Following the cancellation of the opening stage yesterday due to bad weather, the rally got underway today with the first timed kilometers contested on a 346.51km special stage linking San Miguel de Tucumán with San Fernando del valle de Catamarca.
The weather conditions continued to cause some disruption with the start being delayed by one hour and 15 minutes, but this did not deter Team HRC’s Helder Rodrigues. The Portuguese rider put in a seamless performance aboard his Honda CRF450 Rally, completing the special stage with no mistakes to take the victory with a time of 4h54”49.
The stage also proved successful for Pizzolito, who led on the road for the majority of the today’s race and eventually finished in seventh on the timesheet, 6.23 minutes behind his team-mate. The rally will continue tomorrow with a 713.29km stage from San Fernando del valle de Catamarca to Belén, including 247.12km of liaison and a 466.17km special stage.
Helder Rodrigues #3:
I am very happy. It was a very long and technical stage, mainly through the mountains with many twists and turns. My Honda was really good on this technical terrain. I am really pleased with the result, both for myself and for the team because everyone is working so hard.
Javier Pizzolito #7:
This was a very technical stage for my riding style. I am more of a sand rider so I’m not used to the rocky terrain, but I did quite well. I’m really happy for Helder and his victory for the team. Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s stage, which I’m expecting to be quite tough with a lot of navigation.
Martino Bianchi – General Manager Team HRC Rally:
We are really happy with today’s results. It's great for the morale of the team, for HRC and Honda, but especially for Helder. This victory was very important to him and proves that he is a fast and talented rider in the tough conditions that the Ruta 40 presents. Javier did a great job on terrain he is not used to and we're also very happy with the performance of the CRF450 Rally during this very technical stage. There is still a long way to go, but this is a very good way to start the rally.
Special stage 2 results:
1. Rodrigues (Team HRC) on 4h57’29”
2. Coma (KTM) + 2’40”
3. Goncalves (Speedbrain Honda) + 3.04”
4. Lopez ( KTM) + 4’38”
5. Caselli (KTM) + 4’46”
6. Casteau (Yamaha) + 5’17”
7. Pizzolito (Team HRC) + 6’23”
