Morocco Rally: Rafał Sonik to fight for the FIM World Cup podium

Dozens of screws and rods in the left knee, nine months of arduous rehabilitation, and two draining rallies in South America. It was a difficult path that Rafał Sonik had to endure to enter the Morocco Rally and fight for the podium in the general ranking. In the final round of the competition, the Pole stands a real chance to reach for his tenth and eleventh medal in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

“Barely a few months ago, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to come back to racing. Now that I got great results in Chile and Argentina, I feel like I have a chance to bring back two medals from Morocco,” admitted the quad rider before leaving Krakow.

Rafał Sonik has claimed the FIM World Championship podium every season since he started to compete for the winning trophy in 2010. Today, despite the serious injury, he might be able to repeat his last year’s result and reach for the silver medal of the championship. The only catch is to stand on the podium of the Saharan challenge. He needs a similar result to keep his leading position among veterans (which combines quad and motorcycle riders). This would mean that the Polish champion would be awarded gold in that category for the second time.

“A week before leaving for Morocco, we got inspired by our volleyball players. Filled with positive energy and motivation, we are ready to take up a fight for the highest bid. The last weeks of rehabilitation have let me believe that this time the pain in my leg will bother me a bit less. I am happy to be able to enjoy the race in one of the most beautiful deserts in the world”, said “SuperSonik”.

Others “White-and-Red” drivers also hope to reach for the biggest prizes in other categories. Perhaps Morocco will be lucky for Jakub Przygoński who might attempt at winning the FIM World Cup. Maciej Giemza is entering the race for the FIM Junior Championship. Sonik will also have a Polish companion in his category. Paweł Otwinowski, who has gained experience during several short Baja rallies and learned the difficult art of navigation during marathons, will also start in the quad category.

All in all, the Polish competitors might bring back three gold medals from the rally that follows the former Paris-Dakar route. To do so, they have to make it swift through the prologue stage and five stages of 1907 km total. The distance for special stages is planned to be 1225km. The cars will have 100 km more to cover, following a slightly different route. The 10-kilometer prolog is planned to set off in the afternoon of October 4^th.