who had crashed and needed assistance, showcasing a shining example of sportsmanship at such a young age. However, soon after, his bike caught fire, prompting him to take immediate evasive action, making it impossible for him to continue. While the team will be investigating the reasons for this mishap, the good news is that Shlok is unharmed and on his way back to the bivouac.
Today’s 318.8 km special tested the riders with fast tracks to start with before giving way to valleys and some superb technical sandy sections followed by small dune passes and finally on to a very rocky track leading to the finish.
The final stage of the rally tomorrow will present a final 259 km challenge before the curtains come down on another fantastic round of the World Rally-Raid Championship
Mike Docherty, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, « It was a really good day and I enjoyed the stage a lot.I managed to notch up a good pace from the get go but I made one silly mistake that cost me a lot. But I am learning and progressing a lot with the bike and as a rider with my eyes set on the Dakar. «
Nacho Cornejo, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, « I had a good stage today finishing in the 5th place. Despite some issues with my wheel spokes and had to ride with it slowly and safely to bring it home. I want to thank my friends Tosha, Adrian and Ricky who stopped and helped me in tightening the spokes and thanks to them I made it to the bivouac without any time penalty. Now with just 1 more day to go I will be looking to bring it home for the team. »
Ghorpade, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, « Today I started right at the back of the pack so I had to be careful because I was riding into a lot of dust coming from the front riders. I did manage to pass a lot of riders so overall I was having a really good feeling on the bike. At km 130 I saw a rider crash, so I stopped and supported him as much as I could with the medical team until he was evacuated. After starting again, around 200 kms, I felt a burning sensation in my leg and realised that the bike had caught fire. I immediately got-off the bike but the bike got destroyed. These things happen sometimes in our sport and I am relieved that I came out of it unharmed. So of course now I will not be moving ahead in the rally but I want to wish my team mates Mike and Nacho all the best for the last stage to bring it home for the team. This experience has lived up to my expectations in that it has given me a lot of learning and direction for how to prepare myself for the future races. I want to thank Hero MotoCorp and the entire team to give me this opportunity and being so supportive. »
Provisional Rankings – Stage 4
01. Daniel Sanders, Redbull KTM Factory Team, 03hr 14m 31s
02. E. Canet, Redbull KTM Factory Team, + 03m 01s
03. Adrian Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 03m 17s
05. Nacho Cornejo, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 07m 21s
06. Mike Dochertyv, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 08m 25s
— Shlok Ghorpade, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, DNF
Provisional Overall Rankings after Stage 4
01. Daniel Sanders, Redbull KTM Factory Team, 13hr 45m 03s
02. E. Canet, Redbull KTM Factory Team, + 01m 31s
03. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 08m 09s
08. Nacho Cornejo, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 32m 04s
09. Mike Docherty, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 43m 09s
— Shlok Ghorpade, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, DNF
Provisional Rankings – Stage 4 – Rally GP
Nacho Cornejo, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 5th Place
Provisional Overall Rankings after stage 4 – Rally GP
Nacho Cornejo, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 7th Place
Provisional Rankings – Stage 4 – Rally 2
Mike Docherty, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 1st Place
Shlok Ghorpade, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, DNF
Provisional Rankings after Stage 4 – Rally 2
Mike Docherty, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 2nd Place
Shlok Ghorpade, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, DNF