Paulo Goncalves Wins Sealine Qatar Rally Stage Four

The reigning FIM Cross Country Rallies Champion bags a stage win, but Marc Coma is back in the lead with one stage remaining at the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar.

Team HRC’s Paulo Goncalves claimed the win stage four of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Qatar today, while Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma retook the overall lead and set the stage for a real shootout between himself and fellow Spaniard Joan Barreda for tomorrow’s finale, stage five.

Gonçalves, the reigning FIM Cross Country Rallies Champion, put his high-speed riding and navigation skills on display as he clocked the fastest time in today’s 404-kilometer special stage across the Qatar desert in the Arabian Gulf. The Portuguese finished the stage in 4 hours, 48 minutes and 7 seconds, averaging 84.2 kilometers per hour (52.3 mph) and making up substantial lost time in the overall standings. Goncalves is now just 17 seconds behind Red Bull KTM’s Jordi Viladoms in the battle for the final podium spot. Viladoms had another strong day at the rally, however, finishing second in stage four. Team HRC’s Helder Rodrigues, also rode well today. The Portuguese rider pushed his pace and was the fastest rider through mot of the checkpoints before dropping off toward the end and finishing third on adjusted time.

“I had a really good race day,” Goncalves said. “I won the stage but more important is the time that I pulled back from my adversaries after the mistake with the navigation on the first day. My focus is to be on the podium at the end of the rally. But we have to keep our eye on the target and stay focused, because tomorrow we have 270 kms still to race and it’s easy to slip up and make a mistake, so we’ll wait and see what happens.”

Coma and Barreda continued to play their shadow game in the Qatari desert, keeping each other in close company. Through the course of the day. Coma managed to take back the 1 minute and 19 seconds that he had lost to Barreda yesterday, and he crossed the finish line fourth place, ahead of Barreda. While Coma was 6 minutes and 8 seconds behind Goncalves, he was exactly 2 minutes ahead of Barreda, so he moves back into the overall lead by 41 seconds.

Tomorrow sees the final stage of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, with some 363 km against the clock, with the final finish-line back where the race set out from in Umm Sa’id.

Sealine Cross Country Rally
Um Sa’id, Qatar
Results: April 24, 2014 (Stage 4 of 5)

Stage 4
1. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/04:48’07
2. Jordi Viladoms-KTM/+00:01:58
3. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:03:58
4. Marc Coma-KTM/+00:06:08
5. Joan Barreda-Hon/+00:08:08
6. Jakub Piatek-KTM/+01:11:13
7. Mohammed Albalooshi-KTM/+01:12:48
8. Kobus Potgieter-KTM/+01:19:47
9. Julián Villarrubia-Hon/+01:20:35
10. Rafal Sonik-Hon+01:21:43

Standings after Stage 4
1. Marc Coma-KTM/16:06:11
2. Joan Barreda-Hon/+00:00:41
3. Jordi Viladoms-KTM/+00+01:52
4. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:02:09
5. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:06:26
6. Mohammed Albalooshi-KTM/+02:47:07
7. Mohammed Abu Issa-Yam/+03:43:49
8. Rafal Sonik-Hon/+04:14:03
9. Julián Villarrubia-Hon/+04:24:15
10. Jakub Piatek-KTM/+05:06:26

Tommorrow’s Stage
Liaison: 1.16 km
Special Stage: 362.97 km
Liaison: 5.29 km
Total: 362.42 km