A positive second day in the PAX Rally of Portugal for the Repsol team as there were victories in both the car category as well as in that for motorbikes. Peterhansel, on four wheels, and Coma, on two, were the stars on a day when light rain appeared and made the temperatures drop. In the overall classification things are red hot with Alphand and Sainz tied in first position, Peterhansel tucked in behind them, and “Nani” Roma less than one minute in their wake. In motorbikes, Coma moved up a position, and is just 14 seconds off the lead.
The Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel was the fastest on today`s special of 199km that took the participants in the PAX Rally to Benavente. Just behind him a fast Joan “Nani” Roma was second, although a puncture prevented him from getting an even better result. Luc Alphand was sixth, losing the two second lead he had over Carlos Sainz from yesterday, and the two are now tied at the top of the overall classification. With this victory, Stéphane Peterhansel has climbed to third place, and is only two seconds behind them, guaranteeing a tough fight in what is left of this rally.
In the motorbike category, Marc Coma imposed himself on the race today, and he is now second in the overall classification, 14 seconds behind the Portuguese rider Rubén Faria. In spite of a tough, twisty route which complicated the ride on his KTM 690 Rally, the Repsol rider was able to dominate the stage with his technique on the slippery Portuguese tracks to stay in with a chance of winning the rally. His teammate Gerard Farrés, was able to improve on yesterday’s result and finished 8th, climbing to ninth position in the overall classification.
Tomorrow, after having completed the two longest stages in this rally, the cars and bikes will do two special sections of 90km one of which was down for this year`s Dakar, across a military zone towards the town of Alcohete.
Luc Alphand,
“To be tied first with Carlos Sainz after almost six hours of driving is absolutely incredible. Having said this, the fact that I won yesterday meant that we started first today, and it was not at all easy. We spent most of the stage sweeping a layer of powder and gravel off the tracks, so that those coming up behind us found a better grip. The surface was much slippier than yesterday, and you had to brake very carefully. And we lost a few seconds at some forks when we slid too much, but in spite of all this I am delighted to say that our car is very fast .”
Stéphane Peterhansel,
“Today`s special went much better. We did not have any problems, the tracks were much cleaner, and I was able to keep up a good pace, fast and consistent from the start to the finish. After the first two special sections in the mountains around Castelo Blanco, tomorrow we will have a change, the surfaces will be much sandier. I am not sure how it will affect our times, but we are certainly going to carry on fighting.”
Joan “Nani” Roma,
“In today’s stage I got a better pace towards the end, although three kilometres from the finishing line I had a puncture. I did not stop to change the wheel, and in the end I believe that I have lost about 30 or 40 seconds. The race is getting very exciting, although there are a lot of kilometres left, and it seems that starting tomorrow we will have more sand. We will continue to put the pressure on and we will see what happens.”
Marc Coma,
“Today we had a similar stage to yesterday`s. Maybe at some points it was a little faster, but in general it was a very technical, slow terrain. At the halfway stage we had some rain, but not enough fell for you to notice it on the tracks, it only spoilt the visibility a little. These were tracks you skidded a lot on, it is a very hard terrain with a layer of dust that interferes with the grip. With such a big motorbike the truth is that it is complicated and it became a very demanding stage. A small mistake when braking can mean that you go off the track right away because they were very narrow. As for the navigation, it seems that there will be very little. I am pleased because we have continued to ride without any problems, without taking any risks and the kilometres are going by. ”
Gerard Farrés
“Today went much better than yesterday. Being the second day I was more comfortable on the motorbike and I had much better sensations. It was easier to ride today, and it did not take me as much effort as yesterday to move this motorbike, which as I said is bigger and heavier than the one that I am used to. Just like yesterday I concentrated on following the indications in the roadbook the best I could, since it is what I want to improve. I was able to find all the marked points without problems, so I am satisfied with how things went today, because I hardly did any navigation and I am not making any mistakes. I am happy to have continued riding well on this motorbike, to carry on learning, and with to go faster little by little, without any problems.”
