Coma Comes Back in Rally dos Sertões Stage 3

Coma wins Stage 3 and stretches overall lead as Rally dos Sertões reaches its halfway point.

Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma of Spain prevailed in a technical third stage of the Rally dos Sertões in Brazil today.

Coma took command of the stage, which started in Catalão and finished in Paracatu completing the special stage 2 hours, 36 minutes and 10 seconds. Brazil’s Jean Azevedo once again had a good day for the Honda Mobil Rally team, finishing second, ahead of Team HRC Honda’s Paulo Gonçalves. The win allowed Coma to distance himself in the overall standings once again. He now has a 3-minute, 19-second lead over Goncalves, with Azevedo another 15 seconds back. A total of 36 motorcycles remain in the rally.

“It was a little bigger stage, a hard day, where I was trying to take as much time to recover,” Coma said. “It was a good stage, but always difficult to find an appropriate pace.”

Azevedo, who is competing in his 19th Rally dos Sertões said that it was a typical day for him at the rally.

“It was a longer day, with characteristics similar to those of yesterday, with less bumps, curves and slow sections,” Azevedo said.”It was a typical day of Sertões and fun to ride.”

Goncalves, who started first, made it to the halfway point before he was passed. After that, he worked hard not to lose more time. His teammate, Helder Rodrigues, was strong in the special stage and finished fourth place in the stage.

Tomorrow’s fourth stage, between Paracatu and Sao Francisco, will feature 363.85 kilometers of timed special stage–the longest of the whole race–in a stage that totals 585 kilometers.

FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, Round 5
Rally dos Sertões
Brazil
Results: August 26, 2014 (Stage 3 of 7)

Stage 3
1. Marc Coma-KTM/02:36’10
2. Jean Azevedo-Hon/+00:01:18
3. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:02:40
4. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:03:07
5. Ruben Faria-KTM/+00:03:28
6. Ramon Oliveira Sacilotti-Kaw/+00:04:02
7. Jordi Viladoms-KTM/+00:04:22
8. Sam Sunderland-KTM/+00:04:30
9. Ike Klaumann-Hon/+00:04:43
10. Robinson de Araujo-Hon/+00:05:11

Rally dos Sertões Provisional Standings (After 3 of 7 stages)
1. Marc Coma-KTM/05:18’37
2. Paulo Goncalves-Hon/+00:03:19
3. Jean Azevedo-Hon/+00:03:34
4. Helder Rodrigues-Hon/+00:05:59
5. Jordi Viladoms-KTM/+00:08:03
6. Ruben Faria-KTM/+00:09:18
7. Ramon Oliveira Sacilotti-Kaw/+00:11:52
8. Ike Klaumann-Hon/+00:12:35
9. Sam Sunderland-KTM/+00:12:51
10. David Casteu-KTM/+00:14:07

Tomorrow’s Stage
Paracatu-Sao Francisco
Liaison-135.24 km
Special Stage-363.85 km
Liaison-86.21 km
Total Distance-585.30 km