Atacama Rally: shortened stage, Sonik is back to speed

The second stage of the Atacama Rally took the riders into the endless sandy dunes. Rafał Sonik turned up the pace and finished the stage with the third time. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the opportunity to make up for his losses to his World Cup rivals, because the stage was interrupted after 164 km.

The plan was for the riders to drive through 308 km of a special stage on Tuesday. However, the plan kept being disrupted, which started early in the morning, with… Camanchaca. This specific type of fog that appears in the mornings on Atacama reduces visibility a lot. The start was delayed by one hour, and when the competitors reached half-way, it turned out that the second part of the special stage was cancelled. The only rescue chopper that secures the event took Pierre Renet to hospital, who has had an accident.

‘”Pela” crashed on a hole that deserved two, or even three exclamation marks in the roadbook. Places like this are very dangerous. I was there a dozen or so minutes later. Laia Sanz and the rescue chopper were there. I hope he recovers quickly. He’s a great biker,’ said Rafał Sonik.

As to the results of this half-a-stage, Ignacio Casale was once again the fastest, who, interestingly, competes outside the World Cup classification. He was followed by Kees Koolen, with the Polish rider on the third place. ‘The pace was better. I’m pacing myself, slowly increasing the pressure, to check my condition. The injured leg is working out well, so I’m not going to give up,’ promised Sonik.

‘I noticed a serious defect of the meter which calculates the speed and time, showing the distance. The device provided by the organizers is not precise, so the numbers it gives you might not agree with the roadbook indications. This can turn into a matter of life and death… My device showed a discrepancy of as many as 800m,’ he added, clearly worried.

In the general classification of the Atacama Rally, the only representative of our country is now on the 5th place, even though he could have been third after the Tuesday’s stage. It all came down to the 12-minute penalty for exceeding the allowed speed in the restricted zone. He will have the opportunity to make up for these losses on Wednesday, during a stage of 349 km that begins in the city of Taltal situated at the ocean.

Results of the second stage:
1. Ignacio Casale (CHL) 02:04.46
2. Kees Koolen (NLD) +5.05
3. Rafał Sonik (POL) +9.40
4. Rodolfo Guillioli (GUA) +10.04
5. Alexis Hernandez (PER) +10.59

General classification:
1. Ignacio Casale (CHL) 05:11.22
2. Kees Koolen (NLD) +22.50
3. Alexis Hernandez (PER) +23.10
4. Rodolfo Guillioli (GUA) +27.39
5. Rafał Sonik (POL) +40.11