Yamalube Yamaha team of Helder Rodrigues, Adrien Van Beveren and Alessandro Botturi to tackle FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship round.
The following is from Yamaha Motor Europe:
Following their successful outing at the Merzouga Rally in Morocco, Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team riders are now geared up and ready for their return to the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and the Sardegna (Sardinia) Rally, Italy. Helder Rodrigues and Adrien Van Beveren will be joined by teammate Alessandro Botturi with all three riders focused on securing yet more podium success in 2016 for Yamaha.
Playing host to round three of the 2016 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship the Sardinia Rally will see Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team’s Helder Rodrigues continue his battle for a strong overall result in this year’s series. Securing third overall at round two of the championship, the Sealine Cross Country Rally in April, Helder is confident he can challenge for the victory in Sardinia.
“It’s good that we’re now returning to the rally world championship series in Sardinia,” Rodrigues said. “We’ve worked a lot with the team, and we’ve made some big steps forward during the past few months. We’ve found what works best for us and what not. That said, we all know the Sardinia Rally is a completely different challenge. It may not be so tough physically, but we expect it to be challenging in terms of navigation. No matter how different Sardinia will be our focus remains the same–we will keep fighting for the top while trying to improve on every little detail in order to be better prepared for the coming Dakar Rally.”
Placing a strong third overall last week at the Merzouga Rally, Adrien Van Beveren will look to continue his impressive 2016 season in Sardinia. Focused on making the most out of this latest challenge, the Frenchman knows that another overall podium finish is well within his reach.
“Each rally is a new challenge for us and it’s true that we’ll be starting from zero again at the Sardinia Rally,” Van Beveren said. “But after Merzouga I’m really looking forward to this event. We’ve all been working hard since the start of the season and it started paying off in Morocco. To get a stage victory and finish on the final podium for the first time in my rally career was a huge confidence booster. I’m feeling great at the moment and I know what I have to do to battle for stage victories. A stage win or an overall podium result from Sardinia would be great. But the most important thing is to continue working hard to gain experience and that’s what I’ll be focusing on during the next few days.”
Joining the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team for the first time after injury at this year’s Dakar, Alessandro Botturi lines up at the start of the Sardinia Rally knowing he has the skills to battle for the win. Working hard ahead of his recent return to competition, the Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider is fired up to make a notable impact on his home round of the series.
“It feels great to finally be back racing with my team,” Botturi said. “After my injury at the Dakar I took some time for my wrist to heal properly. I’ve been back on my bike for a couple of weeks now. It’s just a matter of time until I’m comfortable to push 100% again and I think this race is a good test to see where I’m at against some of the best riders. The Sardinia Rally has always been a different kind of challenge. Unlike most traditional rallies it’s got lots of direction changes and lots of notes on the road book – you just can’t afford to miss or mess up. More than winning individual stages my goal for this race is to be on the final podium and I’ll do my best to make it happen.”
Kicking off with a short Prologue in the city of Budoni on Thursday, June 2, the 2016 edition of the Sardinia Rally will see participants set off for a six-day adventure of more than 1300 kilometers around the heart of the Italian island.
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