Excellent stuff to follow guys. Well done to the Gonk I'm really happy for HRC - looks like KTM have it on for some competition in the Dakar. Coma must be disappointed but I somehow had the impression he was not his usual self on this rally. I reckon he was conserving himself for the Dakar to be honest. Remember last year he put himself back very seriously by pushing too hard and crashing himself out of what would have been a very interesting comp with mudboy in South America. Gonk on the other hand I think has just achieved alien status with that overall result. As for the F5house: Thank you all for keeping us posted. Good to see the F5results too - same old crew as b4, with me sneaking in a malle moto finish at the back. I'm figuring too old carried Brodo's race number over the finish line.
Looks like I missed a pretty awesome final stage. Very happy for Gonsalvesh! Terrific show from Sam again! Great to see Grabbo grab a stage win!
Well, we really lost part of the drama on this Rallye because we didn't do our homework of figuring out the championship thing before. Looking at it now: Before Morocco, both Coma and Speedy had done the 5 previous rallies of the championship. The results so far were: Coma: 3 victories at 20 points each 1 2nd at 17 points 1 3rd at Sertoes that is worth 30 points (double of the usual 15). Total: 107 Paulo: victory at Sertoes worth 40 points 3 2nds at 17 points each 1 4th at 13 points Total: 104 As only the 5 BEST results count, to improve their total of points: Coma would have to win Morocco, to improve his 2nd place at Argentina. If he would win Morocco, his total of points on the championship would climb to 110 and he would win the championship regardless of Gonçalves placing. So, it was all or nothing for Marc but he could still hope for Gonçalves to do worst. As for Gonçalves, he would only win the championship if we would either be : A) 1st or B) 2nd and better than Coma, All other combinations Coma would win the championship. A tie was never on the table. Basically it was win it or bin it for Gonçalves and hence his concentrated semblant the whole race. Fantastic job on holding the pressure. Usually prone to nav mistakes like his coleague Barreda, this time Paulo did really well considering what was at stake.
Hélder Rodrigues Desde já gostaria de dar os parabéns ao Paulo Gonçalves pelo título de Campeão do Mundo. Foi um dia importante para a equipa, conseguimos vencer este Rally com o Paulo a conquistar o primeiro lugar. É o reconhecimento de um trabalho que está a ser desenvolvido pela Honda Japão há vários meses. A nível pessoal, hoje terminei em segundo mas o problema eléctrico ocorrido na segunda etapa retirou-me todas as hipóteses de lutar por um bom resultado. Mas estou confiante que estamos no bom caminho para o Dakar. At the outset I would like to say congratulations to Paulo Gonçalves for the title of world champion. It was an important day for the team, we can beat this Rally with Paul to win the first place. Is the recognition of a work that is being developed by Honda Japan for several months. On A personal level, today I finished second but the electrical problem occurred in the second step took me every chance to fight for a good result. But I am confident that we are well on the way to Dakar. (Translated by Bing)
Joan Barreda Hoy ha sido un día complicado de navegación. Salía delante y la única opción que tenía era la de tratar de tirar al máximo, ya que Paulo [Gonçalves] salía por detrás de mí. Pero sobre el kilómetro 40 he sufrido una pequeña caída. He vuelto un poco nervioso y no encontraba la pista, ya que en la caída se me ha roto el road book. Me he ido tranquilizando y he conseguido alcanzar a los pilotos delanteros, y recuperar algo de tiempo, en un way point que ellos no encontraban. Pero sin el road book he tomado la dirección equivocada al inicio del tramo de dunas. He podido retomar la dirección, ayudando a Paulo [Gonçalves] que también andaba perdido. Me alegro por su título de Campeón del Mundo y por todo el equipo. A nivel personal, también estoy contento. Ha sido una carrera muy buena, con un nivel muy alto y un podio siempre es positivo. No ha sido fácil, ya que hemos estado todo el año parados, sin competir, pero hemos trabajado mucho y creo que estamos en la buena línea. Esperamos que en el Dakar todavía podamos mejorar. "Today was a difficult day of sailing. He came out front and was the only option that had the of trying to shoot the most, now that Paulo [Gonçalves] came behind me. But about 40 kilometer I suffered a small drop. I've become a bit nervous and couldn't find the track, since in the fall has broken me the book 'road'. I have been reassuring me and I managed to catch up with the front riders, and regain some time, into a 'point way' that they were not. But without the 'road book' I have taken the wrong direction at the start of the stretch of dunes. I have been able to resume the direction, helping Paulo [Gonçalves] which was also lost. I'm happy for his world champion title and the staff. On a personal level, I'm also happy. It has been a very good career, with a very high level and a podium is always positive. It has not been easy, since we have been all year unemployed, without competing, but we worked hard and I think we're on the good line. We hope that the Dakar we can still improve." (Translated by Bing) (look at the L side of the fairing)
Kurt Caselli Done and done. Morocco was tough but great testing on the new KTM and some good navigation practice for DAKAR 2014. Big thanks to KTM and all the mechanics!
Riaan van Niekerk Rally of Maroc done and dusted. Was definitely not an easy one for me this year. I have a lot of home work to from now until Dakar. Still finished a respectable 11th overall. Very blessed to have the Broadlink KTM Rally behind me. Letting me live my dreams....
You can see the broken RB Reader and the exposed RB plus some scratches on the R side of the bike. Looks like HRC needs to start using a properly crash tested Aurora Rally Equipment - Mk I Roadbood Reader.
Somewhat related post on FB from Vladimir & Pyndon. I thought it was funny. Vladimir Kusnier Great day in the dunes with Lyndon Poskitt, we ended up hanging on Marc Coma last few km before finish line with helicopter above Lyndon Poskitt Seriously though, re. the helicopter footage, I think we were in big trouble!! Vladimir was railing the dunes next to coma and I was just behind with Caselli.....the helicopter came so close I thought it was Caselli's bike popping off the rev limiter, then I saw the camera man waving me out of the way! I'd love to see the footage of them coming into the finish of the rally with me and Vladimir guiding them in....classic!
OiLibya Morocco Rally 2013 Stage 6, The Unseen tracks, 285 km in total, 219 km Special stage Goncalves is Rally World Champion Paulo Goncalves has won the OiLybia Morocco Rally, final round of the FIM Cross Country World Championship, and taken the world title from his arch rival Marc Coma, the defending champion. "Speedy" Goncalves aboard his HRC Honda and KTM pilot Coma produced a nail-biter on the closing 219 kilometre long special stage, with the lead and therefore the virtual title outcome changing several times. In the end, after one of the most dramatic finishes in the recent history of raid rally racing, Goncalves prevailed by winning the rally - and capturing his first-ever world championship. The Portuguese finished today´s stage in fifth position, one place ahead of Coma, sealing the crown by 3:50 minutes over his Catalan competitor. Paulo Goncalves: "I´m over the moon to clinch the title at the final race for Speedbrain. We´ve shown before at the previous five races that we have the winning speed everywhere. The team has always done a great job, we were able to keep the title fight open with our Speedbrain bike against World Champ Marc Coma all the way until this week´s final showdown. It´s even more exciting to have my team prepare our new Honda CRF450 Rally in the usual perfect way. It gave me the confidence to attack. I began today´s final stage with a very small advantage and managed to keep it. It was a super narrow title decision, I had to give it all. Many thanks to Speedbrain and to Honda for the brilliant bike, also to my friend and teammate Joan Barreda for his perfect teamplay." Joan Barreda: "Congratulations to Paulo! I´m extremely pumped for him, being able to earn the rewards of a very strong and consistent season. For myself it was important to see where I stand after nine months not competing in rally racing. I trained hard and I´m happy to win three stages and to finish the race on the podium. Morocco is a tough and tight race. It´s good to see I could help Paulo. Today I wanted to go to the front, but I hit the ground soon after the start and lost minutes while repairing my bike. I came from behind and was able to get back to the front before my navigation device stopped working as a result of the crash. Marc could pass and take second place away from me." Goncalves won two of the six stages in Morocco, his teammate Joan Barreda won three stages. The Iberian Speedbrain Honda pair dominated the proceedings from the word go, shocking the field with their speed and coolness. The title win is a remarkable feat for Speedbrain mastermind Wolfgang Fischer and his whole crew as well as for Honda, who returned to rally racing with an official factory effort just 15 months ago. Goncalves meanwhile had successfully raced the first five rounds of the 2013 World Championship aboard the Bavarian Speedbrain 450 Rally machine. He won one round with the in-house developed rally weapon and kept Coma honest all the way to the finale in Morocco. In preparation of the Rally Dakar, Speedbrain with its knowledge and top riders, and HRC Honda with their brand new Honda CRF450 Rally, created a winning combination. It works either way, as over 450cc World Cup winner Juan Carlos Salvatierra has shown. The Bolivian rode three races of the World Cup season with a Honda and three with a Speedbrain 450 Rally. Eventually he took the title, just like Goncalves did today. Results Stage 6: 1. Ben Grabham (AUS, KTM) 2:26:39 hrs 2. Helder Rodrigues (PRT, Honda) +00:01:18 3. Kurt Caselli (USA, KTM) +00:02:41 4. Jeremias Israel (CHL, Speedbrain) +00:03:00 5. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Honda) +00:04:56 6. Marc Coma (ESP, KTM) +00:08:26 7. Frans Verhoeven (NLD, Yamaha) +00:11:06 8. Alessandro Botturi (ITA, Speedbrain) +00:16:40 9. Joan Barreda (ESP, Honda) +00:17:14 10. Olivier Pain (FRA, Yamaha) +00:18:35 Overall Results: 1. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Honda) 17:08:59 hrs 2. Marc Coma (ESP, KTM) +00:03:44 3. Joan Barreda (ESP, Honda) +00:07:39 4. Chaleco Lopez (CHL, KTM) +00:32:58 5. Sam Sunderland (GBR, Honda) +00:45:57 6. Ben Grabham (AUS, KTM) +00:55:08 7. Kurt Caselli (USA, KTM) +01:04:32 8. Olivier Pain (FRA, Yamaha) +01:06:09 9. Alessandro Botturi (ITA, Speedbrain) +01:08:58 10. Frans Verhoeven (NLD, Yamaha) +01:41:38
Congratulations to Grabbo for the stage win ! Speedy totally deserves this #1 plate .. especially after mud gate Way to go Paulo ! Good guys do finish first !
Congrat Paulo!!! And great job Grabbo ..on the older bike too and all. What can he do on the new one. KTM ...nudge nudge.
