Afriquia Merzouga Rally: Stage winner De Soultrait leads the way for Yamaha

2017-05-08 14:17
Russian Maksimov Aleksandr wins in the Quad, stage winner Labille-Niveau leads the SidebySide category

Key points
* With 2 stage wins De Soultrait leads the provisional overall standing
* The opening stage for SSV by night saw the presence of the authority of the Erfoud and Merzouga region that host the rally since 2010
* Stepping stone for Dakar, the Afriquia Merzouga Rally confirms to be the perfect ground to learn the navigation both for pro and amateur riders

STAGE 2 Liaison 44 km SS2 188 km Liaison 9 km
The competitors took the start of the 188 km long special stage at the Jasmina lake in Merzouga for a big loop in the Erg Chebbi sand dunes. It was Xavier De Soultrait who opened the track, passing first at the CP1 and CP2. From km 100 he rode with his team mate Franco Caimi till he got a bit lost in the final part characterized by river bed crossings and barely visible tracks.

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The French secured the victory of the second stage, followed by the Himoinsa rider Gerard Farres, the Italian Alessandro Botturi (Yamaha), Juan Pedrero (Sherco TVS) and Ivan Cervantes (KTM) respectively 3rd, 4th and 5th of the provisional classification.

“It was an emotional start this morning” confessed De Soultrait, “I have never opened the stage in the dunes before, so I’m really happy that I could manage the stress. The navigation was very difficult and you had to be careful to follow the road book. From km 100 I rode with Franco (Caimi). We helped each other a lot because team spirit is a priority in rally raid. This is not an individual sport”. De Soultrait now leads the provisional overall in front of Farres and Botturi.

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In the quad category the Russian Maksimov Aleksandr (Troyka Team) won the stage in front of Argentinian Jeremias Gonzalez, provisional leader of the overall and French Simon Vitse, second in the overall with Maksimov in third.

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In the SxS category the winner of the SS1 #210 Medero-Martin opened the track in front of Rautenbach-Palmeiro, Labille-Niveveau, Henrichy –Bersey (winner of the 2016 edition) and Tonetti-Roman. At the end of the 188 km long stage it was Labille-Niveau who won the stage in front of Tonetti-Roman and Camelia Liparoti , 3rd at his debut in the SidebySide after 9 Dakar in quad. The provisional standing of the overall is: Labille-Niveau, Tonetti-Roman, Henrichy-Bersey.

Joel Labille (Motricity): “The night stage yesterday was really original and we enjoyed a lot, even if it was even more difficult for the nagivation. Today is was a beautiful stage with 2-3 points of really complicated navigation”.

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Curiosity: India is getting passionate for rally raid.

In India CS Santosh is almost synonymous for rally raid. He was the first ever Indian rider on the Dakar and finished with a superb 36th place (2015). He repeated in 2016 and 2017 (47th), opening the road for other Indian riders. Sherco TVS rider Aravind Prabhakar followed his example on the Dakar this year with and finally Abdul Wahid Tanveer, who recently won the Dakar Challenge Series India Baja event, made his debut along with Dakar riders - Aravind KP, Juan Pedrero and Adrien Metge on the Merzouga. “this is my first international rally and first time outside India”, said Wahid, “today it was really tough navigation and I struggled in the dunes but I’m here to learn”.

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From the Manufacturer side, the debut of Hero MotoSports right on the Afriquia Merzouga Rally 2016 represented a breakthrough. “We are happy to return on the Afriquia Merzouga Rally where we made our debut last year with Joaquim Rodrigues and CS Santosh”, said Markus Braunsperger CTO Hero MotoCorp, “our products are known for their robustness, reliability and quality. Therefore, it’s a logical step for us to engage in International Rally Sports. Our Rally experience will help enhance our R&D synergies. We are here to train for Dakar 2018”

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On the road to Dakar:
21 year old Polish rider Maciej Giemza (Orlen Team) is competing the Afriquia Merzouga Rally to gain experience for Dakar: “I come from the enduro and this is the third rally I do in my life. I’m here to learn and I benefited so much from Marc Coma’s workshop on the road book. I will do my best to try and win the Dakar Challenge”.

The tip from the Coach 

Jean Brucy: “try to force yourself not to follow the tracks of other riders because they may bring you in the wrong direction. Trust yourself and follow the road book”.

Statistics
* 38 years old the average age of the entry list
* 161 Argentinian Manuel Andujar (Mec Team Honda quad) is the youngest rider: 20 years old
* 214 French Daniel Perno (AT4R Polaris) is the oldest rider: 66 years old

Plus d'information sur www.afriquiamerzougarally.com

Source: MG communication

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