Team HRC’s Joan Barreda rebounds from his Sardinia Rally misfortunes in stage three with a win in stage four; Botturi still leads with one stage remaining.
Team HRC’s Joan Barreda vaulted back to the top of the stage victory winner’s list with a win in a complicated marathon stage at the Sardinia Rally today, although his hopes for the overall rally win are bleak at best.
Barreda had already won a previous stage and was in contention for the overall win before his hopes were seriously derailed by a roadbook malfunction yesterday. The situation was still not resolved this morning, as Barreda was forced to navigate the first part of stage four without the roadbook, Just as he did yesterday, Barreda followed the tracks of the riders ahead of him until refueling stop, where he was able to solve the problem. Barreda charged through the second special stage and finished the day with a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 44 seconds 1 minute and 31 seconds ahead of overall rally leader Alessandro Botturi of the Team Husqvarna Italia squad. Red Bull KTM’s Ruben Faria finished third today, with a time of 2:28:42.
Faria’s teammate, defending Sardina Rally Champion Marc Coma, finished seventh in today’s stage, and now sits 10 minutes and 6 seconds behind Botturi, giving the Spaniard an outside shot at the rally win.
The fourth stage of the Sardinia Rally took the riders back to San Teodoro, the starting point for tomorrow’s first special stage of 120 kilometers, which will send the riders to Alà dei Sardi, where they will refuel. The second special stage will total 50 kilometers and will lead the riders back to San Teodoro for the finish.
Barreda said that today’s stage was a good one for him, all things considered.
“The first part was tough, still unable to use the roadbook,” Barreda said. “During refueling, the mechanics were able to work on it and repair it. It was an electrical problem, a fuse. The second part of the day we had a good start, being able to trust the navigation in the difficult spots of the route and crossing the finish line in first place. Given all the problems we had, it was an important victory for us.
FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
Sardinia Rally
San Leonardo-San Teodoro
Results: June 11, 2014 (Stage 4 of 5)
Stage 4
1. Joan Barreda-Hon/2:26:44
2. Alessandro Botturi-Hus/+00:01:31
3. Ruben Faria-KTM/+00:02:38
4. Andrea Mancini-Bet/+00:03:27
5. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:03:47
6. Marc Coma-KTM/+00:05:23
7. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:06:01
8. Mario Patrao-Suz/+00:07:03
9. Joan Pedrero-She/+00:07:17
10. Gerard Farrés-GG/+00:08:08
Sardinia Rally Overall Standings (After 4 of 5 stages)
1. Alessandro Botturi-Hus/12:19’52
2. Marc Coma-KTM/+00:10:06
3. Gerard Farrés-GG/+00:17:57
4. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:20:02
5. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:21:29
6. Andrea Mancini-Bet/+00:22:33
7. Joan Barreda-Hon/+00:25:32
8. Olivier Pain-Yam/+00:31:29
9. Ruben Faria-KTM/+00:36:22
10. Armand Monleón-KTM/+00:37:07
Tomorrow’s Stage
San Teodoro-San Teodoro
Special Stage 8-120 km
Special Stage 9-53 km
Total Distance (including transfers)-173 km
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