The second racing day was positive for the Brazilian, who is close to the leaders in the overall standings
On Tuesday (04/06), Lucas Moraes secured another good result in the Ruta 40 Challenge, the fourth and penultimate stage of the World Rally Raid Championship. Along with Spanish navigator Armand Monléon, the driver of the Toyota Gazoo Racing official team car finished the second of the five stages in Argentina in first place.
The Brazilian came from a positive first day, with third place in the first stage, secured after starting in last position. For the second day, the two-time champion of the Rally dos Sertões and Dakar standout in 2023 and 2024, expected a faster and even more competitive race.
“In the first special, we had to find a way to overtake side by side with the challenge of starting at the back of the pack. For the second special, the track is faster and we started third, so the conditions are good to continue with the good results,” said the driver, who is competing in the World Championship with the support of Red Bull, Repsol, Strava, Oakley, Zapalla - as well as having brought the Brazilian tire brand SpeedMax to sponsor the Toyota team, the reigning champions.
Confirming the predictions - Staying competitive, Moraes and Armand started the second day of the rally in third place and reached second place before completing 100 of the 423 timed kilometers. The route from Córdoba to San Juan combined gravel, sand and even asphalt at some points.
On the final stretch, Moraes crossed the finish line in third place, but punishments altered the classification and, with a time of 4h08min14s, the Brazilian won the second special of the Argentine stage with a 57-second gap to Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk, the Toyota Overdrive duo who won on Monday and remain leaders in the accumulated times.
The result left Lucas and Armand in third place in the stage standings, with a time of 8:10:05, a gap of 4:54 to Rajhi and Gottschalk. Second place is in the hands of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger, who are 1min36s ahead of Moraes.
The third stage of the Ruta 40 Challenge covers 341 km in San Juan. The rally continues until Friday (07/06), when it returns to Córdoba.
Top-5 of the 2nd stage, of a total of 5, Córdoba to San Juan, 423 km
1st Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Armand Monleon (ESP) - Toyota Gazoo Racing, 4h08min14s
2nd Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (ALE) - Toyota Overdrive + 57s
3rd Nasser Al-Attiyah (CAT) / Edouard Boulanger (FRA) - Nasser Racing by Prodrive, +1min56s
4th Seth Quintero (USA) / Dennis Zenz (ALE) - Toyota Gazoo Racing, +5min44s
5th Sebastian Halpern (ARG) / Bernardo Graue (ARG) - X-Raid Mini JCW Team, +6min08s
Top-5 overall after the 2nd special
1st Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (ALE) - Toyota Overdrive - 8h05min11s
2nd Nasser Al-Attiyah (CAT) / Edouard Boulanger (FRA) - Nasser Racing by Prodrive, +3min19s
3rd Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Armand Monleon (ESP) - Toyota Gazoo Racing, +4min54s
4th Sebastian Halpern (ARG) / Bernardo Graue (ARG) - X-Raid Mini JCW Team, +18min43s
5th Cristian Baumgart Stroczynski (BRA) / Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) - X Rally Team Motorsport, +20min37s
Automatic translation from the original Brazilian Portuguese version
Source: Lucas Moraes official press release
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