Benavides and Gonçalves, top five in the first real stage of Morocco Rally

The Morocco Rally kicked off with a gruellingly lengthy first full stage today. The competitors left Fez at 04:30 this morning and arrived in Erfoud after 16:00 this afternoon after over twelve hours in the saddle. Benavides and Gonçalves finished in the top five with Brabec posting seventh.

 The starting order today turned out to be one of the stage’s determining factors. The team riders produced better-than-expected results, given their start positions which had been decided by yesterday’s prologue results. Kevin Benavides finished the stage in fourth place conceding 5’36” to the day’s winner in a stage filled with tricky navigation and complicated, slippery terrain.

 Paulo Gonçalves succeeded in recuperating the positions dropped yesterday in spite of feeling ill-at-ease earlier in the day. The Portuguese rider finished a mere ten seconds adrift of his fellow Monster Energy Honda Team member. American rider Ricky Brabec, hampered by the flu, dropped precious time too, finishing eleven and a half minutes behind the stage winner Pablo Quintanilla.

 Tomorrow, Saturday, will feature Morocco Rally’s longest timed special with 364.5 kilometres against the clock on a looping circuit with start and finish in Erfoud. The terrain type will include small dunes and fast track over dried-out river-beds as the rally arrives at stage two.