{"id":2919,"date":"2015-12-02T12:06:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T11:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rafalsonik.pl\/sportsman\/puchar-swiata\/puchar-swiata-2015\/"},"modified":"2016-09-09T16:31:17","modified_gmt":"2016-09-09T14:31:17","slug":"world-cup-2015","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rafalsonik.pl\/en\/sportsman\/world-cup\/world-cup-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Xw1fBFtU8v0?feature=oembed&#038;showinfo=0&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3>Sonik\u2019s Hat-trick<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe third World Cup in a row and the fourth one in his career \u2013 this is how Rafa\u0142 Sonik ended this fantastic season. Since the very first rally of this season, it was clear that it won\u2019t be easy to get another trophy. The Polish participant fought a fierce fight with Mohamed Abu-Issa, and the tables turned to his favour as late as in Chile, after winning the Rally de Sardegna.<\/p>\n<p>The first win of the season went to the young Qatar representative, who bravely rode through the route of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. In the meantime, Sonik had to face many failures, which made the fight very uneven. Despite that, he managed to take the second place among the sand storm, as a result of which the last stage of the challenge was cancelled. <\/p>\n<p>The time for revenge came in Qatar. The \u201crevenge\u201d was sweet, because Rafa\u0142 Sonik won with Mohamed Abu-Issa on his turf, where Rafa\u0142\u2019s rival feels best. Once again perfect navigation, experience and persistence was the key to success. <\/p>\n<p>The situation was chopping and changing. In the Pharaoh\u2019s Rally, Mohamed Abu-Issa won again, as he did better in Sahara and regained the leading position. Once gain the fate of both rivals was decided on Sardegna. The Italian island is one of the favourite places to ride for Rafa\u0142 Sonik and he proved it by winning there for the third time in a row, and again leading to a draw at the top of the general classification. <\/p>\n<p>The break in the fight between them took place in August, when, for unknown reasons, Mohamed Abu-Issa did not participate in the Atacama Rally. \u201cSuperSonik\u201d came up second, giving way only to Ignacio Casale, and thus securing his fourth World Cup. Winning the Morocco Rally was the cherry on the cake of the entire season and the perfect form of the Poland National Team Captain since the beginning of the year and since winning the Dakar Rally.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>ABU DHABI<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nIn 2015, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge opened the FIM World Cup rally season, as usual. In the preceding year Rafa\u0142 Sonik won the challenge, but before the beginning of another round, he knew that it will be difficult to repeat this success. <\/p>\n<p>And in fact luck did not want to have anything to do with Rafa\u0142 Sonik since the first stages of the rally. During the opening stage he had serious problems with the fuel pump, then with the drive. Despite that, he only lost 10 minutes to the leader and kept his spirits up: \u2018Rallies are stressful, and today the drive belt stressed out \u2013 and broke, and I barely finished this stage. <\/p>\n<p>The next day was no better. During the group start, Rafa\u0142 Sonik started in the second round, leading the weaker bikers and quad riders behind him. He was the one to set the speed, while Mohamed Abu-Issa charged behind the best participants on bikes. The situation was made worse as a result of Sonik\u2019s quad getting buried at the top of a dune \u2013 resulting in the third place. <\/p>\n<p>However, a true master fights until the very end. The third stage went to \u201cSuperSonik\u201d, who finally experienced no technical problems and made up for some of the earlier losses. On the second to last day, he regained the second place, even though he was once again plagued by equipment failures. \u2018I don&#8217;t remember any other rally where I would have so much troubles,\u2019 said Sonik at the finish line.<br \/>\nThe last stage was cancelled due to a huge sandstorm. The participants arrived at the finish line long the access road, and here once again fate smiled to Sonik. Several dozen kilometres in, the engine refused to work and he arrived in Abu Zabi towed by Kamil Wi\u015bniewski, a d\u00e9butante in the World Cup series, who ended the rally on a great fourth position. <\/p>\n<p>He started the season with a second place, which \u2013 considering all the technical problems \u2013 was a fantastic result.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>QATAR<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nRafa\u0142 Sonik was in a difficult position before the Sealine Cross-Country Rally. Mohamed Abu-Issa (Qatar) was a leader after the first rally, and in the second round he was on his home turf \u2013 and hence declared a favourite. It did not discourage him \u2013 Rafa\u0142 likes the hardest of challenges. <\/p>\n<p>This time Honda worked like a charm and the defender of the World Cup title only lost 59 seconds to his rival. It meant that he was set for attack on the following day. \u201cSuperSonik\u201d wasted no opportunity and became the leader after the second stage, only to increase it after the third one. It clearly made Mohamed Abu-Issa nervous, and he rushed forward to make up for the losses. And his bravery was his doom. He damaged his axle shaft, he broke the wheel, and he reached the finish line on a tow, losing any chances of catching up with Sonik. <\/p>\n<p>Mohamed Abu-Issa was the fastest rider of the last special stage, but the win was a consolation prize. Rafa\u0142 Sonik won the rally and there was a draw in points in the general classification of the World Cup. <\/p>\n<p>Rafa\u0142 Sonik had also one more reason to celebrate. Kamil Wi\u015bniewski took the third place in the rally. Kamil did well earlier in the Baja World Cup, but now he started to take advantage of his perseverance and skills in the long-distance rallies.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>EGYPT<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nOn the first day of the Pharaoh\u2019s Rally, Rafa\u0142 Sonik fought with failing electric systems, but he kept his spirits up and laughed that Egypt had treated him lightly. The failure turned out to be easy to repair and while he lost several minutes to Mohamed Abu-Issa, but his rival got a penalty for speeding and for the next two days \u201cSuperSonik\u201d was in the lead. <\/p>\n<p>The Poland National Team Captain kept his first place even after a dangerous situation that happened during the third special stage. &#8216;The road must&#8217;ve turned at a sharp angle, because when I left the dust cloud, I only saw a heap of stone that was 2.5 m high. I managed to brake, release, and then I saw the sky. Luckily, the rear wheels went up, too, so quad turned and went down on its nose. Luckily, there was some sand there and a mild slope, so I managed to land. How did I manage not to roll over the steering wheel? &#8216;I have no idea! I was so sure I was a goner.\u2019 <\/p>\n<p>Everything changed on the fourth day, unfortunately. His side shock damper failed as a consequence of the accident, where Rafa\u0142 and his quad rolled down the dune. Putting the quad the right side up and driving with a faulty quad cost Sonik seven minutes, which allowed Mohamed Abu-Issa to take over the lead. <\/p>\n<p>Mohamed Abu-Issa did not give the second place away, but Rafa\u0142 Sonik, reaching the finish line on the second place, could also feel happy with the success of his younger colleague. Jakub Pi\u0105tek won the bikers\u2019 world cup rally. He was the first Pole to do so in the history of the series and became the vice-leader of the general classification.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>SARDEGNA<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nRafa\u0142 Sonik won Rally di Sardegna for the third time in a row, but as usual, the island bared its teeth. Since the very first kilometres it was not easy, and the defender of the World Cup title had to fight failures and adventures, to get stand on the top of the podium at the finish line. More importantly, Kamil Wi\u015bniewski completed the rally only one position lower. <\/p>\n<p>During the first special stage Sonik had problems with distance meters, which made it very difficult to navigate. One day later he turned into a dead end, and he found himself in a deep ravine. Kamil Wi\u015bniewski and Stephane Marthoud helped him, were it not for them, he would not be able to make up for his losses. <\/p>\n<p>On the third day, the organizers planned a marathon stage. It turned out that it was the tipping point, as the Polish participant took over the lead and held it until the very end. Kamil Wi\u015bniewski tried to keep up with Rafa\u0142 Sonik and regularly arrived at the finish line just behind Rafa\u0142 \u2013 and later they stood proud together on the podium. <\/p>\n<p>The \u201cOld man\u201d, as other participants call Sonik, including Mohamed Abu-Issa, once again showed that despite his age, his experience, routine, intelligence and tactical driving he is able to win with the fastest riders in the world.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>CHILE<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nFor the first time Atacama Rally was a part of the FIM World Cup round, and despite certain shortcomings, it was a success. Racing along the driest and one of the least human-friendly deserts in the world was pretty dramatic. In particular in the quads category, where two eternal rivals faced each other: Rafa\u0142 Sonik and Ignacio Casale. <\/p>\n<p>Before the start, the winner of Dakar emphasized that he will not fight to win in Chile at all costs, because that was not his priority. Rafa\u0142 knew very well that Ignacio Casale will try to show his best side on his home turf and in front of his own fans. He also knew that the second place will be enough to secure the fourth World Cup title in his career. This is why Rafa\u0142 did not intend to fight for every second. He wanted to follow his strong, standard speed. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the safety margin, he won the prologue and two stages, which gave him a large advantage over the rivals, giving him a strong second place. Just behind Casale, who was drunk with joy because of the win. This is why \u201cSuperSonik\u201d proudly raised four fingers up into the air, symbolising four trophies. <\/p>\n<p>It is also important to mention that the rally in Chile was held in pretty unusual circumstances, because the driest desert in the world&#8230; bloomed. At this time of the year, the desert is covered by a colourful carpet of flowers, which completely changes the image of this dry and harsh piece of land.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>MOROCCO<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nQiLibya Rally in Morocco, like a year and two years before, was only to be the icing on the cake. Rafa\u0142 Sonik arrived at the former routes of the Dakar Rally for the third time and he was in a very comfortable position. He had the World Cup title secured, but this did not mean that he would ease off or drive more slowly. \u201cSuperSonik\u201d dominated the rally, winning four out of five stages. <\/p>\n<p>Traditionally, Morocco served as a testing ground for new solutions for the quad, like the configuration of the suspension. However, it did not prevent Sonik from leaving his rivals far behind him and from winning special stages. Only once another quad rider was faster \u2013 Sebastian Souday, who did not complete two previous stages and started the stage several dozen minutes behind the leader, so he was not able to catch up, but his time was better. <\/p>\n<p>Despite this minor \u201cdrawback\u201d, the statistics of the winner of the World Cup in Morocco inspires awe. Rafa\u0142 Sonik won all three editions that he participated in. What is more, he won all special stages but two!<\/p>\n<p>This result is truly incredible, if you consider all the adventures he had this year.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>One day my team accidentally forgot to pack the second part of the roadbook for me, and after the fuel stop, I had to navigate like a true scout. I followed the traces and the dust of my rivals. On the next day, the fuel we got must have been mixed with water. The quad did not want to go, the engine died, did not want to start back again. It\u2019s a wonder that I completed that stage, and it\u2019s even more incredible that nobody caught up with me,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"podpis-margin\">laughed Sonik.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sonik\u2019s Hat-trick &nbsp; The third World Cup in a row and the fourth one in his career \u2013 this is how Rafa\u0142 Sonik ended this fantastic season. Since the very first rally of this season, it was clear that it won\u2019t be easy to get another trophy. The Polish participant fought a fierce fight with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2893,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>World Cup 2015 - Rafa\u0142 Sonik<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rafalsonik.pl\/en\/sportsman\/world-cup\/world-cup-2015\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup 2015 - Rafa\u0142 Sonik\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sonik\u2019s Hat-trick &nbsp; The third World Cup in a row and the fourth one in his career \u2013 this is how Rafa\u0142 Sonik ended this fantastic season. 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Since the very first rally of this season, it was clear that it won\u2019t be easy to get another trophy. 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