World WRC Championship, Sardinia Rally. 5th Stage
 VILADOMS
FINISHES THE SARDINIA RALLY BACK AMONG THE FASTEST
The Repsol rider finished second in the last stage and cliimbs
two positions in the general classification
Today the first test of the World Cross-Country Championship
finished with the dispute for the last two specials which
took the riders back to San Teodoro, the nerve-center of this
Rally. Jordi Viladoms gave another superb performance, after
running the third and second fastest times in today's two
specials, finishing in an overall second place, behind the
Rally leader, Cyril Despres.
This result has also allowed him to climb two positions in
the general classification, just eight seconds behind the
fourth classified, and three minutes behind “Chaleco”
López, third.
The overall outcome of this Rally has been very positive
for Viladoms, as aside from the special where he got lost
and lost fifteen minutes, and yesterday's first special, where
he had to open up the track, in the rest of the Rally's specials
he has taken three second positions, two thirds, and a fifth
position at less than one minute behind the first. The Repsol
rider has at all times kept up the pace set by the winner,
Despres, even managing to take the third stage. Jordi Viladoms
has shown that he is in top form again, and that if he takes
things calmly and without rushing, he can be a tough rival
thanks to his navigation skills and speed.
Today's stage consisted first of a 47 kilometre special,
very technical and slow, The route led through the mountains,
with steep and stony slopes. Apart from the large rocks on
today's track, the riders had to dodge great cracks formed
in the mountains by the rain, slowing down the pace considerably.
The second 55 kilometre special also ran through the mountains,
though the conditions of the track changed too. It was a very
pleasant special which ran through a very high mountain range,
with changes in gradient, but which was faster.
The next event will be the Rally dos Sertoes, which will
be held in Brazil from the 18th to the 28th June, and where
Jordi Viladoms and Marc Coma will be present, as long as the
injuries the latter suffered in the Dakar Series continue
to develop satisfactorily.
Quotes
Jordi Viladoms >>
“It went very well and I'm very happy with the rally
as a whole, because I only really lost time in two of the
nine specials: when I got lost, and in the first special where
I had to open up the track.
In the rest I was among the first three, except in one where
I was fifth just one minute behind the winner, so when nothing
went wrong, I did very well. It's been some time since I felt
so well. Today was a complicated and technical day, with a
lot of stones, but I did well. It's very motivating for me
to have been so close to Cyril in almost all the specials.”
Jordi Durán, Team Manager >>
“To be honest we could say that the rally went quite
well, because taking everything into account, Jordi Viladoms
has made some great improvement throughout the race, in spite
of the problem he had in one of the specials, where he lost
fifteen minutes. But overall it's been quite positive.
The negative side is Gerard Farrés' bad luck when he
had a head-on crash with another rider, because it was not
his fault but the other rider's, who was lost and was riding
in the opposite direction. I think Gerard [Farrés]
was doing a good race. It's a good rally to learn navigation
skills, because there are a lot of turns, very close together.
It's true that in this rally there is no GPS, but the roadbook
is much more difficult to follow than in Africa, because the
tracks are much smaller and meet many others, which demands
close attention and skillful use of the roadbook. In the end
Jordi [Viladoms] was second again, which shows that he is
back in his stride and in good shape. Let's hope he keeps
it up in Brazil and can fight for the podium.”
Results
>> Stage Classification
1. Cyril DESPRES (KTM) 2:05:23.98
2. Jordi VILADOMS (REPSOL KTM) a 1:16.43
3. Luca MANCA (TM) a 1:39.82
4. Francisco LÓPEZ (KTM) a 3:05.54
5. David CASTEU (KTM) a 3:36.78
>> Provisional Classification (Rally)
1. Cyril DESPRES (KTM) 8:37:29.49
2. Matteo GRAZIANI (KTM) a 12:38.15
3. Francisco LÓPEZ (KTM) a 15:17.10
4. Massimo CHIESA (KAWASAKI) a 18:49.96
5. Jordi VILADOMS (REPSOL KTM) a 18:57.90
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