Sealine Qatar Rally: Joan Barreda Back on Top

Spanish Team HRC rider Joan Barreda returns to the overall lead with a huge victory in stage three of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Qatar.

Team HRC’s Joan Barreda left the starting line for stage three of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Qatar in sixth place today, but after setting a strong pace all day, the Spaniard scored a big win that more than erased the 56-second deficit he had after yesterday and vaulted him back into the overall lead.

Barreda kept his Honda CRF450 Rally pinned and enjoyed a flawless day of navigation to overtake his rivals and cross the finish line in Umm Sa’id for his second stage win of the rally. Barreda posted a time of 4 hours. 53 minutes and 43 seconds. averaging 84.11 kilometers per hour (52.27 mph) over the 411.76 kilometer special stage, the longest special of the rally. The win also moved him past fellow Spaniard Marc Coma, who finished second but is now 1 minute and 19 seconds behind Barreda.

“Today I’m really happy because I started out in sixth place after yesterday’s position,” Barreda said. “I kept up a really good rhythm from the first kilometers. I caught up with Marc at kilometer 30 and then Viladoms. I kept pushing really hard to try and catch up with Paulo (Goncalves) and Sam (Sunderland), and finally, after refuelling, with some difficult areas and navigation, I reached them, and we finished altogether in a group. So, I’m really happy with another victory, and also a victory for Honda.

Team HRC’s Hélder Rodrigues took third place, after a getting off to a quick start. He caught up with the leading group and was strong through the end of the stage earning the Portuguese rider fifth place overall with three stages down and two to go.

Sealine Cross Country Rally
Um Sa’id, Qatar
Results: April 23, 2014 (Stage 3 of 5)

Stage 3
1. Joan Barreda-Hon/04:53’43
2. Marc Coma-KTM/+00:02:15
3. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:04’02
4. Jordi Viladoms-KTM/+00:06:11
5. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:08:03
6. Sam Sunderland-KTM/+00:10:09
7. Ruben Faria-KTM/+00:27:21
8. Mohammed Abu Issa-Yam/+01:02:22
9. Mohammed Albalooshi-KTM/+01:04:30
10. Jakub Piatek-KTM/+01:24:32

Standings after Stage 3
1. Joan Barreda-Hon/11:10’37
2. Marc Coma-KTM/+00:01:19
3. Jordi Viladoms-KTM/+00:07:21
4. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:09:36
5. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:09:55
6. Sam Sunderland-KTM/+00:15:11
7. Mohammed Albalooshi-KTM/+01:41’46
8. Mohammed Abu Issa-Yam/+02:24’26
9. Rafal Sonik-Hon/+02:59’47
10. Julián Villarrubia-Hon/+03:11’07

Tomorrow’s Stage
Liaison: 3.21 km
Special Stage: 404.18 km
Liaison: 3.52 km
Total: 410.91 km