Marc Coma is after his third career Sealine Rally win in Qatar.
Reigning FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion and Dakar Champion Marc Coma is gunning for his third career Sealine Rally victory, and the Red Bull KTM factory rider got off to a good start by winning the first of five stages in the event in Qatar today.
Coma completed the stage in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 1 second, 6 seconds faster than countryman and rival Joan Barreda of the Team HRC Honda factory squad. They were closely followed by Coma’s Red Bull KTM teammate, Sam Sunderland of Great Britain, who finished 57 seconds off the lead pace.
“It was a positive first special stage, although I did make a small navigation mistake in the final part,” Coma said. “But in the end we took the stage win, and it is always important to start with positive feelings. The bike worked perfectly, and I have tried to adapt to the terrain of this race. It is very different from Abu Dhabi, with a more demanding navigation and lots of stones. Tomorrow will be a very long special.”
Barreda said he felt that he had a good first stage.
“I passed half the group but from kilometer 50 onwards I was opening the way with [Jordi] Viladoms,” Barreda said. “The navigation was difficult, and to make things worse I had a problem with the GPS. I had to wait for Paulo [Goncalves] who was going really well, and I was able to make it through to the end without any trouble. It was a shame as we lost some valuable minutes in the final part. Let’s see how the rest of the race turns out.”
Unlike the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which was the opening round on the 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship calendar, the Sealine Rally promises to challenge rider with more difficult navigation tests. There is less pure dunes riding, and the rocky conditions on the routes could cause reliability issues. Race organizers have promised that the event will feature varying terrain as the rally covers 1926 kilometers, 1782 of which is timed special. Tomorrow’s Stage 2 will feature a 398-kilometer timed special and 73-kilometer liaison for a total of 474 kilometers.
2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
Sealine Rally
Qatar
Results: April 20, 2015 (Round 2 of 6)
Stage 1
1. Marc Coma (SPA)-KTM/2 hours, 10 minutes and 1 second
2. Joan Barreda (SPA)-Hon/+00:00:06
3. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:00:57
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-KTM/00:02:05
5. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:04:09
6. Mohammed Albalooshi (UAE)-KTM/+00:05:16
7. Jordi Viladoms (SPA)-KTM/+00:08:08
8. Ruben Faria (POR)-KTM/+00:08:27
9. Mathias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:13:03
10. Jeremias Israel (CHI)-Hon/+00:18:31
Sealine Rally Overall Standings (After 1 of 5 Stages)
1. Marc Coma (SPA)-KTM/2 hours, 10 minutes and 1 second
2. Joan Barreda (SPA)-Hon/+00:00:06
3. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:00:57
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-KTM/00:02:05
5. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:04:09
6. Mohammed Albalooshi (UAE)-KTM/+00:05:16
7. Jordi Viladoms (SPA)-KTM/+00:08:08
8. Ruben Faria (POR)-KTM/+00:08:27
9. Mathias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:13:03
10. Jeremias Israel (CHI)-Hon/+00:18:31
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