Joan ‘Bang Bang’ Barreda rode a superb fourth stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, winning the special and remaining alone up front from the start to the finishing-line in Qasr Al Sarab. It was a different start from the normal ones, with riders setting off in groups of fifteen at the same time. Barreda got off to a flying start on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, and upped the pace after the refuelling, crossing the line with a 1 minute 20 second advantage over Marc Coma. The rider who hails from Spain’s Castellón stands third on the overall leader-board.
Paulo Gonçalves kept up a cracking rhythm throughout most of the day, taking care not to lose Barreda and Coma, although a slight error on one of the dunes saw him lose a little time. In spite of this, the reigning world champion finished in third and climbs a place in the overall standings, just one and a half minutes behind Marc Coma as the race heads into its final stage.
Team HRC’s third rider HélderRodrigues, put in a comfortable ride to finish fifth. The Portuguese rider who has put Monday’s mishap behind him moves up to seventh place in the overall standings.
Tomorrow sees the fifth and final stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, with a 244.77 km special. Team HRC will be fighting to the final metre to obtain victory in the test and notch up a respectable final overall team result.
Joan Barreda: Today was a really good day. After the first day without a very good feeling and some problems, suddenly we found a good pace and a good rhythm. The last two or three days we’ve found a really good speed, always pushing. We have another victory. I know that it is not easy to win this rally, but tomorrow we will be giving it our all.
