The first section of the marathon stage of this year\u2019s OiLibya Rally was disrupted by the Moroccan army, who crossed the route of the rally and stopped a dozen or so bikers. The organizer had to cancel the first 130 km, to ensure that all participants have equal chances for the win. Rafa\u0142 Sonik, who managed to cover the last several dozen of kilometres without a steering damper, arrived at the finish line with the second best time and went up in the classification by one position.<\/p>\n
\u2018This stage was absolutely horrible,\u2019 said quad rider, tired, at the finish line. \u2018I lost my steering dumper, which works as a power steering system in quads. In order to keep the steering wheel in my hands, I had to sit all the time. My driving speed went down, and I got exhausted. All things considering, the result is absolutely fantastic,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Rafa\u0142 Sonik, like other competitors, made several navigation mistakes. It was both due to a very sparsely prepared roadbook, but also due to the focus that was needed while driving on a not fully operational quad. \u2018We drove today in incredible heat, everything is overheating. I can\u2019t do any repairs now. In the morning, when the dumper cools down, I will check whether I can just screw it back on, or whether it simply broke down,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
If the latter is true, it means that the five-time winner of the World Cup will have to drive the entire stage on Wednesday on a damaged quad. \u2018It\u2019s not the end of the world. My arms will hurt more and I\u2019ll have blisters on my hands. I\u2019ll need to work more, physically, but I\u2019ll reach the finish line,\u2019 promised Sonik, with optimism.<\/p>\n
Despite these adventures, he was in a great mood. Probably the mood after the very difficult special stage was greatly improved by how the bivouac, where the competitors are not allowed to use the assistance of their service teams, looked like. \u2018It\u2019s like during the old Dakar Rallies. We\u2019re sleeping in tents, on the Sahara desert. Starry sky above us \u2013 and silence. It\u2019s fantastic,\u2019 he summarized.<\/p>\n
The marathon stage ends on Wednesday. The competitors will cover 290 km of a special stage, only to surrender their machines to mechanics after two heavy days of racing. Wednesday will also mark the half of the rally \u2013 they will start the last final straight, to be finished on Friday in Erfoud.<\/p>\n
Results of the second stage:
\n1.\u00a0Sebastien\u00a0Souday\u00a0(FRA)\u00a002:34.59
\n2.\u00a0Rafa\u0142\u00a0Sonik\u00a0(POL)\u00a0+\u00a017.00
\n3.\u00a0Bruno\u00a0da\u00a0Costa\u00a0(FRA)\u00a0+\u00a0+36.43<\/p>\n
Rally classification:
\n1.\u00a0Sebastien\u00a0Souday\u00a0(FRA)\u00a004:27.01
\n2.\u00a0Rafa\u0142\u00a0Sonik\u00a0(POL)\u00a0+\u00a026.13
\n3.\u00a0Bruno\u00a0Da\u00a0Costa\u00a0(FRA)\u00a0+\u00a044.40<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first section of the marathon stage of this year\u2019s OiLibya Rally was disrupted by the Moroccan army, who crossed the route of the rally and stopped a dozen or so bikers. The organizer had to cancel the first 130 km, to ensure that all participants have equal chances for the win. Rafa\u0142 Sonik, who […]<\/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