Rallye du Maroc 2019: Hero MotoSports Team Rally keeps it steady in the first part of the Super Marathon Paulo Goncalves finishes in the Top 15 overall rankings

The first part of the Super Marathon stage of the rally was concluded today with a 380 km loop conducted in the Aoufous region of Erfoud. The first loop around the bivouac was difficult and featured plenty of dunes, including the famous Chebbi Erg.  

Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders focused on bringing their bikes safely across the finish line in this first part of the Super Marathon, considering that they will be without the assistance of their service teams for tonight. It was predominantly a dune challenge that put the navigation skills of the rider to the test today. Paulo Goncalves seemed to be in much better rhythm today but for a couple of navigation mistakes that cost him some time. He finished the stage in 12th place and entered the Top 15 in 14th place. Joaquim Rodrigues started well to gain some ground early in the stage, but he too lost some time due to a navigation error before finishing the stage in 19th place. After today’s stage, JRod stands in 17th position in the overall rankings. Santosh too looked in much better form today and delivered an improved performance to finish the stage in 28th position, taking him to 30th place in the overall rankings. 
 
In Stage 3 tomorrow, the competitors will take on the 2nd part of the Super Marathon in another long day of riding to reunite with their assistance crew. But before that, another tough day in the dunes awaits.  
 
Paulo Goncalves, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said: “It was a long stage today, mostly in the dunes. I finally got a good feeling today with the bike and got into a good rhythm. I made a couple of navigation mistakes but other than that, I think our direction is good and we just need to focus on navigation to get a good overall result for the team.” 
 
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said: “Today’s stage started really well for me and I managed to catch a few riders in front of me. Then, I made a navigation error that cost me a lot of time in getting back to the track and because of that, I lost a bit of my focus. I am happy to be at the finish line though and will try to eliminate these mistakes in the upcoming stages.” 
 
CS Santosh, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said: “It was a really long day today riding in the dunes. It required a lot of navigation. But it was a much better day for me. I felt better on the bike and got into a nice rhythm. I did lose a bit of time towards the end in finding my way in a tricky section but it was definitely a much better performance than yesterday. So, I am quite happy to arrive at the marathon bivouac. Looking forward to the stage tomorrow.” 

Provisional Results of the Stage 2 
1. Joan Barreda - Monster Energy Honda Team 04h 56m 37s 
2. Kevin Benavides - Monster Energy Honda Team  +05m 26s 
3. Andrew Short - Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory team +05m 48s 
>12. Paulo Goncalves - Hero MotoSports Team Rally +21m 13s 
>19. Joaquim Rodrigues - Hero MotoSports Team Rally +36m 07s 
>28. C S Santosh - Hero MotoSports Team Rally +02h 02m 26s 

Source Hero Motorsports