KTM Rally Factory Riders Marc Coma and Jordi Viladoms, both of Spain, wrapped up the Sealine Rally in second and fourth place respectively after the conclusion of the final Leg 5 in the desert of Qatar on Friday. The rally was the second round of the FIM Cross Countries World Championship.
Coma, who raced to the finish line together with overall winner Joan Barreda conceded defeat by just one minute 23 seconds after almost 20.5 hours and five days of hard desert racing in temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius and very difficult navigation.
Teammate Jordi Viladoms finished fifth in the final leg to miss his podium third by a narrow margin. Portugal’s Ruben Faria wound up his week with a very solid final leg, finishing second to stage winner Helder Rodrigues. Faria was out of the final reckoning because he did not finish Leg 2. Sam Sunderland, the team’s latest signing retired in Leg 4 with a suspected wrist fracture.
Coma said he was still happy with his second place. “We added some good points for the World Championship and we again did a good job. We had a consistent race with a good pace, just as we did in the first round in Abu Dhabi. It is very difficult to be competitive in all the stages because they are really different races. These rallies are also short and it is only the small details that decide the outcome. We tried right up until the end of the last stage but it was not been possible to break away from the group of riders.”
Final overall Results
1, Barreda 20 hours 28.46
2, Coma 20:30.09
3, Rodrigues, 20:30.36
4, Viladom, 20:36.05
5, Goncalves, 20:38.16
6, Mohammed Al-Balooshi, ARE, KTM 23:41.22
