Team HRC’s Paulo Goncalves sets a fast pace early and cruises to victory in the Ruta 40 Rally.
Team HRC’s Paulo Goncalves cof Portugal clinched overall victory in the Desafío Ruta 40 from Catamarca to Villa Union, Argentina, in South America, while America’s Ricky Brabec showed his tremendous potential when he finished fourth overall in just his second navigational rally.
Goncalves opened the rally with a win in stage one, while teammate Joan Barreda finished second. Goncalves would maintain the lead through the rest of the five stages to finish with an overall time of 20 hours, 15 minutes and 48 seconds. MEC Team Honda’ Javier Pizzolito of Argentina finished second, 19 minutes and 8 seconds behind Goncalves, but Pizzolito ended the Ruta 40 on a high note with a win in the final stage. Team Casteu KTM’s David Casteu of France finished third, over 1 hour and 28 minutes behind Goncalves.
“The final result has been a really good one, and I’m really pleased with the victory and the work that Team HRC has done,” Goncalves said. “I started with a win and it was important to get an advantage and hang on to the leadership of the race. It was a race with a lot of kilometers, a lot of navigation and riding, but it all worked out really well. Additionally, we were able to test the bike in race conditions very similar to those that we will find in the next edition of the Dakar.”
Ricky Brabec backed up his fifth-place performance in the Abu Dhabi Rally with another top-five finish, and he was in the hunt for a podium finish until he suffered some navigational instrument glitches and incurred a time penalty that dropped him back to fourth place. Brabec’s enthusiasm could not be damped, however.
“I’m here at the Ruta 40 rally, the second rally ever in my life,” Brabec said. “It was actually a great one for me. A lot of navigation, a lot more than in Dubai. Out here there were more objects that you could take reference from, knowing where you are at all times. I’ve struggled the entire rally with fuel situations but that’s something to look past. The roadbook hadn’t worked all week. Today, in the final stage it actually worked well, so that was a little bit easier to navigate with, rather than doing it manually. Here, I heard that it’s more like the Dakar. I actually like it out here. Hopefully I can race the Dakar and be good there. I almost had a shot at the podium. I think a few more rallies and I’ll get this down. I have the speed, running up there with the faster guys; I just need to navigate a bit quicker. I can’t thank the team enough for helping me out, giving me a bike and Joan and Paulo for giving me pointers throughout the entire race.”
Barreda, too, was in the running for a podium position until he was forced to retire from the rally after sustaining a knee injury in a grinding crash during Stage 4. Barreda was transported to Fiambala hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated right knee. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Desafio Ruta 40 Rally
Catamarca to Villa Union, Argentina
Final Results: May 23, 2015
Overall
1. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/20 hours, 16 minutes, 48 seconds
2. Javier Pizzolito (ARG)-Hon/+00:19:08
3. David Casteu (FRA)-KTM/+01:28:41
4. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Hon/+01:35:46
5. Esteban López Jové (ARG)-Kaw/+03:05:24
6. Patricio Cabrera (CHI)-Kaw/+03:50:13
7. Martín Duplessis (ARG)-Kaw/+04:04:52
8. Fabricio Fuentes (BOL)-KTM/+05:12:23
9. Cristian España (SPA)-Suz/+05:32:49
10. Ivo Perabo (ARG)-Yam/+06:06:36
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