The Repsol riders, Marc Coma and Jordi Viladoms continue to play a leading role in Rally Morocco. In the second stage held this morning, Coma finished second and Jordi Viladoms, showing good teamwork, came in fourth. With this result, the several times winner of the Dakar is closing in on his teammate in the overall standings, who is 28 seconds clear.
Today’s stage was cut short due to an accident involving one of the organisation’s cars, and in the end, there was only one special of 170 kilometres. Located in the south west territory of Zagora, next to the border with Algeria, the stage was held in Ouarzazate, known territory for Coma and Viladoms from when the Dakar passed through it. The Repsol riders have found similar territory to yesterday’s, with fast rocky tracks, full of stones and holes, and as a second round was not held, they avoided the problems they had with the dust raised by the last cars.
Demonstrating good team work, as in the Dakar Rally, Jordi Viladoms waited for Marc Coma at the start of the special and both riders rode to the finish line together. Last January, the South American race demonstrated the importance of the team work of the Repsol KTM team, a task that they also put into practice in races like today’s, in which Coma finished second, at 2 minutes and 25 seconds from Despres, and Viladoms fourth, at 5 minutes and 4 seconds.
Tomorrow, after a 99-kilometre liaison, Viladoms and Coma will tackle a 184-kilometre special, which they will do twice. Sand will put in a significant appearance in this stage, as it crosses the Chegagga Erg (sand dunes) and where navigation will increase.
Marc Coma
“Today, we had a typical Moroccan stage, with tracks full of stones, although quite a lot faster than yesterday’s stage, and with a little cross-country at the beginning. Then, part of the special was through areas which we passed through in the Dakar, so it was more familiar territory for us. I’m very happy because I felt physically fit and today, with a faster stage, I noticed that I had a faster pace than yesterday. Tomorrow, we’ll have a stage with dunes, which could be complicated because it’s quite hot, more than usual, and the sand could be soft. We’ll have to see what it’s like, but personally, I’m looking forward to it.”
Jordi Viladoms
“Today’s stage was similar to yesterday’s, with a little cross-country and a little sand, but in general it went through unruly tracks, with lots of stones and holes and then through more open terrain. The only slight difficulty was the second half of the special, at a navigation point, where we lost just under a minute, so I’d say that the stage went very well and with no mistakes. We rode working on the team tactics, training for Dakar, and acting as we would have done there. I waited for Marc [Coma] at the start of the special and respecting the safety distances, in order not to ride in the dust, I rode with him, paying attention not to loose his wheel.”
