A terrific Paulo Gonçalves on the Honda CRF450 RALLY takes the Stage and the Leadership

Courtesy of Team HRC

TEAM HRC continues to lead the Morocco Rally. In a 298 km second stage, including 240 against the clock, ‘Speedy’ Gonçalves carved out an amazing victory that places hims at the top of the leaderboard. The other TEAM HRC riders put in fine performances too, with Sam Sunderland third and Joan Barreda in fifth.   Another day, another type of rally. After the sand and dunes of yesterday’s opening stage, today saw an entire day of rocky mountain terrain with a lot of navigation. Joan Barreda started out first and rode a fine race, although this allowed the other riders to follow his tracks and thus gain time. His colleague TEAM HRC rider Paulo Gonçalves, seemed at ease on his Honda CRF450 RALLY and kept up the consistency in the first leg, before pushing hard in the later stages. Around Zagora he was practically unbeatable. Gonçalves finds himself leading in the overall standings after two days of rally.   British rider Sam Sunderland also put in a fine performance, overcoming a slight navigational error early on in the special and finishing in third. Joan Barreda’s fifth place leaves him behind Gonçalves in the overall standings. A good all-round team effort.   The tough rocky terrain suited much less Argentine Javier Pizzolito, who is looking forward again to the sand and dunes, where he hopes to better today’s seventh place.   Finally, Hélder Rodrigues, who set out from fourth position suffered an electronic failure some fifteen km from the end of the stage.

Paulo Goncalves 1st 2:50’22 TEAM HRC It was a mountain and rocky stage with a lot of navigation. I think I did well trying to stay on course. The Honda CRF450 RALLY never ceases to amaze me. In the hard terrain the traction is very important and it’s been great to see how it handles the curves. Let’s see how the next four days play out in this tough rally.

Sam Sunderland 3rd +2’09 TEAM HRC A very tough one today with loads of navigation and a lot of rocks. I kept up a great speed until the end after I had a small error near the start. I lost a little time but after was able to push hard. I navigated well and I’m happy.

Joan Barreda 5th +3’45 TEAM HRC I’m very pleased. Having two fast riders like Marc and Paulo behind pushing all day, means that I’ve got to be happy with the result. There was a lot of difficult navigation and I had to mark out the route up front. Tomorrow I start behind them so hopefully I’ll catch up and we can stay together.

Javier Pizzolito 7th +6’52 TEAM HRC We’ve finished a really hard, complicated stage with a lot of rocks. I’m getting used to that type of terrain now. It’s been a very positive stage and the idea was to not lose time. I think if I keep up this pace I should be able to make it up among the leaders.

Stage 2 Results 1 Paulo Goncalves 02:50’22 PRT HONDA TEAM HRC 2 Marc Coma +02’00 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 3 Sam Sunderland +02’09 ENG HONDA TEAM HRC 4 Chaleco López +02’51 CHI KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 5 Joan Barreda +03’45 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC 6 Ben Graham +06’31 AUS KTM KTM AUS Rally Factory 7 Javier Pizzolito +06’52 ARG HONDA TEAM HRC 8 Kurt Caselli +07’01 USA KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 9 Alessandro Botturi +09’19 ITA SPEEDBRAIN Team Speedbrain 10 Ruben Faria +09’37 POR KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

Overall standings after Stage 2 1 Paulo Goncalves 5:19’30 PRT HONDA TEAM HRC 2 Joan Barreda +00’17 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC 3 Marc Coma +01’47 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 4 Chaleco López +08’40 CHI KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory 5 Sam Sunderland +09’50 ENG HONDA TEAM HRC 6 Javier Pizzolito +13’56 ARG HONDA TEAM HRC 7 Alessandro Botturi +18’02 ITA SPEEDBRAIN Team Speedbrain 8 Alain Duclos +18’56 FRA SHERCO Sherco Rally Factory 9 Ben Graham +25’24 AUS KTM KTM AUS Rally Factory 10 Ruben Faria +28’46 POR KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

Event information TOMORROW STAGEStage 3 : Under the sun of MahmidLiaison : 65km Selective sector: 250km Liaison : 98km Back in the sand! The Cheggaga erg will be the playground of this third stage where co-pilots will have to keep an eye on the caps. The start will be on a rolling, fast track before the competitors descend into the valley via a simple but uneven track. On a sandy and undulated track, they will follow the Cheggaga Erg to reach Lake Iriki. Amateurs of speed will enjoy this fast portion on the lake, but co-pilots should keep an eye on their notes in order to reach the most Westerly point of the rally. The return takes place at the cap in order to cross the chott and access the dunes. Those who like the sand will be delighted! As these are the most beautiful dunes of the rally. Pilots must follow the caps to escape the erg via beautiful easy tracks with many parallels to reach the finish.

Coma out for Dakar 2013

Courtesy of KTM

KTM announces Coma unable to

ride in Dakar 2013

“Marc is one of our key riders and together with his teammate Cyril Despres has giving KTM the last seven Dakar titles. While we are disappointed that he is unable to ride, the health and welfare of our factory riders is the most important consideration. If he is not 100 percent fit, it is better for him to sit out the 2013 rally,” said KTM factory team manager Alex Doringer. Coma, winner of three Dakar titles and the reigning World Cross Country World Championship is, together with his teammate Despres, recognized as one of the world’s finest exponents of rally sport.

 

Blow for Marc Coma after a positive year’s racing

 A deeply disappointed Coma spoke after the press conference saying: “We worked really hard with the doctors and the physiotherapists right up until the last minute but we have to be realistic. One of the muscles in my shoulder is still giving me problems and there is a lack of movement. This is the logical consequence and we must be honest and clear about the situation.”

Coma, who will now concentrate his efforts on regaining complete fitness ahead of the rest of the 2013 season and looking forward to the Dakar 2014 said he was sad for the team but underlined that the Dakar is a ‘winning project’ for KTM so there was no alternative than to make this announcement. Team manager Alex Doringer said he hoped Marc would be at the start in Lima to wish the team well and see them launch their attack.


Doringer underlined that in view of the high profile that the Dakar Rally has for KTM, that the company had always taken the precaution of having a reserve rider registered with the Dakar organizers, ASO. He said they had now given the green light for the accredited reserve rider to step in and ride Coma’s KTM 450 Rally bike.

Caselli steps in to ride Coma’s 450 Rally bike

“We always took the precaution to have a reserve rider properly registered in case of such circumstances and it will be KTM USA’s Kurt Caselli who will step in to ride Coma’s bike. We want him to ride the Dakar without any pressure, embrace the adventure and learn from the experience,” Doringer said.

Caselli is at the forefront of the US offroad scene and is the current AMA National Hare and Hound Champion. He is a multiple national title winner in premium US offroad events, has been a stalwart in the US International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) Championship and was a member of the KTM team that recently finished second in the 2012 edition of the legendary Baja 1000. Caselli’s start number is yet to be confirmed.

Kurt Caselli: “It has always been a goal in my career to compete in the Dakar. There would be no way possible for me to achieve this without the ongoing support of KTM. To be able to race the greatest off road race in the world aboard the best bike in the world is truly a blessing. This is not only a milestone in my career but also in my life.”

Caselli a dominant KTM force in US offroad racing