Very profitable day for the Repsol KTM riders. Isidre Esteve and Joan Roma took first and second place of the 337 kilometres special of the day. These results allow Isidre Esteve to keep the lead in the overall standings and Roma to move up to the fourth place.
The first long stage of the rally, held in the south of Morocco, was identical to the stage held two years ago, won by Jordi Arcarons. The riders have faced their first four kilometres of dunes, testing some samples of all the kinds of terrain they are going to find from now on.
Isidre Esteve, who took the start of the stage from the top spot of the standings, started in third position riding almost alone during the whole stage and without any problems, very comfortable. He managed to increase his advantage towards Fabrizio Meoni by a couple of seconds. The leading role of the day was played by Joan Roma, who recovered several positions in the overall standings after overtaking several riders and standing lots of dust along the way. Nani rode together with Marc Coma, who, following team orders, stopped eight minutes to wait for him.
Tomorrow will be a hard day for the participants who will have to cover 803 kilometres between Ouarzazate and Tan Tan, in Morocco, with a 351 kilometres special. The race increases its stage length day by day, and tomorrow´s stage is considered a very hard one both for riders and mechanics.
Isidre Esteve:
“There is still a lot of rally left but on days like this you simply have to feel very happy. I won the stage, I´m still leading the overall standings, Nani finished second and the whole team has worked well tuned. The result is satisfactory for all of us. With regard to the development of the stage, the route was quite hard with lots of stones and dust. It was important not to have anybody in front of you to be fast. I caught up with Alfie Cox but couldn´t overtake him until he made a navigation mistake and that allowed me to move on all by myself. All of the riders had the stage itinerary in mind because it was the same as two years ago “.
Joan Roma:
“I thought that the stage would be much more complicated for us. Fortunately I didn´t loose much time because I was able to overtake the others despite the sighting difficulties that forced me to ride slower the first seventy kilometres. Everything went well. Marc made excellent teamwork, Isidre rode also very well and in two days the serious part will finally begin”.
Marc Coma:
“We are a team and we work as such, and each one of us knows the role he has to play. Today I waited for Nani to ride together. We found a lot of dust during the first hundred kilometres of the stage and you could hardly see anything. Then things got better and with faster tracks it was easier to overtake the others”.
Jordi Arcarons:
“It was the first stage we already knew well. The riders found a bit of everything they are going to face from now on. Stony roads, sand, dunes, navigation and fast track to reach the finish. I want to congratulate the three of them because they have all made their job better than I expected. Marc Coma, who has acted as Nani´s squire; Nani who managed to overtake a lot of riders making up positions; and Isidre who has navigated very well achieving a great result”.
Stage Classification
1. Esteve (Repsol KTM) 3.44.27
2. Roma (Repsol KTM) + 16
3. Meoni (KTM) + 22
4. Despres (KTM) + 42
14. Coma (Repsol KTM) + 12.24
General Classification
1. Esteve (Repsol KTM)
2. Meoni (KTM) + 36
3. Despres (KTM) + 59
4. Roma (Repsol KTM) + 4.19
12. Coma (Repsol KTM) + 14.09
Today´s stage
Er Rachidia-Ouarzazate.
Liaison: 56 Kms.
Special: 337 Km.
Liaison: 182 Km.
Total: 575 Km.
And tomorrow….
Ouarzazate-Tan Tan.
Liaison: 176 Kms.
Special: 351 Km.
Liaison: 276 Km.
Total: 803 Km.
