Team HRC have passed all the technical and administrative verifications prior to the start of the Desafío Ruta 40. All that remains now is for the four official riders to put pedal to the metal over the nearly 3000 kilometres that lie ahead. The first of five days racing begins tomorrow.
Team HRC will be back in business tomorrow with the opening of Argentina’s Desafío Ruta 40. The team has assembled practically the entire squad of factory riders for the occasion: Joan Barreda, Paulo Gonçalves, Michael Metge and youngster Kevin Benavides, who will dispute his third rally in 40 days.
For Barreda, Gonçalves and Metge this will be the first outing since the Rally Dakar which finished in Buenos Aires on January 16 of this year. The team mission will involve getting the riders into physical shape, getting up to competition pace and testing out the recent changes which have been made to the Honda CRF450 RALLY.
The Desafío Ruta 40, in part, covers some of the ground to be used in the Dakar, which is precisely why the team has chosen to take part here. However, the climate will be drastically different from the one experienced during the Dakar.
After having successfully made it through the pre-race scrutineering, Team HRC can now get the show on the road as the Desafío Ruta 40 kicks off from San Rafael in the western province of Mendoza. A first stage without many complications is expected.
