It is by San Leonardo’s roman church where the riders will rest in their tents after a very difficult marathon of the Sardegna Rally Race. The HRC Team riders have once again done their best to overcome the series of inconveniences that they have encountered. The bikes have been taken to a parc ferme in which the mechanics will not be able to work on them after having completed the 122 kilometers of today’s second Special. They will not be able to work on them until the riders have completed the first sector of the fourth stage that consists of an additional 49 kilometers.
Paulo Gonçalves was the first one to start today and opened the track, setting a good pace during the first part up until the arrival to the assistance point. The second part of the day, on a very twisted part of the rout, the front brake overheated, preventing him from keeping the pace and having to slow down and finished the second sector in twelfth place. The Portuguese rider has conceded the lead and is currently fourth on the overall standing.
Joan Barreda made was really strong on the start, setting a fast pace and taking the first place on the first sector, finishing one minute ahead of the runner-up, Marc Coma. However, on the second Special his roadbook stopped working unexpectedly, making it impossible for him to follow the correct rout. He waited for another rider to catch-up to him to follow him and finish the Special. Due to this he has lost a lot of time and is currently ninth in the overall standing.
The best HRC Team rider today has been Hélder Rodrigues. The Portuguese did not lose much time during the first Special and made no mistakes while reading his roadbook. He has finished in third place on a rather complicated second Special today. ‘Estrelinha’ has gained some positions on the overall standing and currently holds the fifth place of the Rally.
Hélder Rodrigues: It was a very complicated stage due to navigation, specially during the second half of the day. It was difficult and demanding but I have to say that it felt better during the second Special. During this race you need to remain very concentrated to avoid making mistakes that will make you lose time. We still have two more days ahead of us to keep pushing.
