Four wins out of six rallies. Rafa\u0142 Sonik confirmed that it is very hard to keep up with him on the Qatar desert. On the last day, Alexis Hernandez was slightly faster, but had it not been for the Polish rider, the Peruvian would have a lot of trouble with reaching the finish line. Most importantly, after not so great beginning of the season in Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Rafa\u0142 Sonik climbed the top of the general classification of the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was tough yesterday. The line that I walked to stay in the race was so fine that it was practically invisible. The front suspension held together by the skin of its teeth, but I still had that tiny spark of hope. This spark borne fruit today, giving me the second place in this stage and the win in the entire rally. I won four times and I came up second twice. I simply can\u2019t believe that I did it, after yesterday\u2019s troubles,\u2019 said Sonik at the finish line, clearly emotional.<\/p>\n
The emotions run high \u2013 winning this rally meant becoming the leader in the World Cup. \u2018Here, it\u2019s extremely hard to run away from your rivals. When you follow other rivals\u2019 traces, it\u2019s much easier to navigate the key, most difficult places. This is how I raced here for years with Mohamed Abu-Issa. Seconds count at the finish line, and a failure or a flat tire can be the tipping point. I had serious troubles this year, so the points I gained here are priceless,\u2019 added \u201cSuperSonik\u201d.<\/p>\n
The last day was quite typical, but still, we were in for an adventure anyway. Alexis Hernandez, who set off three minutes after Rafa\u0142 Sonik, caught up with him 90 kilometres in. After that, they drove together, but at some point they started to wander around, trying to find the right way. \u2018My Peruvian colleague lost his patience at some point and just drove ahead. I stopped, I started to shout and waved my arms to make him turn back. I led him, and we found the right way,\u2019 laughed Sonik.<\/p>\n
That was not the end, however. Less than two kilometres before the finish line, something snapped in the exhaust pipe of Sonik\u2019s Yamaha. At the finish line, it turned out that there is a hole the size of a fist in there. \u2018Hernandez had even more troubles. When he turned off his quad at the finish line, he couldn\u2019t get it working again. I had to tow him before he managed to turn on the engine and drive to the bivouac. Had the engine died on him on route, he wouldn\u2019t have reached the finish line,\u2019 commented Rafa\u0142, the new leader and defender of the World Cup title.<\/p>\n
After the Qatar Rally, the riders are in for three months of rest. The next stop in the series in the Atacama Rally in Chile in August, followed by Desafio Ruta 40 soon after it. In the meantime, Rafa\u0142 Sonik will not be the one to lie down and rest. In June, he will participate in the 10th edition of the Sardegna Rally. \u2018This is my favourite rally and I was simply angry when I learned that it\u2019s no longer a part of the FIM World Cup calendar. This is why I\u2019m going there, treating this rally as a great training before the next stages of the fight. And the fight has just began!\u2019 he ended, with a smile.<\/p>\n
Results of the fourth stage:<\/p>\n
General classification:<\/p>\n
World Cup Classification:<\/p>\n
Four wins out of six rallies. Rafa\u0142 Sonik confirmed that it is very hard to keep up with him on the Qatar desert. On the last day, Alexis Hernandez was slightly faster, but had it not been for the Polish rider, the Peruvian would have a lot of trouble with reaching the finish line. Most […]<\/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