Van Beveren And Yamaha Earn Third In Sardinia Rally’s Penultimate Stage

2016-06-06 08:57
Determined to reduce his gap to the riders at the top of the provisional standings, Adrien Van Beveren put in a committed stage four performance to wrap up the Sardinia Rally's longest special stage in third position. Coming home in seventh place today, his Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team partner Alessandro Botturi finished fourth in the provisional standings and will focus on securing a spot inside the top three during tomorrow's final stage.

Stage four of the Sardinia Rally 2016 saw the Yamaha riders race a long special stage of 165 km. Bouncing back after a difficult day in the saddle France's Adrien Van Beveren quickly found himself racing together with the leading group of riders. Riding smart and avoiding mistakes he managed to post the third fastest time for the day. Bettering his position in the provisional overall standings Adrien finds himself in seventh overall with one stage to go.

Looking to make the most out of his advantageous starting position, Italy's Alessandro Botturi saw his chances for a good stage result diminish after making a navigational error and being forced to ride an extra 2 km before returning to the correct tracks. Fast and consistent since the beginning of this week-long adventure in Sardinia the Italian rider now has his sights set on securing a final podium result.

Battling through pain for a second consecutive stage, Portugal's Helder Rodrigues remained focused on bringing his WR450F home without any problems. Despite making a navigational mistake early on in the special stage he crossed the line in 17th position and is holding on to eighth in the provisional overall standings.

For Yamaha supported rider Xavier de Soultrait stage four proved to be the most challenging so far in this rally. Suffering technical problems with his road book the Frenchman made a mistake and received a time penalty that dropped him out of the provisional lead. Awaiting the race jury's final decision Xavier is currently third in the overall standings.

The fifth and last day of competition at the Sardinia Rally 2016 will see the Yamaha riders contest two separate special stages in a 214 km long circular route starting and ending in Arbatax.

Adrien Van Beveren - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Adrien Van Beveren - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
3rd Stage 4 / 7th Overall

"My riding was good today. I quickly caught up with the leading group of riders and we rode together for most part of the day. In the second part of the special stage there was a very difficult and dangerous part with rocks. I took it easy trying not to take any risks and made it to the finish without any problems in third position. I know it'd be really hard for me to finish on the podium as I lost a lot of time yesterday. But I'm taking each day separately, trying to make the most out of my time here. I will start tomorrow's stage in third position and my goal is to get a good race pace to wrap up this rally with a good stage result."
Alessandro Botturi - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Alessandro Botturi - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
7th Stage 4 / 4th Overall

"I was the fifth rider to start the long special stage so I knew I could battle for a good result today. Unfortunately, I made a small navigational mistake loosing almost two minutes. I rode an extra 2 km and when I got back to the right tracks some other riders had passed me and I had to ride in their dust. This mistake dropped me to fourth in the overall standings but I think anything can happen tomorrow. I'm now a bit more than two minutes behind the top three in the overall so my plan is to push hard tomorrow for a final podium result. I'm starting the final stage in seventh position and this is also an advantage for tomorrow."
Helder Rodrigues - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Helder Rodrigues - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider
17th Stage 4 / 8th Overall

"It wasn't a good day for me but that's part of rally racing. I went out of track 6 km in the special stage and lost a lot of time to find my way back to the right tracks. Some riders passed me also there and I was forced to race the rest of the special in a huge cloud of dust. We knew navigation would be the deciding factor for this rally and it was always possible to make a mistake. Apart from my mistake everything has been going good. The bike has been running great so far. We started the day with the same tyres we used yesterday as we weren't allowed to change them in the marathon bivouac last night. Tomorrow is the last day and I'll try to get back as much time as possible."
Jordi Arcarons - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team's sports manager Jordi Arcarons - Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team sport manager
"Our riders today contested the longest special stage of the whole rally, which was run over a total distance of 165 km. They had a neutralisation point midway through the special and were also able to receive assistance by our mechanics. Alex missed a mark on his road book and lost almost three minutes to the top guys, which dropped him to fourth in the overall standings. Tomorrow we have two special stages and Alex is going to fight for the overall podium. Adrien started the special behind the leading group and struggled a lot with their dust. But he gave a good fight today and managed to post a very good time. Helder continued to struggle with pain in his lower back so couldn't push for a good result. Mostly in the technical enduro-styled tracks the pain was intense so he decided to ride smart to the finish of the day."
Sardinia Rally 2016 - Stage 4 Provisional Classification

1. Juan Pedrero (ESP), Sherco, 3:33:20.83
2. Armand Monleon (ESP), Husqvarna, 3:33:30.13, +9.29
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 3:34:13.66, +52.82
4. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Yamaha, 3:34:16.75, +55.91
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 3:34:19.57, +58.74
6. Olivier Pain (FRA), Beta, 3:34:57.88, +1:37.05
7. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 3:36:58.50, +3:37.67...
17. Helder Rodrigues (POR), Yamaha, 3:47:25.97, +14:05.13

Sardinia Rally 2016 - Overall Classification After Stage 4

1. Juan Pedrero (ESP), Sherco, 11:49:21.00
2. Armand Monleon (ESP), Husqvarna, 11:51:28.16, +2:07.15
3. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Yamaha, 11:51:38.80, +2:17.79
4. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 11:53:52.64, +4:31.63
5. Olivier Pain (FRA), Beta, 11:54:06.24, +4:45.23
6. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 11:57:10.93, +7:49.93
7. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 11:58:13.92, +8:52.91
8. Helder Rodrigues (POR), Yamaha, 12:09:18.38, +19:57.37

Source: Yamaha Motor Europe N.V.

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