3rd Special: Qasr Al Sarab – Qasr Al Sarab
Link section: 88.05 km – Special: 256.40 km – Link section: 27.57 km – Total: 372.02 km
It is over 40°C… in the shade when the riders return to the bivouac at Qasr Al Sarab after riding through the sand all day long. Stage winner Joan Barreda (Honda), who set off behind some of his rivals, has a smile on his face at the finish: “I really pushed hard to catch Paulo (Goncalves) then to hunt down the KTMs who were out in front. I am really happy with this stage win and the fact that Paolo came in second. It was a great Special in the dunes!”
Reigning FIM Cross Country Rallies World Champion Gonçalves is also happy with his results so far: “There are two days to go and I am still confident. The new bike is running really well in the desert and we are not far from the overall leaders… but it won’t be easy to get past them as they are very fast.”
Sam Sunderland (KTM), third on the day, is again top of the leader board with a lead of 30 seconds over Marc Coma. “It was a great stage. I caught up with Marc after 80 km and led the field until the refuelling stop. When you are ahead, you lose time and we knew that the Hondas would catch us up. My wrist is quite painful… I hope it won’t get worse.”
Marc Coma finished the Special in fourth ahead of Rodrigues, who enjoyed riding in the dunes, and Viladoms. “I set off in first place this morning, said the Catalan. I knew I would lose time leading the field. At the start, I jumped a step and landed painfully… The bike is perfect. It was a great day.”
Rafal Sonik is still leading the quads. “Today, I saw a helicopter but the blades weren’t moving. I was relieved … no bad news today. It was a great dune stage, easier than yesterday’s.”