Morocco Rally: Sunderland Retakes Lead, Barreda Crashes

Sam Sunderland takes a commanding overall lead after a bad day for Team HRC in the OiLibya Morocco Rally.

Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland rolled to his second stage win of the OiLibya Morocco Rally today and retook the overall lead by a comfortable margin of after Team HRC’s Joan Barreda crashed early in Stage 4 and was forced to withdraw from the event.

Barreda was fortunate to escape without serious injury in the crash, which happened just 13 kilometers into 293-kilometer the special stage. The fall left the Spanish rider concussed, and he had to be airlifted to a Marrakech hospital. However, a CT scan revealed no serious injuries, according to a news releasse issued by Team HRC, which also thanked KTM Warsaw Rally’s Pablo Quintanilla, Red Bull KTM’s Mathias Walkner and Honda South American Rally’s Benavides, who all stopped to notify the race organizers of Barreda’s accident.

“I still don’t know exactly what happened,” Barreda later said. “I felt great during the whole rally, and I tried to have a good rally today because I knew that it could be definitive. Suddenly, I found myself on the ground. I lost consciousness for about 3 minutes, and then I saw that the other riders had stopped to help me. Thanks! It was a shame because I was riding well and could have won it. I feel bad, above all, for Honda and all the Team HRC. The team is doing a great job, and the bike is going really well. They took me to hospital for a check-up, and the doctors said that I’m fine… See you at the Dakar.”

Barreda’s crash compounded a tough day for Team HRC as Paulo Gonçalves also suffered a setback when a rock from his own front wheel damaged his machine’s fuel tank and fuel pump, causing a serious leak. Goncalves was unable to make a solid repair and was forced to crawl through the special stage, losing a lot of time in the process. Even so, he maintains fourth place in the overall rally standings, though he is effectively out of contention for the win.

Sunderland had a relatively uneventful stage as he recorded a winning time of 2 hours, 56 minutes and 29 seconds, finishing 8 minutes and 37 seconds ahead of Quintanilla, who stopped to aid Barreda. Yamaha Racing’s Helder Rodrigues roared back from a disappointing Stage 3 that saw him finish outside the top 10 to match his opening stage finish, third place, 10 minutes and 17 seconds behind Sunderland. Rodrigues is still outside the top 10 overall.

Thus, Sunderland heads into tomorrow’s final stage, the Loop of Agadir, with a healthy 10-minute, 47-second lead. Although Sunderland should be able to bring home the rally win, anything can happen in the final 237-kilometer special stage, features narrow tracks with varied riding conditions, hills, passages, and sandy tracks that will lead the competitors to the edge of the ocean before they cross the finishing line in the city of Agadir.

2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
2015 OiLibya Morocco Rally
Morocco
Results: October 8, 2015 (Round 6 of 6)

Stage 4
1. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/ 2 hours, 56 minutes, 29 seconds
2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-KTM/+00:08:37
3. Helder Rodrigues (POR)-Yam/+00”08:50
4. Alessandro Botturi (ITA)-Yam+00:10:17
5. Mathias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:10:23
6. Joan Pedrero (SPA)-She/+00:11:01
7. Ruben Faria (POR)-Hus/+00:12:15
8. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:12:37
9. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yam/+00:14:00
10. Olivier Pain (FRA)-Nom/+00:15:28

2015 OiLibya Morocco Rally Overall Standings (After 4 of 5 stages)
1. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/11 hours, 52 minutes, 25 seconds
2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-KTM/+00:10:46
3. Mathias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:11:48
4. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:39:43
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:50:56
6. Ruben Faria (POR)-Hus/+00:52:06
7. Joan Pedrero (SPA)-She/+00:58:04
8. Olivier Pain (FRA)-Nom/+00:59:22
9. Xavier De Soultrait (FRA)-Yam/+01:38:18
10. Jacopo Cerutti (ITA)-Hus+01:40:13