Spectacular Performance by Yamaha Duo Puts Van Beveren on Stage Four Podium
. By Bikeland Staff
The Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team's riders just gave another outstanding performance while racing the Sealine Cross Country Rally's fourth stage. The strong time scores that followed was the result of good team collaboration on the track today and the efficient work done on the WR450F Rally set-up over this rally so far. Adrien Van Beveren finished on the stage podium in second position, whereas Hélder Rodrigues reached the provisional third step of the overall podium.
The fourth stage was a combination of the last three, made-up out of 80% rocky tracks and 20% of dune racing, under the same burning desert sun. As the race is winding to an end, it's getting harder for the competitors to physically manage their efforts and find a good balance in the Sealine Cross Country Rally's (SCCR) exhausting conditions. The organisers had warned the competitors about some tricky navigational challenges to handle on today's stage, specifically in the crucial 50 first kilometres of the stage, which included a few traps and a lot of direction changes and hard to find tracks.
The aim for the riders was to strictly follow the road-book, to make the right decisions and to minimize the impact of this penultimate and determining special. Some of the SCCR front-runners got lost and lost some precious minutes, but those who made the least mistakes took advantage of today's special. Such was the case with the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team riders who came out on top after today's race. Adrien Van Beveren ended up on the stage podium and Hélder Rodrigues on the overall podium.
Hélder Rodrigues left the start line in third position this morning with the burning desire to make up the 2'30 min gap that was remaining between yesterday's fourth overall ranking and the third step of the overall podium. He made some trivial errors in the first part of the race but managed to maintain a solid pace. His experience spoke for itself as the Portuguese rider classified fourth on the stage and achieved his main goal: he is now third in the overall ranking, with just a seven-minute gap behind the second and one more stage left to go.
Adrien Van Beveren quickly caught up on his teammate Rodrigues on the track in the first kilometres of the special and after that they tackled the stage as a team. They combined their efforts and supported each other to race with the highest pace possible all the while making the right navigational decisions. At ease with his new WR450F Rally and growing in confidence over the stages, Van Beveren solidly affirmed today that his more experienced rivals have nothing on him and he stood on the stage podium for the second time of his first race of the new season as he landed second position.
Next Stage - Last Stage: April 22nd
Tomorrow will be the last stage of the Sealine Cross Country Rally competition. There are still 350 more kilometres to go in the desert before the competitors reach the stage finish line and the ceremonial podium at the Losail International Circuit in Doha. For this last race day, the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team's riders will have to leave the bivouac at 5:30AM, in good shape on their WR450F Rallys. On the stage menu: they will have to backtrack over the dunes for almost 80-kilometres, show resistance on the rocky terrain and keep focused on their road-book notes.
SCCR2016 - Hélder Rodrigues - Yamalube Yamaha Official Team rider Hélder Rodrigues, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
4th / 04:10:38, 3rd / 15:32:45
"We had a very good race with Adrien on today's beautiful special and it was nice to compete so closely together on the track; we rode in each other's tracks for the most of the stage. We found the right routes over some of the tricky stretches of today's stage, resulting in good results for both of us. I'm now on the overall podium, in third position, and there is one more stage remaining tomorrow morning before making it to the rally's finish line. I will keep up the pace to secure this place and give the best of myself to end this rally in style. Otherwise the WR450F Rally is performing very well and there is a good team spirit amongst the Yamaha crew."
SCCR2016 - Adrien Van Beveren - Yamalube Yamaha Official Team rider Adrien Van Beveren, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
2nd / 04:08:34, 11th / 10:02:06
"I came up quickly on Hélder this morning on the track and then we raced together and did some good team work. He was watching me, helped to set up the right pace for me and I eventually came in second in the stage rankings. It was really an enjoyable stage, I enjoyed racing on my WR450F Rally and it was beautiful in the dunes close to the sea. I learnt so much again today. It's really challenging as well as comforting when you have your teammate behind you. I will remember this day and strive to perform in the rally the best way possible tomorrow and I think it will probably be one of the best experiences for me, to start the new season right on such a gruelling competition."
Jordi Arcarons, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Sport Manager
"It was good that our riders met on the track today and tackled this tough stage together. There were many challenges with the navigation today, we saw some riders losing a lot of time on wrong routes but our riders' perseverance paid off as they both scored good results for themselves and for the team. They maximised the impact of today's longest stage through their successful collaboration. It was again an extremely demanding stage for the riders who competed for four hours under the glaring sun from early in the morning. Tomorrow's last stage will be long but I'm confident in both Adrien and Hélder's ability to endure until the end of the race, to compensate the efforts brought by everyone over this hard week in Qatar."
José Leloir, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Manager
"It was hard to ride the perfect race on today's SCCR's fourth stage. Adrien and Hélder both did the job. When they made the wrong step, they quickly managed to correct it and minimised the impact on today's time sheet. They even took advantages of it as Hélder has now climbed one more place in the overall rankings and is currently on the podium. For both the riders and the mechanics, little rest time remains, more or less five hours per night, so the SCCR is definitely a good test as a season opening race. It's really interesting to work this way. Not all the rallies are this tough in terms of navigation; we will come back having gained many valuable learning experiences. As for Hélder, he will not miss the opportunity to do even better on the last stage tomorrow. Seven minutes behind the second overall rider is not that much when we see that some of the frontrunners lost up to fifteen minutes today. For Adrien, the objective will be to keep gaining experience at the forefront, and he might, as he will start second, take the stage lead again as he did yesterday. We will put everything into getting Yamaha on the podium."
You can follow the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team's progress on the 2016 Sealine Cross Country Rally HERE.
Click HERE for more imagery of the 2016 Sealine Cross Country Rally.