FAST TRACKS WITH MANY TRAPS ON STAGE 2
The stage 2 from the Sonora Rally was supposed to have a total of 541 km – 286 on the chronograph and 255 of liaison but was shortened by the organization, who also postponed the start due to “unforeseen circumstances and to ensure maximum safety for competitors”. There was hard navigation and many traps on a very demanding track.
Ricky Brabec was today the fastest rider from the Monster Energy Honda Team. The American was third on the second stage held today between Hermosillo and Puerto Peñasco. After arriving, he asked for a general check of his bike after listening some strange noises already in the liaison. In consequence, the team decided to replace the engine – which resulted in a 15-minute penalty. With this result he steps down in the overall ranking 14th place. Brabec is a record holder from the Sonora Rally with four victories,
Pablo Quintanilla is now ranked 3rd in the overall standings with a 4:56 minutes gap, Adrien Van Beveren 6th with a delay of 7:41 minutes and Nacho Cornejo 13th overall with a 18:34 minutes gap.
The Sonora Rally left today the bivouac in downtown Hermosillo for the beach camp in Puerto Peñasco, where sandy tracks and the beaches of the Sea of Cortez awaited the competitors.
For tomorrow, stage number 3 will consist of a circuit with start and arrival in Puerto Peñasco with a 350 km of special stage and a liaison of 116 km. The “menu” for the riders won’t be much different from today. Again there will be quite a variety of terrains, with gravel tracks, sand and chott. Low humidity and high temperatures – up to 35ºC – will continue to demand a lot from the rider’s physique.
Ruben Faria
”Today we had the second stage of the Sonora Rally. It was a fast stage with some navigation and a lot of dangerous points. For this reason some riders crashed and are out of the race, that happend with Skyler Howes and Sam Sunderland. Monster Energy Honda Team riders did well and Ricky Brabec was third, followed by Pablo Quintanilla, Adrien Van Beveren and Nacho Cornejo. It was only much later after his arrival that we faced the need to replace the engine from Ricky's bike and that meant a 15 minute penalty - it is hard but it is what it is, it's rally. Adrien was going very fast but then he saw Skyler crash and was affected by that - because of the dangers that were not mentioned in the road book he decided to ride in a more calm rhythm to play safe. This is only the second stage and our riders are well placed for tomorrow. I know they will do their best and we have to think about the race on a day by day basis”.
Ricky Brabec 9
”Day 2 started out good with many dangers and we rode as safely as possible but with speed to make some time up but we also lost time to the end. Navigated well but it was difficult to understand the time opening bonus. Sometimes almost not really a fair advantage but it is what it is. When I was already doing the liaison after the special section I heard some strange noises on the bike and now everything needs to be checked. Team is working hard and we will do what we can for the next few days.”
Pablo Quintanilla 7
”The second day of the Sonora Rally is over and the stage was shortened. The first part of the stage was fast with some broken sections and it was really tricky to see the danger. After this we were riding between the vegetation on fast pistes and sandy tracks. It was hard to keep a good navigation but in the end I finished in a good position, I didn't lose too much time. I am in a good position for tomorrow to catch some time overall since we will have some dunes and the longest stage of the rally.”
Adrien Van Beveren 42
”Today things did not turn out the way I wanted. I started riding fast in the piste and then I found Skyler and Sam Sunderland that crashed. There were a lot of dangerous points in the road book and some were not marked. The two riders that were in front of me crashed and for this reason I was not confident about the road book. So I decided to play safe and rode carefully until the end. In my opinion the road book was not good, but this is racing and we have to adapt.”
Private: José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo 11
”Stage 2 is behind us and as usual I did my best. The track was a little bit dangerous in the beginning but then I decided to play safe and rode not as fast as I could. Even so I felt good most of the day and enjoyed the ride! It is not easy to go fast in this desert but I will keep fighting to push and climb in the overall standings”.
Provisional Standings on Stage 2 Sonora Rally
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanders Daniel | AUS | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | 01:28:08 | |
| 2 | Schareina Tosha | 68 | SPA | Honda Team | Honda | 01:29:23 |
| 3 | Price Toby | 18 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 01:31:07 |
| 4 | Evan Branch Ross | 16 | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | 01:32:18 |
| 5 | Quintanilla Pablo | 7 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | 01:32:29 |
| 6 | Benavides Kevin | 1 | ARG | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | 01:33:01 |
| 7 | Benavides Luciano | 77 | ARG | Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | 01:33:01 |
| 11 | Van Beveren Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | 01:34:15 |
| 13 | Cornejo José Ignacio "Nacho" | 11 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | 01:34:36 |
| 19 | Brabec Ricky | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | 01:45:26 |
Location Information
San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico - View in Google Maps
