Strong Opening Stage Performances For Yamaha Riders At Sardinia Rally

2016-06-03 11:49
Enjoying a positive first full day of racing in the enduro-styled tracks of Sardinia, the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team wrapped up stage one of the Sardinia Rally earning results inside the top eight. With four more long stages remaining, and a little more than 1,100km of racing, all three team riders are well placed for strong end-of-event results.

Being the 11th rider to kick off today's special stage Helder Rodrigues had to work hard to move himself close to the leading group. Second in the first special stage, the Portuguese rider opted not to take any unnecessary risks in the second special and settled for fourth overall at the end of stage one.

For Helder's Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team partner Adrien Van Beveren today's stage was another big lesson in rally navigation. Being the fifth rider to start the special stage the Frenchman quickly found himself in the lead of the race, opening the tracks ahead of all other riders. Making the most out of this experience he finished the day with the sixth fastest time.

Starting the day's stage confident that he could push for a good result, Alessandro Botturi felt a minor pain on his wrist a few kilometres after the start of the special stage. Making sure he stayed away from any navigational mistakes the Italian crossed the finish line in eighth position.

Fastest in both special stages, Yamaha WR450F mounted Xavier de Soultrait went on to claim the stage victory and provisionally put himself at the top of the rally's overall standings.

Getting a very positive first taste of rally racing Yamaha Motor Europe Chief Operating Officer Eric de Seynes made the most of his limited time in Sardinia by successfully completing the first 70km special stage of the day. His teammate Camelia Liparoti will now continue the race alone, assigned with the task to pilot their Yamaha YXZ1000R machine to the finish of this rally.

Stage two at the Sardinia Rally will see competitors race a distance of 310km as they head south towards the city of Sa Itria. The stage marks the first part of the two-day-long marathon stage.

Helder Rodrigues - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Helder Rodrigues - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
4th Stage 1

"The day started pretty well for me and I managed to post the second fastest time in the first of two special stages. Then in the second special I had some problems with the dust from the riders in front. I passed a few slower riders but as soon as I got closer to the leading group of riders it was almost impossible to pass them. Overall, everything goes well so far. The terrain is hard-packed, which causes a lot of damage to our tyres, so we need to be careful with that. I have a good starting position for the first part of the marathon test tomorrow, so anything is possible and I'll keep battling for the top."
Adrien Van Beveren - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Adrien Van Beveren - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
6th Stage 1

"It was a positive day for me. Being the fifth rider to start the special stage I struggled a bit with other riders' dust for the first kilometres. Unfortunately, it took me some time before I could pass the riders in front and I also made a few small mistakes in the process, loosing some time. Once I got the lead I had to open the tracks for the rest of special stage one and then for the first 20km of special stage two. It might not have been ideal for my overall time in the stage, but I'm happy I got the chance to live this experience. It's only been my first full season racing the rallies, so every time I get the chance to open the tracks I feel like I'm learning a lot. I'm happy with how I did and it's definitely going to help me in the future. I'll take my fifth position from today and continue to work hard in order to get better tomorrow."
Alessandro Botturi - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Alessandro Botturi - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
8th Stage 1

"It was a difficult day for me. I had pain in my wrist from the start of the stage so I had to back off the gas a bit. I tried to get a quick race pace without pushing hard and of course without making any mistakes. My plan worked out pretty well and I managed to finish in eighth position, which also brings me to eighth in the provisional overall standings. The race has just started and it's going to be long, so my four-minute gap to the top is almost nothing. My plan for tomorrow is to push a bit harder in order to start gaining some positions in the overall standings. As I said, we still have four long days of racing ahead of us and anything can happen."
Jordi Arcarons - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team's sports manager Jordi Arcarons - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team sport manager
"We're happy that all three of our riders finished today's stage without any problems. Overall, we're also satisfied with having all three of our riders inside the top eight in the overall classification. The level of competition is high here at the Sardinia Rally, but that's also good for us to see where we're at against some of the best riders in the world. We expect tomorrow to be an even harder day for our riders. It's also the first part of the two-day-long marathon stage and our riders won't be able to get any outside assistance at the end of the day. We focus on each day and each stage separately and we will keep trying to improve on our results as the rally goes on."
Eric de Seynes - Sardinia Rally 2016 Eric de Seynes - Yamaha Motor Europe COO, Sardinia Rally competitor
"I really enjoyed these first two days of racing this rally. Sardinia is an amazing place and the event is well organised. Unfortunately, I shall now head back home as we have the MXGP of France this weekend. Camelia will have to take over and bring our Yamaha to the finish. Camelia was a fantastic race partner and she helped a lot with her huge experience in rally racing. I was also positively impressed by how fast our YXZ1000R was. The vehicle that we raced here in Sardinia was completely standard. The only modification was the offroad tyres we used. It was truly a great pleasure to drive this side-by-side vehicle in the twisty offroad trails of Sardinia. It was also impressive how competitive you can be in this machine, even in its standard form. Our goal now is to develop a special kit, complying with the needed regulations, which any Yamaha fan could adapt to the YXZ1000R in order to contest any multi-day offroad rally."
Camelia Liparoti - Sardinia Rally 2016 Camelia Liparoti - Yamaha Fast & Safe Racing
"It was a splendid day of racing for us. The day kicked off with 37km of transfer section, before we entered the first of two special tests. Eric was excited to get a first taste of a long rally special stage and I was impressed by how fast and also safe he was driving. The stage started with some beautiful mountain trails on rocky terrain that were overlooking the sea. There were some technical narrow uphill and downhill sections, followed by very fast WRC styled tracks. We had a pretty good race pace up until the end of the special stage. Everything went fine but we decided to call it a day, as Eric had to catch his flight back to France. The race goes on for me tomorrow. I'm taking over alone hoping to take our YXZ1000R to the finish of the rally."
Sardinia Rally 2016 - Stage 1 - Provisional Classification

1. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Yamaha, 2:54:35.64

2. Juan Pedrero (ESP), Sherco, 2:57:24.41, +2:48.77

3. Armand Monleon (ESP), Husqvarna, 2:57:28.19, +2:52.55

4. Helder Rodrigues (POR), Yamaha, 2:57:38.09, +3:02.45

5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 2:57:38.39, +3:02.75

6. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 2:58:05.62, +3:29.98...

8. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 2:59:10.00, +4:34.36

Source: Yamaha Motor Europe N.V.

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