The cross-country FIM World Cup series will be opened \u2013 as usual \u2013 by Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The competition in one of the most prestigious and the most competitive rallies in the calendar begins this Saturday. There are 17 quads on the starting list, including two Polish representatives. Rafa\u0142 Sonik and Kamil Wi\u015bniewski decided to join forces once again.<\/p>\n
The cooperation of these two Polish quad riders proved itself useful during the last Dakar Rally. The competitors supported each other in repairing their machines during the marathon stage and helped each other on the road. They decided to build on it during the World Cup rallies to fight for the places on the podium of the next rallies \u2013 and also to help them prepare for the next year\u2019s 40th edition of the South-American Odyssey. They began the new season by testing the machines together.<\/p>\n
\u2018For the past few days, me and Kamil have been driving through the deserts of the United Arab Emirates, covering several hundred kilometres. For safety reasons, we haven\u2019t ventured into the area where the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is to take place, as it\u2019s very hot there and without medical support, it’s better not to go there during the day,\u2019 commented Rafa\u0142 Sonik.<\/p>\n
\u2018We trained at an area that is situated about 100 km away from Dubai,\u2019 he continued. \u2018The desert here is beautiful, the dunes are simply fantastic, and to top it all off, we were lucky, because it rained just before we flew in, so the surface was relatively hard and driving was quite pleasurable. Now, we are in for prologue and five stages of driving along the sand that hasn\u2019t seen even a drop of water, so it will be much harder.\u2019<\/p>\n
The six-times winner of the World Cup has the chance to go down in the history of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. If he wins, he will be the first quad rider who did it three times. However, the road to the top is rocky and steep. It\u2019s enough to take a look at the number of rivals. The quad starting list has 17 names, including four riders from the new Astana Motorsport team, a very experienced rider \u2013 Kees Koolen (the Netherlands), a friend from Dakar \u2013 Alexis Hernandez (Peru) and a strong guard of local participants who know the desert like the back of their hands. \u2018We\u2019re not backing out and we\u2019re not going to play it safe. We\u2019re going to fight for everything \u2013 that is, for the win,\u2019 promised Sonik.<\/p>\n
Kamil Wi\u015bniewski is also in a fighting mood. \u2018Last year, I couldn\u2019t train on the desert. I already know that these training sessions will help me during the rally itself. I\u2019m faster and more experienced with the dunes,\u2019 he emphasized.<\/p>\n
The younger rider will bear the number 114 during the Saturday\u2019s prologue at Al Forsan International Sports Resort. Rafa\u0142 Sonik\u2019s number throughout the entire season will be 111. \u2018This is no accident, of course. I decided to make a reference here to one of the greatest masters of Polish motorsports \u2013 Tadek B\u0142a\u017cusiak, who ended his sports career in December. In this way, I want to show the respect for his hard work and for his achievements. This is also a commitment and an incentive to become better and better,\u2019 he explained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cross-country FIM World Cup series will be opened \u2013 as usual \u2013 by Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The competition in one of the most prestigious and the most competitive rallies in the calendar begins this Saturday. There are 17 quads on the starting list, including two Polish representatives. Rafa\u0142 Sonik and Kamil Wi\u015bniewski decided […]<\/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