Paulo Gonçalves, Joan Barreda, and Hélder Rodrigues line up alongside new Team HRC arrivals Jeremías Israel and Laia Sanz for the OiLibya Rally of Morocco 2014 which gets underway this weekend. The five Team HRC components have already been putting the Honda CRF450 RALLY through its paces on Moroccan soil this week prior to the scrutineering and technical checks which habitually mark the start of the race.
Incumbent world champion Paulo Gonçalves has performed well thus far in the World Rally-Raids season, and lies in second place on the overall leader-board just ten points off current leader Marc Coma. Gonçalves, though, will have his work cut out as he looks for a repeat of last year’s Morocco adventure which saw him secure the championship laurels. The Portuguese rider will be looking to maintain the high level of riding that he has exhibited so far in the championship, especially in the desert events such as Dhabi and Qatar.
For Joan Barreda and Hélder Rodrigues, participation in the OiLibya Rally of Morocco is the final stepping stone in preparation for the season’s ultimate goal; the Rally Dakar 2015. Team HRC’s top two in the Dakar 2014 will use Morocco to fine-tune the Honda CRF450 RALLY in the run-up to the great South American challenge which takes place on 4th January 2015.
Worth pointing out too, is the debut of the team’s newcomers, Chilean Jeremías Israel and Spaniard Laia Sanz. For these two, the pre-Dakar is even more important than for the other Team HRC team members who have already been able to take part in several of this season’s races. It will be the first outing for Israel after the serious fall that he suffered in the Dakar 2014, as well as being the first chance for champion Laia to participate in a World Rally-Raids race.
Today, Friday, was the day of scrutineering and technical checks held in the surrounds of Erfoud’s Hotel Belère. Needless to say, the bikes, riders, mechanics, and the rest of the Team HRC got through the test without any setbacks.
The OiLybia Rally of Morocco action gets underway tomorrow October 4, with the first of the six stages that form part of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship 2014. The race departs from Erfoud, and the stage will cover 321 kilometres, 276 of which are against the clock. Riders can look forward to their first contact with sand and dunes, although a large part of the special will be run over fast track. This will require particularly strict attention to navigation, and care not to misinterpret the roadbook.
