Red Bull KTM enjoys a double triumph at the OiLibya Rally after Sam Sunderland wins in Morocco and Mathias Walkner lands the 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland wasn’t under a lot of pressure to bring home the win at the 2015 OiLibya Morocco Rally, and the British rider encountered no bad surprises today as he wrapped up the event championship with a fourth-place finish in Stage 6.
And KTM had ample reason to celebrate, as not only did Walkner win the rally, posting a final total time of 15 hours and 38 minutes flat, but his teammate, Mathias Walkner of Austria, finished second and wrapped up the 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. Both the win and the title are positive signs for a Red Bull KTM team that is moving forward without the legendary Marc Coma, who suddenly retired in the middle of the 2015 season and is now a part of the Dakar Rally race organization team. Coma’s shadow is a tall and imposing one, but it appears that KTM has more than one rider who is ready to step out of it when the all-important 2016 Dakar Rally comes around in January.
Sunderland had a great rally, scoring two stage wins and keeping himself in the right position to be able to capitalize when Team HRC’s titanic rally terror, Joan Barreda, suffered a rally-ending crash during Stage 5. While Walkner kept Sunderland honest in today’s final stage, closing up the overall time gap to just 34 seconds at the finish while finishing third in the stage, Sunderland’s performance certainly makes him a contender for the Dakar win.
Not that Walkner is any slouch. The former FIM MX3 World Motocross Champion was steady as a rock in the Morocco Rally, and because of it he can lay claim to another FIM World Championship in a different discipline. Not bad for someone who was a rally rookie at Dakar in 2015.
Of course, Honda’s challenger status to KTM’s rally dominance is still as bona fide as ever, and Team HRC rider Paulo Goncalves of Portugal showed that again today by closing out the rally with his second stage win and claiming third overall. Goncalves ended the rally a little more than 29 minutes off of the winning pace, but that gap would have undoubtedly been much closer had it not been for his misfortunes in Stage 5, when a rock kicked up by his own front wheel split his fuel tank and forced him to limp along the route in an effort to conserve fuel. With no pressure on him to win the overall today, the veteran rally rider let it all hang out in a navigation-filled and hazardous stage, finishing with a time of 3 hours and 35 minutes through the special. Goncalves’ former team HRC teammate, Helder Rodrigues, now a factory Yamaha rider, finished second in the stage, 5 minutes and 46 seconds off the winning time.
The final stage was not without its drama, however, as KTM Warsaw Rally’ Pablo Quintanilla was in contention for a podium spot when he crashed heavily and had to be airlifted to safety. An official statement regarding the Chilean and Atacama Rally champion’s status has not yet been made. What is known is that Honda South America Rally’s Kevin Benavides put his own rally on halt so that he could attend to the injured Quintanilla. Because of that, race organizers revised Benavides’ time so that he was not penalized for rendering aid to a fallen competitor, and that made a big difference, as Benavides ended up eighth on the day and secured fourth overall in the rally.
Husqvarna Motorcycle’s Ruben Faria on Friday wrapped up the team’s first rally with a solid fifth overall. Faria and teammate Pela Renet, that latter who crashed out of the penultimate stage, were competing in Morocco to race test in preparation for the Dakar Rally.
With the six-race FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship now in the books. All focus is on the 2016 Dakar Rally, which is scheduled for January.
2015 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship
2015 OiLibya Morocc Rally
Morocco
Results: October 9, 2015 (Round 6 of 6)
Stage 5
1. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/3 hours, 35 minutes
2. Helder Rodrigues (POR)-Yam/+00:05:46
3. Mathias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:06:48
4. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/+00:10:35
5. Olivier Pain (FRA)-Nom/+00:10:37
6. Antoine Meo (FRA)-KTM/+00:11:15
7. Xavier De Soultrait (FRA)-Yam/+00:12:52
8. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon+00:13:17
9. Joan Pedrero (SPA)-She/+00:14:05
10. Ruben Faria (POR)-Hus+00:15:07
2015 OiLibya Rally Final Standings (After 5 of 5 stages)
1. Sam Sunderland (GBR)-KTM/15 hours, 38 minutes
2. Mathias Walkner (AUT)-KTM/+00:00:34
3. Paulo Goncalves (POR)-Hon/+00:29:08
4. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Hon/+00:47:38
5. Ruben Faria (POR)-Hus/+00:56:38
6. Olivier Pain (FRA)-Nom/+00:59:24
7. Joan Pedrero (SPA)-She/+01:01:34
8. Xavier De Soultrait (FRA)-Yam/+01:40:35
9. Paolo Ceci ( ITA)-Hon/+01:57:17
10. Jacopo Cerutti (ITA)-Hus +02:01:09
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