Laia Sanz has achieved a historic milestone at the Rally Morocco
Rider Laia Sanz has achieved a historic milestone at the Morocco round.
The rider Laia Sanz bids farewell to Morocco with a great eighth-place finish, thus claiming the historic milestone of achieving the best result ever by a woman in a stage of the Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
Sanz finished the race in a great eighth overall position, just 23 seconds behind the seventh-placed rider, after completing the two special stages of the fifth and final day, held this Tuesday, in 12th (+16:46) and 4th place (+00:41), respectively. Laia came to the final round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship with the mission of training for the Dakar Rally and getting familiar with the new KTM 450 Rally, without focusing much on the standings.
After five days of competition (plus a short prologue), she not only accomplished her mission, but also took a step forward in terms of riding and confidence, which led her to post commendable results. The fifth place achieved in the super special was only a preview of the milestone to come: the third place in the second stage, which will go down in the history of the competition as the best result ever by a woman in the world championship of the discipline.
Laia’s statements:
I’m happy, very happy, because I finished very well, although I could have improved one more position and been seventh, but above all I’m satisfied with how I’ve ridden these days and how much fun I’ve had. I felt fast and this gave me confidence. Racing the Rally of Morocco ahead of the Dakar was perfect for seeing that with the new bike I can go very well and aim for more.
Without rest, following her return from Morocco, Laia Sanz will have to quickly switch gears to compete in the double round of the Grand Prix of Germany from October 20 to 22, which will decide the Enduro World Championship title. At stake is her sixth consecutive crown in the discipline and the 19th in her impressive palmarès.
Source | Laia Sanz press
