Rafa\u0142 Sonik had the third time during the prologue to this year\u2019s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which begins the race for the FIM World Cup. His greatest rival, Ignacio Casale, was the fastest, yet a lot points to the fact that the Polish participant is in a better situation before the first day on the desert.<\/p>\n
\u2018I drove calmly in the prologue, because I wasn\u2019t sure whether I manage to get into the top 15 that may choose their starting positions, as the motorcycle participants are very strong. I missed by seven seconds \u2013 I planned to complete the route in three minutes. And I did. Plus seven seconds,\u2019 laughed Sonik after the Saturday\u2019s warm-up. <\/p>\n
The fans that observed the prologue could be surprised that the defender of the World Cup title clearly does not put his foot down. He had his plan, and the \u201cOld Man\u201d is famous for his perseverance in following through with his tactics in the world of rallies. \u2018The starting positions are just like I wanted them to be. Ignacio is starting as the 10th participant, I\u2019m 22nd. I can\u2019t predict how the race will go, but the starting position is very good. In theory, I should be up by two, maybe three positions before the bike riders catch up with me. The best of the best are positioned at the very end. If I manage to stay with them for a while, I should catch up with the Chilean and I won\u2019t allow him to escape,\u2019 promised Sonik. <\/p>\n
Ignacio Casale\u2019s choice is quite surprising. Sonik conceded that had his rival, with his eight result after the prologue, chosen to be eighth before the last participant, it would be much more difficult to avoid losing time. \u2018From this we can gather that he feels confident here. According to the rules of the rally, I\u2019m in a better position, but who knows, perhaps he\u2019ll be the king of this desert? Like Sebastian Husseini did in his time \u2013 as long as he didn\u2019t experience any equipment failures or didn’t have any accidents, he was unrivalled. Also, we\u2019ve never compared what Yamaha and Honda are capable of, head to head. We have a very interesting day ahead of us,\u2019 concluded Sonik.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the participants will drive into the desert. 278 km of a special stage is waiting for them. It will be the first out of five stages that will decide on the results of the first round of the World Cup series.<\/p>\n
Results of the prologue
\n1. Ignacio Casale (CHL) 2.03
\n2. Camelia Liparoti (ITA) 2.20
\n3. Rafa\u0142 Sonik (POL) 3.07<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rafa\u0142 Sonik had the third time during the prologue to this year\u2019s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which begins the race for the FIM World Cup. His greatest rival, Ignacio Casale, was the fastest, yet a lot points to the fact that the Polish participant is in a better situation before the first day on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n