World WRC Championship. Dos Sertoes Rally. 1st stage
 THE
RALLY DOS SERTOES KICKS OFF IN BRAZIL, WITH MARC COMA AND
JORDI VILADOMS AMONG THE FAVOURITES
The Repsol riders finished in sixth and eighth position,
respectively, conditioned by problems with their tyres
Today the first stage of the Rally Dos Sertoes took place,
starting from Goiânia with a 45 Km connection before
starting the 180 Km special, and another 45 Km connection
to the short super special in Santa Helenna, near Río
Verde. It was a fast stage which gave the riders their first
contact with the rally, much faster than what had been thought.
The Repsol riders set out this morning in seventh -Jordi Viladoms-
and eighth position -Marc Coma-, after the short prologue
disputed last night in Goiania.
Photos
It was a stage without major complications, where the participants
had to follow a fast main track, the hazards being the furrows
caused by the rain. At the beginning it was slower, and together
they advanced without incident until when 120 Km into the
race Marc Coma's tyres started to desintegrate. The short
length of this first special led to the choice of a softer
tyre as a valid option, and both reached the finish line with
their rear tyre destroyed. Maybe due to the heat, a faulty
batch or the fast pace, but most riders faced the very same
problem.
Jordi Viladoms, riding with Coma, was also affected by the
same problem, and both dropped their pace continuing to ride
together until the end of the special, where they were able
to change their tyres before the connection and the super
special in Santa Helenna. The stage fnally went to Cyril Despres,
with Coma sixth, 4 minutes 33 secs behind, and Viladoms eighth,
at 6 minutes 33 secs.
Tomorrow the second stage, with a total of 480 Km, 222 Km
of them timed, will be held between Rio Verde and Aruanã.
Quotes
Marc Coma >> 6th at 4’33secs
“Today we ran the first stage, which was our first contact
with this Rally. It was quite an easy and short special, 180
Km, where we riding no problem until kilometre 120, when I
noticed I was losing pressure in my rear tyre.
The “mousse” started to desintegrate without warning
and I even had a small fall without consequence, because without
the “mousse” it's as if the tyre was flat and
is very hard to control. Over the next few days we'll have
to watch the performance of the tyres here, because it's only
the first day and the special was short.”
Jordi Viladoms >> 8th at 6’33 secs
“It was a stage where there was hardly any navigation,
as we had to follow the main track most of the time. It was
fast and quite slippery, which forced you to anticipate the
braking areas or you could easily miss the bend.
It was an easy stage, though the fact that it was so fast
was maybe the cause for the “mousse” to desintegrate
on us, forcing us to be very careful during the last 30 Km.
It happened to most of the riders and we'll have to find the
cause. Marc caught up with me at the start and we rode together.
Particularly at the end of the stage, we worked as a team
because we both had problems with our tyres, so we chose to
ride together, taking it easy, until the end.”
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