A solid set of results in the Sardinia Rally Race – the fourth round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship – keeps Team HRC firmly on track towards their ultimate goal this season. The rally sees the team accumulate more mileage while gaining valuable experience and insights.

Team HRC had headed into the unpredictable and demanding Sardinia Rally sharply focused on twin-objectives: taking home a respectable result and getting some serious kilometres of navigational practice under the belt. In spite of a setback on day two, where Paulo Gonçalves watched his chances of an overall win all but fade, the Portuguese rider was nevertheless able to put on a spectacular three-day final spurt, with a great display of concentration and speed, that rocketed him from 16th position to 4th in the general rankings.

Paulo Gonçalves’ efforts see him pull back points from the leaders as well as climbing several places to take fifth-spot in the championship table.

Video highlights can be seen here.

Taichi Honda

Team HRC Rally Project Leader

We have completed our participation in the Sardegna Rally Race, where we were able to thoroughly test out navigational skills. The bike this time was an enduro rather than the usual rally model. Navigation in the Sardinia Rally is particularly difficult and it has been a good experience for Paulo. He had a hard struggle with some heavy rain on the way, but it has helped to gain experience, speed and a greater sense of navigation, so as a consequence, I think that it has been a good race. It’s a step forward in the championship, plus a step in the right direction ahead of the next Dakar Rally, which is our ultimate goal.

2015 Cross Countries Rally
Post-Race Round 4 , 1   Sardinia

Provisional Standings World Championship

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Coma Marc SPA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM 70
2 Piatek Jakub POL Orlen Team KTM 45
3 Walkner Matthias AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM 44
4 Al Balooshi Mohammed 31 UAE MX Raid Dubai KTM 41
5 Goncalves Paulo POR Team HRC Honda 39
6 Monleon Armand SPA KTM Warsaw Rally Team KTM 37
7 Quintanilla Pablo CHI KTM Warsaw Rally Team KTM 37
8 Sunderland Sam 3 GBR Gas Gas Factory Team Gas Gas 36
9 Salvatierra Juan Carlos BOL KTM Warsaw Rally Team KTM 35
10 Barreda Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda 30
11 Faria Ruben 8 POR Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna 30
12 Viladoms Jordi 11 SPA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM 28
13 Nifontova Anastasiya RUS VEB Team Husqvarna 25
14 Rodrigues Helder POR Yamaha Racing Yamaha 19
15 Gaggiani Andrea ITA FZ Factory KTM 16
16 Brabec Ricky USA Team HRC Honda 14
17 Cerutti Jacopo ITA Honda RS Moto Honda 13

TeamHRC Sardegna Rally Race 2015

A solid set of results in the Sardinia Rally Race – the fourth round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship - keeps Team HRC firmly on track towards their ultimate goal this season. The rally sees the team accumulate more mileage while gaining valuable experience and insights. Paulo Gonçalves takes final fourth place.

Location Information

Since the beginning, Bike Village had set the ambitious goal to let Sardegna Rally Race be considered among the great rallies. On the eve of the seventh edition, this goal is perfectly reached. The fans of these fascinating races born in the desert have found in the Sardegna Rally Race… read more.

Budoni, Olbia-Tempio, Italia - View in Google Maps