Paulo Gonçalves and Kevin Benavides both posted podium finishes at the end of a lengthy special stage on day two of the Qatar Rally as the first differences in the field begin to emerge.
It was a tough day out for the Monster Energy Honda Team riders who had to face a long, gruelling slog through the Qatari desert. With more than 330 kilometres of complicated special stage to face, it turned out to be a day for the more proficient navigators of the field. Paulo Gonçalves and Kevin Benavides set off this morning amid the first half of the starting order, which had been decided in yesterday’s Super Special stage. The duo managed to keep a strong pace over the entire course of the day.
Portuguese rider Paulo Gonçalves had a trouble-free stage aboard the Honda CRF450 RALLY on a day that left very little margin for error. Paulo posted the day’s second best time and now lies in second place in the general standings too.
Monster Energy Honda Team companion, Argentinean Kevin Benavides, maintained a similar rhythm to his Portuguese team-mate to finish the special a minute and a half behind.
Tomorrow, Thursday, sees the longest day of the competition. The odometer will be signalling 503 kilometres by the close of the day, which will include some 353 km against the clock.
Paulo Goncalves
The first full stage of the Qatar Rally had a first part with a lot of stony track and a final part with 40 kilometres of dunes. I think that I did quite well as the navigation was really difficult and as a consequence I decided to take things a bit easier in order to not make any mistakes. It went well and later I was able to pick the speed up a bit. I’m very happy and now let’s start the preparations for the stage tomorrow.
Kevin Benavides
I’m happy. I started out well with some great sensations in my hand. At kilometre 50 I stopped to sort out some minor issue, but was able to continue and push hard right up until the end. The stage was really tough for the navigation, with rocky track and some dunes in the final section. I enjoyed it a lot and finished in third place overall. Tomorrow I will have to push hard.
Stage 2 results
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland Sam | GBR | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | 3:43'21 | |
| 2 | Goncalves Paulo | POR | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | +9'25 | |
| 3 | Benavides Kevin | ARG | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | +10'48 | |
| 4 | Quintanilla Pablo | CHI | Husqvarna Factory Rally Team | Husqvarna | +12'34 | |
| 5 | Renet Pierre-Alexandre | FRA | Husqvarna Factory Rally Team | Husqvarna | +13'12 | |
| 6 | Walkner Matthias | AUT | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | +16'07 | |
| 7 | Meo Antoine | FRA | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | +36'37 | |
| 8 | Giemza Maciej | POL | Orlen Team | KTM | +52'38 | |
| 9 | Al Balooshi Mohammed | UAE | Ride to Abu Dhabi Team | KTM | +55'13 | |
| 10 | Tomiczek Adam | POL | Orlen Team | KTM | +1:23'13 |
Provisional Standings after Stage2
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland Sam | GBR | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | 3:48'01.20 | |
| 2 | Goncalves Paulo | POR | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | +9'32.90 | |
| 3 | Benavides Kevin | ARG | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | +10'54.40 | |
| 4 | Quintanilla Pablo | CHI | Husqvarna Factory Rally Team | Husqvarna | +12'53.80 | |
| 5 | Renet Pierre-Alexandre | FRA | Husqvarna Factory Rally Team | Husqvarna | +13'14.60 | |
| 6 | Walkner Matthias | AUT | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | +16'05.60 | |
| 7 | Meo Antoine | FRA | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | +36'28.70 | |
| 8 | Giemza Maciej | POL | Orlen Team | KTM | +53'13.90 | |
| 9 | Al Balooshi Mohammed | UAE | Ride to Abu Dhabi Team | KTM | +56'01.30 | |
| 10 | Tomiczek Adam | POL | Orlen Team | KTM | +1:23'44.60 |
Location Information
We have great pleasure in welcoming you to the desert landscapes of Qatar and we hope that our varied desert terrain of soft sand, of dunes, of hard and rocky terrain all provide suitable challenges for our FIA and FIM World Championship contenders and competitors over the five hard days… read more.
Losail International Race Circuit, Municipalidad de Al Daayen, Catar - View in Google Maps
Records
| 2017 | Sam Sunderland (KTM) |
| 2016 | Sam Sunderland (KTM) |
| 2015 | Marc Coma (KTM) |
| 2014 | Joan Barreda (Honda) |
| 2013 | Marc Coma (KTM) |
| 2012 | Marc Coma (KTM) |
