After receiving the bad news that he had incurred 6 minutes worth of time penalties for going to fast in speed-controlled zones during Stage 2, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla did his best to shake it off by winning Stage 3 of the 2016 Atacama Rally in Chile yesterday.
Quintanilla was dropped from the lead to fourth place to start Thursday’s stage in the Copiapó dunes, but he was smooth, fast and confident in the stage, which placed heavy emphasis on navigation skill. He finished the 202-kilometer timed special in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds to claw his way back to within 6 minutes and 21 seconds of leader Toby Price in the overall rally standings, although it may be only 21 seconds, pending appeal of the penalties by the team. Quintanilla seeks his fourth consecutive Atacama Rally win.
“It was a difficult stage, with a lot of navigation, course changes and complicated notes to read, but for me it was positive,” Quintanilla said. “I was able to win the stage again, and I felt good from start to finish. I was always pushing, and I recovered important time in the overall standings. I’m seconds away from Toby [Price], and that is clearly positive. Tomorrow we will face the hard surface of the mountain roads, but I will continue the way I have been, to try to keep the rhythm and not make any mistakes.”
Argentina’s Kevin Benavides had a good day aboard his Team HRC factory Honda CRF450 Rally prodigy excel in navigation as he passed Price and gained valuable time in the overall standings where he is now in second place, 4 minutes and 8 seconds behind Price. The 2016 Dakar Rally champ finished third ahead of the clearly hurting Paulo Goncalves, who finished fourth while dealing with the pain of the abdomen injury suffered in Stage 2.
“It was a difficult stage for the navigation–the most difficult one that we have done yet,” Benavides said. “I think that I kept a very good pace. I reached Toby Price, who was leading, and we kept passing each other because the navigation was pretty complicated. But we kept up the speed all the same. I’m pleased because I had a very good third stage.”
America’s rider Ricky Brabec didn’t have the greatest day in the dunes as he lost a bunch of time while trying to hit a waypoint. Brabec finished eighth in the stage and was overtaken in the overall standings by Red Bull KTM’s Matthias Walkner, the reigning FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion. Brabec is now sixth overall, 26 minutes and 11 seconds out of the lead, but Team HRC is nonetheless satisfied that he is making progress in learning how to navigate.
“Today was one of the toughest days that we have had so far,” Brabec said. “It wasn’t very good until the last 50 kilometers as there was a waypoint every two kilometers. For me it was a really difficult stage. I made a mistake, got a bit confused and did a couple of circles before getting back on the right path. But I made it back safely, and I’m ready to go tomorrow. Let’s see how things work out.”
Today’s fourth stage features another loop, although this time the route leads south toward Vallenar before heading back to Bahía Inglesa. The timed special stage is 370 kilometers long.
2016 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
Round 4: Atacama Rally
Bahia Inglesa, Chile
Results: August 25, 2016
Stage 3
1. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Hus/2 hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:03:28
3. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:05:29
4. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:08:01
5. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:12:13
6. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:14:11
7. José Cornejo (CHI)-KTM/+00:17:09
8. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Hon/+00:21:38
9. Pela Renet (FRA)-Hus/+00:22:33
10. Daniel Gouet (CHI)-KTM/+00:23:30
2016 Atacama Rally Overall Standings (after 3 of 5 stages)
1. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/8 hours, 19 minutes, 26 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:03:28
3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Hus/00:06:21 (6 minutes in penalties)
4. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:07:44
5. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:26:11
6. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Hon/+00:31:40
7. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:32:02
8. Franco Caimi (ARG)-Hon/+00:48:05
9. José Cornejo (CHI)-KTM/+00:50:03
10. Felipe Prohens (CHI)-KTM/+01:08:25
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