NACHO CORNEJO FINISHES 2ND IN STAGE 4
Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters - Hero MotoCorp, crossed the inish line of the 4th Stage at Rallye Du Maroc 2024 in lying colors. Hero rider Nacho Cornejo became the 2nd fastest man of the day, while his team mate and fellow Rally GP class rider, Ross Branch, inished in the 5th place.
At the end of 4 Stages of the race, Ross and Nacho feature respectively on the 5th and 6th positions, in the the overall Rally GP class standings. With just one day left in the race, team Hero MotoSports is focused on their primary goal of bringing home their irst-ever FIM World Rally-Raid Championship title.
Stage 4 in the north-east Oriental region of Morocco, was a completely new Stage, rarely seen in past Moroccan races. The 377 km long route around Mengoub was fairly fast-paced, and with a lot of tracks - reminding competitors of a typical Saudi Arabian-style special. Even though the riding was smooth and average speeds clocked were much higher than on the previous days, there were quite a lot of navigational challenges that confused competitors, even up until 20 kms before the inish line.
In just his second race in Hero colors, Nacho Cornejo has found a great rhythm and pace on his new bike. The Chilean has also consistently improved his performance since the beginning of this race. Right from the start of Stage 4, Nacho’s navigation was particularly on point - a signiicant edge over competition that eventually rewarded him with his best result of the week.
For Ross Branch, just one day separates him from the crown jewel – the World Champion title. The Botswanan chose to play it safe today as well, in a bid to ensure a safe inish. While not going full out on the tracks is out of character for the Botswanan, the prize that awaits is worth it: if Ross inishes the Maroc Rally, he will be crowned the World Champion of 2024!
The last and inal Stage of Rallye Du Maroc 2024 will be an east-ward loop around Mengoub, taking the competitors very close to the Algerian border. A total of 376 kms - of which 273 are timed – will settle the inal ranks of this edition’s participants. The race will come to a grand closure with the prize distribution ceremony that is planned for the evening.
Nacho Cornejo: “It was a really nice Stage today, and I felt good all day on my Hero 450. I did well with my navigation; except in a few places where my electronic tablet did not get the proper signal, and led to some confusion. I hope this does not recur tomorrow. Anyhow, I'm happy with my performance. We're almost at the end of the race, and tomorrow is going to be all about Ross! As a team we're aiming to put all our energy towards getting him the crown!”
Ross Branch: “It was a fun Stage today - lot of the kind of riding I enjoy the most! I still chose to ride home safe, and we did pretty well. There was some tricky navigation halfway through the Stage, and I made some mistakes. Thankfully I didn’t lose much time. Just one more day to go, and we're focused on the goal!”
Source: Hero Motosports
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