Another “scalp” and the fifth World Cup goes to Rafał Sonik

Atacama Rally used to be the only rally in the current FIM cycle that Rafał Sonik hasn’t managed to win. Until now. On Saturday, the Polish quad rider won the fifth stage and won the rally, and like previous years, he secured another World Cup title one round before the end of the season, adding the fifth title to his collection.

The Chilean part of the rivalry of the best quad riders and bikers entered the calendar of the FIM World Cup in 2015. Before then, four editions of the rally took place, and the first place never went to a contestant from outside South America. Rafał Sonik went down in history by completing his “crown of cross-country rallies” with the last missing “scalp”.

‘It was here, on Atacama, where I débuted in 2009. I came to Dakar for the first time and when I went down the dunes to Copiapo, I felt like an explorer that was about to reach the pole. After years of competing, my ambition, my learning skills and my endurance allow me to win with local contestants who know the area much better than I do. This win forms a closure for the eight years of competing in South America,’ concluded Sonik.

His win in Chile secured the fifth World Cup in his career and the fourth one in a row. He secured the trophy one round before the end of the season, like one, two, and three years ago. Will this become a rule? ‘I’m happy that I can take my hand off my driving wheel and straighten all my fingers. I can only dream to put all my hands high up into the air. For now, one of them must be stuck to the driving wheel,’ he laughs.

The newly crowned winner of the Atacama Rally trophy has one month to rest, because on the 1st of October OiLibya Rally begins in Morocco. “SuperSonik” will not fight for the best result there, he will focus on testing his quad. After improvements, this quad will swim to South America to take part in the Dakar Rally.

‘I put off all the celebrations until October. I know that in terms of points, my win in the World Cup is a sure thing, but I’m a superstitious person and I’d rather wait until the very end’, concluded Sonik, bearing a happy smile on his face.

World Cup Classification 2016:

1. Rafał Sonik (POL) 102
2. Ignacio Casale (CHL) 47
3. Sebastien Souday (FRA) 28