Spanish Himoinsa KTM rider wins Stage 2 of the 2016 Afriquia Merzouga Rally and moves into second place.
Himoinsa KTM’s Gerrard Farres scored the Stage 2 win at the 2016 Afriquia Merzouga Rally in Morrocco, today.
Farres, 37, of Spain, completed the 341-kilometer dune stage, which featured two separate timed special tests, with a winning time of 4 hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds. The performance propelled him to second in the overall rally standings, behind Slovakia KTM’s Stefan Svitko, who finished third in today’s stage, 1 minutes and 33 seconds behind Farres and 15 seconds behind stage runner-up Adrien Van Beveren of the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team. Svitko now leads the rally by 3 minutes and 37 seconds over Farres. Van Beveren is third overall, 3 minutes and 51 seconds out of the lead.
American rider Ricky Brabec had another solid day in the Afriquia Merzouga Rally, finishing sixth. Brabec started the stage from fourth position, but a roadbook mistake cost him some time, allowing teammate his Team HRC teammate Kevin Benavides to overtake him. Brabec also suffered a strike to the head by a flying rock, and although bruised, will be fit to continue in tomorrow’s marathon stage.
“Today was a long day—not very long in kilometers but just mentally with all these notes,” Brabec said. “There were lots of rocks today that were really dangerous, so I didn’t really want to take any chances and crash. So I slowed down a bit and let the top guys do what they wanted to do. I just played it safe and navigated to the finish line. It’s weird that I didn’t get hit by a stone while I was racing, but I got hit by a stone coming back on the liaison. I didn’t see it coming. It came out of nowhere, and it popped me pretty hard. I’ve got a banged up nose and a pretty fat headache. I’m going to go in and take care of it and get some rest.”
Tomorrow’s marathon Stage 3 will force the riders’ machines into impound, and any repairs will need to be done without any outside mechanical assistance. The special stage will feature a lot of sandy terrain, making navigation a key component of the stage. Of the 464-kilometer distance, 223 kilometers will be timed special.
2016 Afriquia Merzouga Rally
Morocco
Results: May 24, 2016 (Stage 2 of 5)
Stage 2
1. Gerard Farres (ESP)-KTM/4 hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds
2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yam/+00:01:18
3. Stefan Svitko (SVK)-KTM/+00:01:33
4. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:02:25
5. Helder Rodrigues (POR)-Yam/+00:04:19
6. Ricky Brabec (USA-Hon/+00:06:07
2016 Afriquia Merzouga Rally Overall Standings (after 2 of 5 stages)
1. Stefan Svitko (SVK)-KTM/7 hours, 45 minutes, 25 seconds
2. Gerard Farres (ESP)-KTM/+00:03:37
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)/+00:03:51
4. Helder Rodrigues (POR)-Yam/+00:04:50
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:05:25
6. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Hon/+00:08:46
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