Rafał Sonik leads Desafio Ruta 40 after a challenging stage

The wilderness that we know so well from the Dakar Rally is a very challenging terrain. During the second stage of Desafio Ruta 40, navigation was so difficult that the riders had to stop to find the right way. Rafał Sonik did it well enough to take over the leading position in the FIM quads category. However, the beginning of his day was far from easy.

The riders started the second stage of the fourth round of the World Cup series in pairs. Rafał Sonik started the special stage in a pair with Marcelo Fernandez, a local quad rider, who promised from the very beginning that he would drive fast. And his bravado had disastrous effects…

‘Several kilometres from the start I saw the Argentinian rider roll with his quad, 400 metres ahead of me. It looked serious. I stopped right away. The quad was completely destroyed and Marcelo was lying ther unconscious, I wasn’t able to communicate with him. I pressed the safety button that calls for the chopper and I stopped local competitors. I don’t know the language so I couldn’t help them, and they told me to drive along. I hope that nothing serious happened to him, because it looked very badly,’ said Sonik.

After such an experience that makes your blood run cold, no rider is able to catch the rhythm easily. On Monday, navigation did not make it any easier. ‘Without a doubt, that was the greatest challenge! At times, we had to stop to find the right way to go. It wasn’t possible to drive fast or smoothly. A few times we met together, quad riders and bikers alike, in the same place. The column of riders stretched out and pressed closer together like accordion’s bellows,’ commented the defender of the World Cup title on today’s stage.

Rafał Sonik arrived at the finish line of the second stage on the third place. That was enough to take the lead among the FIM series riders. Kees Koolen was the fastest, but he got a penalty of 20 minutes and lost the valuable minutes in the general classification. The place of the stage winner was taken by Rodolfo Guillioli (Guatemala).

On Wednesdays, the riders will face the infamous Fiambala region, known to them from the Dakar Rally. Fiambala is an extremely dry, desert area with low-growing flora, which puts even the most experienced competitors to trouble. Before this stage, Sonik has less than 11 advantage over Pablo Copetti.

Results of the second stage (FIM):
1. (104) Rodolfo Guillioli (GUA) 5:22.27
2. (106) Alexis Hernandez (PER) +2.14
3. (111) Rafał Sonik (POL) +4.21
4. (103) Kees Koolen (NLD) +19.11
5. (112) Pablo Copetti (ARG) +20.57
6. (129) Nicolas Robledo (COL) +59.06

Quads classification (FIM):
1. (111) Rafał Sonik (POL) 10:45.48 2. (112) Pablo Copetti (ARG) +10.45 3. (104) Rodolfo Guillioli (GUA) +13.54
4. (103) Kees Koolen (NLD) +26.57
5. (129) Nicolas Robledo (COL) +2:56.03
6. (106) Alexis Hernandez (PER) +16:19.26