After setting the pace just ten days ago in Abu Dhabi, it was once again Team HRC commanding from the outset of the Sealine in Qatar with Joan Barreda taking the honours and the provisional leadership at the end of the first 164.18 km special with start in Losail Circuit. It might have been the shortest stage of the race, but it was one in which riders had to use the full range of their rally skills to make it through. There was plenty of tough navigation, requiring constant and rigorous interpretation of the roadbook, to be able to carve the way through a complicated course.
A flawless Joan Barreda put pedal to the metal on his Honda CRF450 RALLY from the start of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally battling his way past his adversaries in the process. At the end of the special, ‘Bang Bang’ had opened a deficit of more than a minute over Marc Coma, winning the stage and establishing himself as the Sealine’s first leader.
Portuguese Hélder Rodrigues set off at a cracking rhythm, but half-way through the special found himself with navigation instrument troubles forcing the rider to make constant checks on the road-book. Rodrigues now lies fifth on the leader-board. Fellow-countryman and current World Rally-Raid leader, Paulo Gonçalves, made a small but costly navigating error that left him trailing his team-mates by several minutes. The world champion finished in sixth place.
Joan Barreda: I’m really pleased with the stage in Qatar. Not just because I’ve been very fast, but also because of the navigation: I did a really good job. I had tried to change the first day strategy, but in the end I’ve picked up a very important win which sets me up nicely for the next few days.
