Just read Darryl's FB update and Riaan had a big wipeout today, destroying his nav tower. He still managed 17th in the stage though and they'll get the bike sorted for tomorrow. Sounds like Riaan's okay as well.
Riaan's OK, the tough bugger. Just got this from Darryl:What happened yesterday:It was a rough stage, Riaan had some pain in his hand from the crash he had in Botswana earlier in the year. His rear brake failed in the special and he rode the last 140Km with no rear brake. Ruben Faria withdrew from a similar injury, Barreda took the win. Riaan moved up in the overall rankings to 14th. The team gave Riaan a Factory WP Trax rear shock, this will improve the handling dramatically.
Todays stage: 49Km Liasion, 295Km special, 17Km LiasionIt was an unlucky day for Broadlink KTM’s Riaan van Niekerk as he crashed heavily
on the stage today at around the 240Km mark, it was super dusty and Riaan had chased dust from the start, he had managed to pass Frans Verhoefen and was stuck behind Botturi in 12th place. The handling of the bike was way better with the Factory rear WP shock that they had fitted the night before, but that was not enough to save the dip in the track that Riaan hit. It was shortly after a refuel and how the riders measure the fuel is to fill the rear tank up first then switch the tanks to level the fuel out. Riaan had forgotten to switch the fuel tap and this probably contributed to the crash. The navigation equipment was completely smashed and he also picked up a speeding penalty on the way home. Riaan rode out the stage and the liasion to Erfoud with a buckled front wheel
. This is the nature of rallies and when you go down, its normally big. He is a bit bruised but will start day 5 tomorrow.
Paulo Gonzalves took the win on his Honda today ahead of Marc Coma on the Factory Red Bull KTM, they were followed by Helder Rodrigues, Olivier Pain and Sam Sunderland. Riaan finished in 17 today despite the crash and will still maintain his 14th overall.
Tomorrows stage: 14Km Liasion, 310Km special, 25Km LiasionStage 5 will be the longest stage of the rally, a winding track between the hills will lead competitors to a spectacular palm grove where photographers will be waiting to get the best shot. The descent of the river will be along the Chebbi dunes toward Merdani, where they will make the crossing of the dunes from east to west, where they will find the service point in Merzouga.Tricky navigation to the finish on parallel tracks.
Topic: Rally Maroc starts this weekend!! (Read 4005 times)
