World WRC Championship, Sardinia Rally. 2nd Stage
COMPLICATED DAY IN SARDINIA FOR THE REPSOL RIDERS
Jordi Viladoms got lost in during the first special and falls
to eighth position. An accident involving Gerard Farrés
and another rider forces him to withdraw from the rally
The second stage of the Sardinia Rally has proven to be a
tough day for the Repsol KTM Team, as the day's first special,
38 kilometres, ended the hopes of the two members of the team.
The worst part was for Gerard Farrés who, just when
the special had started and he was racing in fine form, no
mistakes, he had a head-on crash with David Casteu, who had
got lost and was riding in the opposite direction, trying
to find the right way.
Despite such bad fortune, the good news is that after a preliminary
exploration, Farrés only has a deep cut to his foot,
which has already been stitched. The Repsol rider will return
to Spain this afternoon, where tomorrow morning he will have
some X-rays done at the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus hospital,
in order to rule out any possible fractures.
The great difficulty of navigation in this rally has again
been patent, as most of the riders got lost during today's
first special. The stage ran through an area similar to yesterday's,
running through many firebreaks, very slow uphill areas and
steep downhill areas more similar to a trials track, where
it was very easy to get lost. As it was not really a track,
the paths that led off to the sides were barely visible. The
second special, the rally's longest with 76 kilometres, is
made up of faster, stony tracks, combined with very slow areas.
Jordi Viladoms was one of the riders who got lost during
the first special, and finished in 30th position, losing over
fifteen minutes. Faced with this result, the Repsol rider
concentrated on finishing the stage in good shape, following
the roadbook closely and keeping his own pace. In this way
he finished the second special in fifth position, just one
minute behind the winner.
After two loop-style stages centred around the town of San
Teodoro, tomorrow's stage will end in the town of Gavoi, after
two specials of 50,5 and 39,4 Km each.
Quotes
Jordi Viladoms >> 9th at 16 mins 30 secs
“Today was madness. I got very lost on two occasions
during the first special. What really happened was that I
was totally mistaken about how to tackle the first stage.
Yesterday I managed to finish second relatively easily, four
seconds behind Cyril, and today I went out to try and attack
some more.
But right after the start I got lost, caught up with Cyril,
and then we both caught up with “Chaleco”, because
we'd all got lost. Then I found the right path, continued,
saw myself in first position, got excited, and decided to
attack to put more ground behind me. But it was a bad strategy,
because I tried to run too fast and didn't pay enough attention
to the roadbook, losing fifteen minutes. During the second
special, I took it easy again and it worked out well.”
Gerard Farrés >> withdrawn
“Well, I'm hurt, but taking everything into account
I've been extremely lucky, because I could have been very
badly injured. We crashed into each other head-on in an area
where we were riding full-throttle in fourth gear.
It was a slightly curved straight, though luckily we saw
each other right at the last moment and were able to swerve
enough to hit each other sidelong, which is how my boot got
ripped off. I could have been very badly hurt. It's a shame,
because we did very well yesterday and today I'd been doing
well for fifteen kilometres, finding all the indications,
and it wasn't me who made the mistake.”
Results
>> Provisional classification (Stage)
1. Paolo CECI (APRILIA) 2:13:59.78
2. Cyril DESPRES (KTM) at 1:27.36
3. Alex ZANOTTI (APRILIA) at 1:47.37
4. Massimo CHIESA (KAWASAKI) at 4:19.92
5. Matteo GRAZIANI (KTM) at 6:08.30
9. Jordi VILADOMS (REPSOL KTM) at 16:30.42
NC. Gerard FARRÉS (REPSOL KTM)
>> Provisional classification (Rally)
1. Cyril DESPRES (KTM) 3:46:44.00
2. Paolo CECI (APRILIA) at 26.13
3. Alex ZANOTTI (APRILIA) at 3:35.63
4. Matteo GRAZIANI (KTM) at 5:44.57
5. Massimo CHIESA (KAWASAKI) at 5:50.51
8. Jordi VILADOMS (REPSOL KTM) at 15:06.91
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