Second place for Kevin Benavides in the penultimate stage

The Qatar Rally produced its toughest day so far with extremely demanding navigation. Kevin Benavides finished second on the day, while Paulo Gonçalves still has options open in the upper-part of the overall table.

A change of scenery at the Qatar Rally brought with it a complicated stage with constant changes of route. Competitors had to be particularly careful with the roadbook to avoid missing any waypoints. The tough 337 kilometres against the clock, however, failed to produce any changes on the overall leader board. Kevin Benavides nevertheless moved up one position.

The Monster Energy Honda Team rider from Argentina rode a fine stage. After getting off to a swift start, the young rider started to post better times from CP1 onwards. After refuelling a minor error in the final section was enough to undo some of the good work done earlier, which should have merited a better prize.

Paulo Gonçalves, meanwhile, was also getting a taste of just how tough the navigating was. A slight misinterpretation of an unclear point meant the Portuguese rider conceded some time to adversaries. Paulo scored the day’s fourth fastest time and clawed back some of the lost time. With just one stage left, the Portuguese rider still holds strong in second overall position.

Tomorrow, Saturday sees the final date of the Qatar Rally at the Losail Circuit after 532 km of competition featuring 343 km against the clock to decide the new winner of this, the second round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.