Gonçalves wins stage 2 of the Morocco Rally, with Coma 2nd

The second stage of the Morocco Rally has seen Paulo Gonçalves take the win, a good start for the man from Honda who, with the two results from these first stages, manages to take the provisional lead in the overall standings.

Gonçalves completed this second stage in 2h50’22, the fastest of the day, leaving Marc Coma, who crossed the line second, just two minutes behind. Meanwhile, third place went to Sam Sunderland, who finished right behind Coma.

After completing the 240 timed kilometres that made up the second special stage of the Morocco Rally, Coma and Barreda are in good positions, although Joan, the winner of the first stage, finished fifth on this second day, no doubt a very technical special stage.

As for the overall standings, Barreda now holds second place in the final round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, just 17 seconds behind the leader, Paulo Gonçalves, winner of stage 2 and the new leader of the event. Coma, meanwhile, is third after closing the gap on the top of the standings, and the difference with the leader is now one minute and 41 seconds.

The day began with a 49-kilometre liaison section that led the riders to the start of the second special stage of the rally. Barreda, the winner of stage 1, was the first to set off and the one tasked with opening the track, with the added difficulty of the dust on the very technical course. Towards the end of the timed section, he was caught by the riders who started behind him, including Coma.

Avià, for his part, began the timed section from second place and with a good rhythm, and more comfortable than in the first stage after making some changes to his new KTM 450 Rally, finished the timed section in two hours, 52 minutes and 22 seconds, two minutes behind the leader. Barreda, on his second competition day with the new §13§Honda CRF450 Rally, did it in 2 hours, 54 minutes and seven seconds, three minutes and 45 seconds behind Gonçalves. After the special stage, the riders completed a final nine-kilometre liaison section.

In today’s stage, the riders will face an opening 65-kilometre liaison section before tackling the third special stage of the rally, 250 kilometres long. After that, there will be another final 98-kilometre liaison section.

Statements from Marc Coma:
I am satisfied after the second day. We made some changes to the rear of the bike that allowed us to ride more comfortably throughout the day. Little by little we are getting to know the bike better. Everything went as planned and after completing a stage that was very technical we crossed the finish line in second position. Actually, I expected some rider to get between Paulo [Gonçalves] and me, but in the end that did not happen. We must focus on day-to-day work so that we can reach the end of the event with confidence. We still have many days ahead of us, and the most important thing is to stay just as focused and keep the same consistency we have maintained so far. Tomorrow we return to a dune stage where navigation will be an important factor to consider.

Source | AMV