Morocco Rally: navigation without a map – Sonik’s scouting instincts came out to play

On the second to last day of the Morocco Rally, Rafał Sonik outdistanced his rivals once again. He had the best time out of all quad riders, even though he had to cover half of the special stage without a roadbook – that is without the map that is a must for navigation.

OiLibya Rally welcomed the participants on Thursday with hard, fast routes full of boulders and sharp stones. There were a lot of traps and obstacles that you had to pay particular attention to. The World Cup Winner, who led the quad category from start to finish, faced extra problems.

‘By some unfortunate coincidence, my team mistakenly didn’t pack the second part of the roadbook. The paper roll was very thick, so Julian Villarubia, who is my partner while working out the route for the following day, cut it in half. The mechanics were sure that one of the rolls was for the previous day and did not pack it. I realised it at the gas stop, when I wanted to change the map in the roadbook,’ explained Sonik.

He had no other choice than to navigate using the tracks left by other riders. ‘I was lucky, because Nasser Al-Attiyah went out just before me. He drives fast, and so he makes deeper tracks. When I wasn’t sure where the finish line is, I drove up a hill and I looked for the dust that is disturbed by cars or bikes. Scouting skills came out to play,’ laughed Orlen Team member.

“SuperSonik” estimated that he lost a dozen or so minutes because of this, but as it didn’t have any impact on his result that day, nor on the general classification, he let it slide. On Friday, a difficult stage is waiting for him, so this time the map will be a must. ‘The roadbook is again so thick that we will have to cut it in half, too. Tomorrow will be a day that is a mix of Sardegna and Qatar – lots of turns and junctions on the way to the finish line near the ocean. I’m going to drive calmly and carefully,’ he promised.

PKN ORLEN supports Rafał Sonik’s participation in the rally.

Results of the fourth stage:
1. Rafał Sonik (POL) 03:58.12
2. Aleksandr Maksimov (RUS) + 28.51
3. Eduardo Marcos Echaniz (ESP) + 1:30.00
General classification:
1. Rafał Sonik (POL) 16:08.55
2. Eduardo Marcos Echaniz (ESP) + 8:17.07
3. Cavadonga Fernandez Suarez (ESP) +8:37.06