Rafał Sonik heading towards the podium during a high-elevation struggle

For the first time in ten years, the upcoming Dakar Rally is not going to include Argentina. One might think that the organizers of the Desafio Ruta 40 are determined to make up for it during the fourth round of the FIM World Cup. With not a single day to catch a breath, more and more participants drop off the race due to exhaustion, accidents, and breakdowns. Meanwhile, despite a long break, Rafał Sonik keeps a steady tempo and the excellent third position in the competition.

The start of the second but last SS had been moved 25 km forwards to avoid a damaged and precarious fragment filled with loose stones. The majority of a 350-kilometer long route was going through the mountains, reaching even 4000 m. Many participants felt the effects of the high altitude. Fortunately, 10 years of racing had prepared Rafał Sonik to operate in various, sometimes extreme conditions, and the „thin air” made little impression on him.

„The cold was much more annoying”, admitted the 6-time FIM Word Cup winner. „We mainly drove through riverbeds, although some of them were far from dry. We ran into frozen streams in the morning and over one hundred ice-cold rivers on the way to the finish line. I got really cold since after all that, my boots were soaked and my pants wet”, said Sonik.

The racers blazed through a fragment of the same SS that Sonik and Kamil Wiśniewski conquered in 2017. „I think Kamil would agree that is was the nastiest fragment we had ever raced. It is a huge open space crisscrossed with shallow, dry riverbeds. There are tons of stones, rocks, and boulders hidden among grey, low vegetation. It is a moonlike landscape which today I decided to approach carefully. It was much more important to me to keep the third place than to risk it all and fight with Maksimow for the second,” admitted the Polish champion.

Meanwhile, the Russian opponent took the risk and barely avoided a serious injury trying to increase the advantage over Sonik. „His quad hit a boulder and Aleksander was hurled into the air. The entire navigational panel was destroyed, so he had to follow a biker in order to stay on the route. Even though the last section of the SS was much easier, he still wouldn’t be able to find his way on his own,” commented „SuperSonik”.

In the end, the Russian quad rider not only made it to the finish line but also scored the second best time. The win was claimed by Nicolas Cavigliasso, who strengthened his overall leading position. Rafał Sonik was third with only one racing day left. The stretch from Villa Union to San Juan should allow him to take the place on the podium for the second time this season.

Stage IV results
1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG) 5:39.47
2. Aleksander Maksimow (RUS) +3.29
3. Rafał Sonik (POL) +49.11
4. Nicolas Robledo (COL) +1:14.53

FIM General Ranking:
1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG) 19:06.14
2. Aleksander Maksimow (RUS) +1:05.46
3. Rafał Sonik (POL) +2:02.00
4. Nicolas Robledo (COL) +8:08.26

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