The Desafío Ruta 40 gets underway with Monster Energy Honda Team a candidate for victory

Monster Energy Honda Team are all fired up and ready to roll in the 2018 Desafío Ruta 40, which kicks off today, Sunday, with the dispute of a curtain-raising prologue.

 After last week’s hugely successful Atacama Rally campaign, where Kevin Benavides clinched a decisive victory, this week the action hops the border into the neighbouring Argentina, home soil for Kevin Benavides, current bi-champion of the Desafío Ruta 40. The Monster Energy Honda Team rider is the clear favourite for the triumph as the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship enters its fourth round. Benavides currently shares top spot in the overall championship. The race gets underway today in San Miguel de Tucumán, before winding up five stages later in San Juan.

 Local star Kevin Benavides will line up alongside fellow squad members Paulo Gonçalves, who finished runner-up in last year’s edition of the Ruta 40 and American rider Ricky Brabec, fifth in 2017. On this occasion the two other team riders will be absent; Joan Barreda, forced out by an injury sustained a week ago in the Atacama, who was recently successfully operated on in Barcelona; likewise Chilean Nacho Cornejo misses the event. The team has, however, decided to count on the incorporation of ‘wild-card’ rider, Frenchman Mathias Bellino, who will be behind the bars of one of the Honda CRF450 RALLYs over the 2285-kilometre race.

 Yesterday the team made their first contact with the terrain, confirming that everything is all set to go and leaving the bikes ready to start the race once the mandatory technical and administrative shakedown had been completed.

 The Desafío Ruta 40 commences today, Sunday, with a 6.3-kilometre prologue that will take place around the area of El Cadillal some twenty kilometres from the Hippodrome of San Miguel de Tucumán where the race’s bivouac is situated. At 20:00 hrs (local time) there will be a ceremonial exit from the provincial government building in the Plaza de la Independencia. The first stage, between San Miguel de Tucumán and Belén will be the longest in terms of total kilometres at 573.42 kilometres, although not the longest timed special at 286.51 kilometres.

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ED RACING’S AL-DOSSARI ENTERS JORDAN BAJA AND SETS SIGHTS ON VICTORY

Saudi Arabian driver Essa Al-Dossari is one of the first international drivers to enter the exciting new Jordan Baja, an FIA candidate event for the forthcoming FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

The three-day off-road event for cars, motorcycles and quads will take place in the stunning Wadi Rum area on September 27-29. Al-Dossari has been out of international rallying action since crashing his ED Racing Nissan Navara on the second stage of April’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. But the Saudi is relishing a return to the hot seat in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan after the car’s return was put on hold in June by the cancellation of the Aseer Rally in Saudi Arabia.

 Al-Dossari said: “I sent my car to South Africa to have it prepared. They have carried out some small modifications to suit the Middle Eastern terrain better. Hopefully the performance of the car will be better. We found some things that we needed to work on after the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. 

 “I have registered to enter the Jordan Baja and my aim is to go there and try and claim the win. I think the Jordan Baja will suit my driving. The terrain is very similar to the deserts we cross in Saudi Arabia at the Ha’il Rally. I do not know yet who my main competition will be, but the aim is simple and that is to take the first position.” 

Al-Dossari will be partnered by the UAE navigator Ali Hassan Obaid.

The first event of its kind to be organised by Jordan Motorsport will be based out of the Red Sea city of Aqaba and will be fought out over 383.80 competitive kilometres through breathtaking scenery in Wadi Rum – a UNESCO World Heritage site that has featured in a number of Oscar-winning films.

Entries for the new Jordan Baja close at reduced rates on Thursday, August 30. The final cut-off for entries will be Tuesday, September 11.

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Baja TT de Idanha-a-Nova pode decidir os novos campeões nacionais

- Campeões podem ficar decididos na Baja TT de Idanha 

- Prólogo muda de figurino e localização 

- Partida de Setor Seletivo na Senhora do Loreto promete emoção redobrada 

- Parque de Assistência muda-se para a Zona Industrial de Idanha-a-Nova


 Terminada que está a habitual pausa de verão no Nacional de Todo-o-Terreno, pilotos e máquinas já se preparam para a próxima prova da temporada, a Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova.

Com a organização a cargo da Escuderia de Castelo Branco, a corrida promete emoção e pode até apurar os novos Campeões Nacionais em Autos, Motos, Quads e SSV. Com uma lista de inscritos que promete surpreender e um figurino renovado, começando logo pela nova localização do Prólogo, a Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova perspetiva-se difícil para todos os que se deslocarem à Beira Baixa. “Ao que tudo indica vamos ter uma lista de inscritos invejável, muita luta pela vitória e possivelmente apuramento de alguns Campeões Nacionais. Uma organização não pode querer mais do que isto. Estamos muito motivados e as alterações que fizemos aos traçados vão promover lutas ainda mais intensas”, começou por afirmar Sérgio Sequeira, membro da Escuderia de Castelo Branco e Diretor de Prova de Motos, Quads e SSV.

 Na Cerimónia de Apresentação da Baja TT Idanha a Nova, que decorreu esta sexta-feira, o responsável da Escuderia de Castelo Branco elencou ainda as novidades para a edição deste ano e destacou a mudança de localização do Prólogo.

  “Fizemos várias alterações, começando desde logo pela localização do Parque de Assistência que passa a estar localizado na Zona Industrial de Idanha-a-Nova. Depois mudámos a localização do Prólogo, para uma zona que promete mais emoção para o público. Há também para destacar o início de um setor seletivo na Senhora do Loreto, bem próximo da Senhora do Almurtão onde habitualmente se iniciam os setores seletivos”, destacou.

 No que toca à prova propriamente dita, no Campeonato de Portugal de Todo-o-Terreno, a luta entre Hélder Oliveira e João Ramos pode terminar com a celebração do título por parte do piloto aos comandos do Mini Paceman da CattivaSport, que chega a Idanha com três pontos de vantagem sobre Ramos. O portuense, por seu lado, tentará levar a sua Toyota Hilux ao lugar mais alto do pódio e adiar a discussão do título para a última jornada do Campeonato.

 Já nas Motos, nos Quads e nos SSV, António Maio, Arnaldo Martins e João Monteiro podem também sagrar-se campeões em Idanha-a-Nova. Os três pilotos que estão a dominar a temporada nas respetivas categorias dependem, contudo, dos resultados dos mais diretos adversários para alcançar tal façanha. A Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova está agendada para os dias 7 e 8 de Setembro e contará com um total de 317,54 km, divididos em duas etapas.

A primeira inicia-se com a passagem pelo novo prólogo com extensão de 7,14 km, ao qual se segue o primeiro setor seletivo de 105,00 km. Já a segunda etapa, conta com um setor seletivo de 250,40 km que promete desafiar as capacidades dos pilotos inscritos no evento organizado pela Escuderia de Castelo Branco.

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Final victory for Kevin Benavides in the Atacama Rally

The Atacama Rally, on Chilean soil, turned out to be hugely successful for Monster Energy Honda Team’s Argentinean rider Kevin Benavides, who clinched overall victory and the leadership of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

 The final day, on a 155-kilometre looping route, starting and finishing in Copiapó, was battled out over the same course that had been used in Stage One. Competitors had to have their wits about them and were faced with some challenging navigation in the dunes as well as some off-piste and dry river beds.

Kevin Benavides rounded off the Atacama Rally as he had started; proving to be the sharpest rider in the race, claiming the final stage and the overall rally victory after an intense final day. The Argentine dominated, stamping his mark of authority throughout the stage and leaving adversaries unable to keep his trail. Moreover, the victory takes Benavides and the Honda CRF450 RALLY to the head of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship leader board, where he now shares the same points as the incumbent world champion.

Benavides’ team-mates in the Monster Energy Honda Team, Paulo Gonçalves, José Ignacio Cornejo and Ricky Brabec all continued to improve day by day, today occupying fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively in this final stage and sixth, seventh and ninth in the final rankings.

The next appointment for the Monster Energy Honda Team will be at the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina to be held at the end of next week. The race will take place from 25th to 31st August getting underway in San Miguel de Tucumán and concluding in San Juan.

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Kevin Benavides, leader of the Atacama with one stage still to go

In the penultimate stage of the Atacama Rally, Argentinean Monster Energy Honda Team rider Kevin Benavides retook the leadership in the overall standings as the rally arrives at the crunch final stage.

The 371.39-kilometre fourth stage of the Atacama Rally ran a looping route which both started and finished in Copiapó, taking in Chañaral and Caldera en route. The special saw the riders face 253.54 kilometres against the clock.

 José Ignacio Cornejo posted his best partial time in the second-to-last stage, with a fourth place, just a minute adrift of the stage winner. The Chilean showed great pace and scorched through the race, leaping three positions in the general rankings where he now holds eighth. American Ricky Brabec marked the day’s fifth fastest time, three minutes off Cornejo.

 A sixth place finish for Kevin Benavides proved enough to take back the leadership, as the Atacama Rally heads towards its final stage. Benavides had dropped precious minutes in search of an awkward waypoint located in the final stretches of the special. The Argentine does, however, sport a three minute-advantage over today’s stage winner Toby Price.

Paulo Gonçalves posted the same time as his Monster Energy Honda Team partner, meaning he takes equal sixth place and moves up one place to sixth in the overall leader board.

Tomorrow, Saturday, sees the fifth and final day of this Atacama Rally. Once again, it will take the looping form heading out from Copiapó, this time with a total of 205.54 kilometres including a 154.94-kilometre special.

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Kevin Benavides keeps the options open as the Atacama Rally hits the halfway point

After the dispute of the third stage of the Atacama Rally, featuring a 259.27-kilometre timed special, Monster Energy Honda Team rider Kevin Benavides, remains firmly in the podium zone with good prospects of an overall win.

The Atacama Rally has reached its halfway point with the dispute of the third stage. Today, despite an hour and a half delay due to the morning fog, participants finally got away and had to tackle a total of 335.17 kilometres on the looping Copiapó route, which took riders to Ojos del Salado during the 259.27-kilometre special. The terrain covered several kilometres of dunes plus faster track and dry river beds.

The riders of the Monster Energy Honda Team earned satisfactory results, with Kevin Benavides taking third place in the special leaving the Argentinean in second overall spot on the race leader board, 4’56” behind the leader, with two days still to run. Kevin again opened the track from the start to the finish of the special.

Paulo Gonçalves has improved from the previous days and finished one minute behind his team-mate, in fourth position. The sixth best time of the day was for José Ignacio Cornejo and Ricky Brabec posted ninth on the day.

Tomorrow sees the fourth stage of this Atacama Rally. After starting out in Copiapó, pilots will make a loop through Chañaral and Caldera before heading back to Copiapó. The total course will be 371.39 kilometres including 253.54 kilometres against the clock.

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Kevin Benavides claims the leadership with a second consecutive stage victory

The longest stage in the Atacama Rally, held today in Copiapó, turned out to be a great success for Kevin Benavides behind the bars of the Honda CRF450 RALLY. The Argentinean Monster Energy Honda Team rider set off this morning from first place and proved to be not only unreachable, but also managed to chalk up the day’s fastest time.

 This second stage, the longest of the Atacama Rally, with a total of 440.88 kilometres – including 375.91 against the clock – had the start of the special stage delayed due to the usual appearance of the ‘camanchaca’, a dense local fog that kept the security helicopter, which guarantees race safety, firmly grounded. Once the action got underway, it did so over 73 kilometres less than had previously been scheduled, reducing the special to a total of 303 kilometres.

 Benavides set a cracking pace on a battle ground of mostly track, but with some off-piste where he was able to really put the Honda CRF450 RALLY through its paces. By the end of the 303 kilometres, the Monster Energy Honda Team rider had opened a one minute margin over the nearest second-placed rival. As a result Benavides now lies 1’53” ahead of Pablo Quintanilla in the general rankings.

American Ricky Brabec was the second quickest of the Monster Energy Honda Team, posting fifth, 3’17” adrift of his team-mate. Paulo Gonçalves and José Ignacio Cornejo both turned out solid performances and will be looking to claw back time from their adversaries over the coming days.

Tomorrow sees the third stage of the Atacama Rally. There will be a timed special of 259.27 kilometres on a day where competitors will cover a total of 335.17 kilometres.

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Bittersweet taste after the first Atacama Rally stage: victory for Benavides as Barreda retires

Monster Energy Honda Team got to grips today with the first full stage of the Atacama Rally, grabbing a decisive win for Kevin Benavides in the dunes of Copiapó. Joan Barreda suffered a heavy fall that saw him obliged to drop out of the race.

 Yesterday’s short afternoon prologue in Tierra Amarilla, a town just fifteen kilometres from Copiapo, brought some surprises, as the top riders were at their smartest strategically, to avoid starting out from the front when the first stage of the competition got underway. Thus, Paulo Gonçalves, José Ignacio Cornejo, Joan Barreda and Kevin Benavides all chalked up less-than-their-best qualification times, which paid off in the form of optimal starting positions for today’s first stage, most posting twenty-fifth place or more. Ricky Brabec finished tenth in the prologue which meant the American was the first of the Monster Energy Honda Team riders to take the field, eventually producing a fifth overall position.

Today’s looping special, beginning and ending in Copiapó, took in a total of 266.30 kilometres against the clock. The rest was made up of 91 kilometres of liaison to form a total of 358.87 kilometres.

By the time the stage was done, the fastest of all the participants had proved to be Argentine Monster Energy Honda Team rider, Kevin Benavides. The delayed start benefited the rider who was been able to set a formidable pace, strong enough to post the day’s best time. However, with the addition of the prologue time, Kevin now lies in second spot in the overall standings.

Paulo Gonçalves experienced some navigational hiccups today which saw him drop some time before finishing eighth. Meanwhile American rider Ricky Brabec found himself opening the track during the first kilometres of the special. The Californian made it through to the flag with an error-free ride and continues to accrue valuable navigational experience. Ricky finished ninth on the day.

The young Chilean Jose Ignacio Cornejo set a solid pace but lost time due to a fall which meant that he finished the day amidst the group of his team-mates, in tenth place.

Bad luck for Joan Barreda, who started very strongly in the opening stretches of the race, but a fall at kilometre eight of the special left him in bad physical condition. The Spanish rider was able to continue until the neutralization section but at that point was forced to retire from the rally. The rider is currently under observation checks to ascertain the full extent of the injuries sustained in the fall.

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