Sonik and Casale are fighting neck to neck at the Sardegna Race Rally

Rafał Sonik spent the second stage of the Sardegna Race Rally catching up his losses to Ignacio Casale. The World Cup Leader was second, and even though he is still on the third place in the general classification, he caught up with his Chilean rival significantly.

The French quad riders dominated the two special stages that took place on Saturday. The first stage, of less than 50 km, was won by the leader of the rally, Sebastien Souday. He gave way to his fellow Frenchman, Axel Dutrie, in the second stage that was 60 km long. However, the most interesting things happened behind their back, where the Dakar Rally winners fought viciously.

‘During the first SS I was much faster than Ignacio, but then he caught up with me and stuck with me for the rest of the stage. I could’ve avoided that, but I made a navigation mistake and then I wasn’t able to get free. Sometimes we win, and sometimes we learn. Today I learned,’ said Rafał Sonik as a summary of the day.

Even though both stages were relatively short, the participants had experienced a lot. ‘The route was fantastic. A lot of technical driving in the mountains, which is always a great pleasure. This stage was precisely why I love the Sardegna Race Rally so much,’ said Rafał.

Problems on route troubled Kamil Wiśniewski. He drove on a stone hidden in the grass and he flew over the driving wheel, hurting his elbow a bit. Fortunately, the injury didn’t prevent him from completing the stage. He kept his fourth place in the general classification.

On Sunday, the participants will drive towards Andrax. ‘The quad is working out very well, and Jarek Zając and Marcin Południak are doing beautifully with it. They’re very calm, so when I look at them work, I’m getting calmer about the technical condition of my ride myself,’ emphasized Sonik.

SS3:
1. Sebastien Souday (FRA) 48.40
2. Rafał Sonik (POL) + 1.31
3. Ignacio Casale (CHL) + 4.11
4. Axel Dutrie (FRA) + 5.28
5. Kamil Wiśniewski (POL) + 11.44

SS4:
1. Axel Dutrie (FRA) 1:00.18
2. Sebastien Souday (FRA) + 0.10
3. Ignacio Casale (CHL) + 2.26
4. Rafał Sonik (POL) + 3.40
5. Kamil Wiśniewski (POL) + 16.40

Rally classification:
1. Sebastien Souday (FRA) 05:05.36
2. Ignacio Casale (CHL) + 9.25
3. Rafał Sonik (POL) + 11.14
4. Kamil Wiśniewski (POL) + 40.16