“Dakar Killer” appears, Rafał Sonik struggles with a double injury

The third stage of Desafio Ruta 40 was another one that was very difficult for all riders. Rafał Sonik felt its claws even more than his rivals because he… sprained his ankle. ‘Now I feel pain in my right knee and my left ankle. But it’s still better now than it was in the morning,’ laughed Kraków’s pride, who reached the special stage’s finish line with the third time.

Six-times winner of the World Cup sprained the ankle during a seemingly harmless incident on Monday. In the evening, at the bivouac, the joint went under the care of the infallible osteopath, Stanisław Czopek, who made it happen that the “sole Pole” in Argentina could continue to fight on Tuesday.

‘Unfortunately, I couldn’t drive very fast because of this. The knee is causing less trouble now, but the ankle in the other leg joined the ranks. As we drove along short, sandy waves, where the quad gets bumped up again and again, the legs serve as a cushion and the pain shots up. It’s better now, after the special stage, than it was yesterday, but my ankle is slowly turning purple,’ he said, smiling widely.

For the FIM trophy defender, the third stage was a true survival and a pain tolerance test. The special stage led through the routes known from the Dakar Rally, which brought many a competitor close to breaking down. Interestingly, as spring is coming in this part of the world, we have experienced the first heatwaves. ‘That was a true ‘Dakar Killer’. Even the temperatures were nasty. While the weather was still far from the January’s heat, but it still reached 30 degrees Celsius.

The characteristics of the route, which promoted fast driving on long stretches, favoured the powerful quad of Kees Koolen.  He arrived at the finish line before Pabo Copetti and Rafał Sonik, who got a penalty from the judges for missing a waypoint a day before. ‘I did lose the top position in the race, but the differences among us are very small. I think that both here and in Morocco we will be fighting until the very last metres. There are four of us in the fight for the main trophy. Alexis Hernandez was unlucky because of the failure, but Kees Koolen drives a ‘nuclear quad’, which doesn’t break down, so a lot can still change,’ commented Sonik.

On Wednesday, the riders will drive from Belen to Tafi del Valle. The main task of the Polish rider for that stage is to maintain the advantage over Kees Koolen, who is growing to be the most serious rival in the World Cup series.

Results of the third stage (FIM):
1. Kees Koolen (NLD) 5:39.46
2. Pablo Copetti (ARG) +7.05
3. Rafał Sonik (POL) +8.10
4. Rodolfo Guillioli (GUA) +17.14
5. Nicolas Robledo (COL) 1:20.24
6. Alexis Hernandez (PER) +22:00.14

Quads classification (FIM):
1. Pablo Copetti (ARG) 16:43.24
2. Rafał Sonik (POL) +6.14
3. Kees Koolen (NLD) +9.07
4. Rodolfo Guillioli (GUA) +12.00
5. Nicolas Robledo (COL) +3:59.37
6. Alexis Hernandez (PER) +35:59.50