Hero MotoSports Team Rally begin the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 06.11.2021: All 3 riders complete Prologue in the Top 10 Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the off-road racing team of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is all set to start the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.

All 3 riders complete Prologue in the Top 10




Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the off-road racing team of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is all set to start the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.



This is the final round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship before the Dakar Rally 2022. The riding duties for the team will be taken up by the trio of Joaquim Rodrigues, Sebastian Buhler and Franco Caimi.
 



Franco Caimi and Joaquim Rodrigues are currently in 7th and 9th places in the Championship respectively, with Buhler in 12th. A strong showing here can allow the riders to complete the championship within the Top 10.
 



After successfully completing the administrative checks and the vehicle scrutiny on Friday, the riders took to the start line for the Prologue, a short 2km sprint along the beach, which will determine the start order for Sunday, but with the riders starting in the reverse order of the day's rankings.




 Caimi finished the stage with an average speed of 90kmph, registering the 4th fastest time of the day. Just 1 second behind him was Rodrigues, in 6th place, with Buhler in 10th position. For the overall ranking however, the stage timings will be multiplied by a factor of 4.
 



The first full stage of the rally starts tomorrow, running for 262kms of specials in the Arabian Deserts. The Rally is scheduled to run for a further 5 days, covering over 1900kms, with close to 70% of that distance in special stages.




Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “We are in Abu Dhabi for the final round of the Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. The Desert Challenge is a classic desert race, running for the past 30 years, but it is our first time as a team.


The stages are mostly in the dunes and sand, and this is a good training for the riders before the Dakar, which is also expected to have more dunes this year. All the riders are fit and ready and we are excited to welcome our teammate CS Santosh. He is here only as a visitor, but it is good to have him back with us. The team is motivated and we are looking forward to a good race here before the Dakar.”



Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “We just finished the Prologue, which was just a 2km stage in this rally, so it was pretty easy. But this is just the beginning, and tomorrow we start the first stage out of five stages here. This will be our final race before the Dakar, so hoping that everything goes well.”




Franco Caimi, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “It is my first time in Abu Dhabi and I am really happy to be here. I have raced in many deserts around the world, and I feel like I know them really well, so I'm looking forward to get to know this desert as well. The team is working perfectly and this is our final test before the Dakar 2022, so this is going to be an exciting week for all of us.”




Sebastian Buhler, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “The prologue was short but nice. It was hot down by the beach, but I am getting used to the weather. The team has worked hard, the bikes are running well and I am feeling good, so looking forward to a good rally.”





Provisional Overall Standings


1. Matthias Walkner, RedBull KTM Factory Racing, 05m 10.4s
2. Daniel Sanders, GasGas Factory Racing, + 1.6s
3. Ross Branch, Monster Energy Yamaha, + 2.0s
4. Franco Caimi, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 7.6s
6. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 11.6s
10. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 31.6s
 
 



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