The Atacama Rally is drawing to a close with some thrilling and picturesque stages that have required a high degree of riding dexterity. Team HRC’s Paulo Gonçalves opened the way for most of the fourth stage, coming home in the leading group.
Not for the first time, the camanchaca – the thick morning mist that dominates the desert region of Atacama – led to a delayed start. Riders got away an hour later than the scheduled start-time for safety reasons, for the second day running. The penultimate stage proved to be a demanding affair that included a thirty kilometre area of dunes and some fast track.
Yesterday’s troublesome stage saw some penalizations dished out once rider’s GPSs had been checked by race officials after the race. The leading riders in the special received a twenty minute sanction for missing one of the waypoints which meant that Paulo Gonçalves was reclassified up into third place. Today, the Portuguese rider had a tough time trying to whittle down the gap with race leaders due to the sheer amount of sand in the stage.
It was no pleasure cruise for Jeremias Israel either. The Chilean never really felt right throughout the race and prefered to take it steadily and focus on improving his navigation skills.
Tomorrow will see the final stage of the Atacama Rally with a final special stage of a little over 100 kilometres that comes to a close in La Serena.
Paulo Goncalves
I’m fairly happy with today’s stage. I started from third and by kilometre 40 I was opening the way until almost the end. I’m pleased because I set a great pace and I knew that the riders behind would claw back a bit of time. The important thing is to keep up a good rhythm and navigate well. Everything went perfectly, the bike was impeccable and my navigating was great.
Jeremias Israel
It was a very long stage today. I didn’t really feel that good. I wasn’t expecting it but at least I managed to have a safe ride. There were a lot of hazards – a very swift stage with long tracks at high speeds. I’m happy that we are almost at the end of this Atacama Rally and in one piece. Now we are going to start the hard stretch of training that has to take us to the Dakar in the best possible condition.
Private: Wolfgang Fischer
Day four of Atacama Rally. Paulo Goncalves started third but shortly after the start he took over the lead, opening the way for most of the day in a Dakar-style race with everything; sand, fast parts, technical stuff and some navigation. He again showed his consistency, finishing in the top group and doing an excellent job too. He stabilized his position and tried to get as many points as possible before the end. Tomorrow is the last day so we will see where we end up. For Jeremias it was not such a perfect day, he struggled with the navigation, finishing well in the end and is now preparing for tomorrow’s final day.
Results Stage 4
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walkner Matthias | AUT | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 3:02'20 | |
| 2 | Quintanilla Pablo | CHI | KTM Warsaw Rally Team | KTM | + 3'12 | |
| 3 | Sunderland Sam | 3 | GBR | Gas Gas Factory Team | Gas Gas | + 4'30 |
| 4 | Goncalves Paulo | POR | Team HRC | Honda | + 7'31 | |
| 5 | Price Toby | 18 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | + 9'53 |
| 6 | Viladoms Jordi | 11 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | + 16'35 |
| 7 | Israel Jeremias | CHI | Team HRC | Honda | + 17'05 | |
| 8 | Prohens Felipe | CHI | Team Hermanos Prohens | KTM | + 24'00 | |
| 9 | Meo Antoine | FRA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | + 27'58 | |
| 10 | Al Balooshi Mohammed | 31 | UAE | MX Raid Dubai | KTM | + 39'10 |
Provisional Standings after Stage 4
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walkner Matthias | AUT | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 9:16'15 | |
| 2 | Quintanilla Pablo | CHI | KTM Warsaw Rally Team | KTM | + 2'27 | |
| 3 | Sunderland Sam | 3 | GBR | Gas Gas Factory Team | Gas Gas | + 6'14 |
| 4 | Viladoms Jordi | 11 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | + 21'37 |
| 5 | Gouet Daniel | CHI | KTM | KTM | + 33'08 | |
| 6 | Israel Jeremias | CHI | Team HRC | Honda | + 45'33 | |
| 7 | Prohens Felipe | CHI | Team Hermanos Prohens | KTM | + 55'22 | |
| 8 | Goncalves Paulo | POR | Team HRC | Honda | + 58'24 | |
| 9 | Al Balooshi Mohammed | 31 | UAE | MX Raid Dubai | KTM | + 1:23'49 |
Location Information
The 2019 edition of the Atacama Rally will offer its competitors a high-level sports rally, challenging the incredible dunes of the Atacama Desert. An open challenge for all and especially for those competing for the third round of the FIM Cross-Country World Rally Championship in the category of motorcycles and… read more.
Copiapó, Chile - View in Google Maps
