In a whisker-close finish by rally standards, Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla came home the victor in front of his countrymen after a crucial final stage in the 2016 Atacama Rally on Saturday, scoring his fourth consecutive win in the event and giving the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Rally team its first victory since the introduction of the factory effort in 2015.
Quintanilla started the fifth and final stage back to Copiapó 26 second behind Red Bull KTM’s Toby Price, making the final 100-kilometer run to the finish line more than a mere formality; usually rally events are effectively decided before the final stage. But Quintanilla was motivated, and he blazed through the dunes, posting atime of 58 minutes and 51 seconds to make up his time deficit and fend off Price by a mere 29 seconds in the final standings.
Likewise, Team HRC’s Kevin Benavides erased a 2-minute deficit to teammate Paulo Goncalves and secured third overall in the Atacama Rally after putting together an excellent ride in the final stage. Benavides finished second in the stage, 1 minute and 27 seconds behind Quintanilla. Price finished third, another 28 seconds behind Benavides, who ended the rally 9 minutes and 35 seconds out of the overall lead.
The win also put Quintanilla into the points lead of the 2016 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship with one round remaining. Heading into the OilLibya Rally of Morocco, October 1-7, Quintanilla has amassed 66 points, just three ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland. Price is third, with 50 points despite missing one round due to an injury.
“Today was a difficult stage for sure because the gap between me and Toby (Price) was very small,” Quintanilla said. “I had to push a lot to win, and I am very happy. I have been looking for this victory for a long time. I put in a lot of work and I’ve been training hard. I’m happy, and I’m also happy for my team because it is also our first victory of the season, and we are now leading the championship, which is my goal. Now I need to keep up this training rhythm and focus on being 100% fit for Morocco, where I will try my best to be the world champion.”
Gonçalves opened the route for most of the day, but he was swallowed up by his competition in the dunes and wound up fifth in the stage, behind Sunderland, and fourth overall.
American rider Ricky Brabec continued to develop his navigational skills in the dunes, and he finished the day sixth in the stage and seventh overall.
“The final stage was good at full gas,” Brabec said. “It was pretty sandy, so I tried to ride my race. Overall the rally was good. It was a good learning experience. There was only one really tricky day, and the rest of the days were full gas. This was a really fast rally. I don’t know how these guys can do it and ride so fast on these roads. I’ll keep practicing, and we’ll see where we are at for the Dakar, but I think that Honda is very solid and has a really good chance with Kevin, Paulo and Joan this year.”
2016 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
Round 5: Atacama Rally
Bahia Inglesa-Copiapó, Chile
Results: August 27, 2016
Stage 5
1. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Hus/58 minutes and 51 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:01:27
3. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:01:55
4. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:03:54
5. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:04:04
6. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Hon/+00:05:37
7. Pela Renet (FRA)-Hus/+00:07:15
8. Franco Caimi (ARG)-Hon/+00:08:10
9. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:09:11
10. José Cornejo (CHI)-KTM/+00:10:30
2016 Atacama Rally Final Results (after 5 of 5 stages)
1. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Hus/11 hours, 48 minutes and 38 seconds
2. Toby Price (AUS)-KTM/+00:00:29
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:09:35
4. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:10:02
5. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:38:43
6. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:41:46
7. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Hon/+00:45:11
8. Franco Caimi (ARG)-Hon/+01:07:11
9. José Cornejo (CHI)-KTM/+01:17:58
10. Daniel Gouet (CHI)-KTM/+01:49:18
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