It may have only been the first of the seven scheduled stages Rally dos Sertoes, but the Honda CRF450 RALLY already occupies two of the top three spots in the race. On a day which saw the riders head out from Goiania with destination Caldas Novas, on some very speedy and pot-holed track, Helder Rodrigues and Paulo Goncalves finished high on both the stage and overall leader-board.
It was a stage that required the utmost prudence, with a broken, dust-filled Brazilian course booby-trapped with every kind of unpredictable hazard. The real danger today came from the large amount of pot-holes littered throughout, which can prove lethal when taken at high speed. Paulo Goncalves chose to start from third place, behind team-mate Helder Rodrigues and Brazilian Jean Azevedo -runner-up in yesterday’s prologue- who open the way today. The world champion was forced to stop and check on a minor problem, losing time in doing so to the race’s eventual leader Marc Coma.
Helder was, on this occasion, Team HRC’s best rider, and rode the Honda CRF450 RALLY to second place at the chequered flag, 1’17 behind the winner, and now lies in second in the overall standings just ahead of Goncalves, who, in spite of having to stop during the special, came in just two minutes behind the race leader.
Hélder Rodrigues: We have just disputed the first of the Sertoes specials, and I think that it has been a good day for us. I finished second which is a great result for me. I haven’t taken part in this race for seven years. I think that the first two days have gone great. Let’s see how it goes over the next few. At the end of the day, I’m second in the overall standings and Paulo is third, but the important thing is that we are in with a chance of winning the rally.
