The second stage of the 2014 Desafío Inca was one of the toughest held in Peru since its arrival last season. Pablo Quintanilla (motorcycles) bounced back to claim his first stage this year, but it was Frenchman David Casteu who moved into the lead. Víctor Gallegos and Nani Roma scored a double whammy with the stage win and the overall lead after proving their superiority on the dunes of Paracas.MOTORCYCLES: QUINTANILLA CLINCHES THE STAGE, BUT CASTEU SEIZES THE LEAD After leading the first special of the day, Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla (KTM 450 Rally Replica) overcame his mechanical problems to win stage 2 of the Desafío Inca with a dominant ride from the get-go. The South American rider posted a time of 4 h 02?40? to beat Eduardo “Tato” Heinrich (+5?34?) and David Casteu (+9?46?) after a solid performance on the stage with the longest special (199 kilometres). Nevertheless, it was the Frenchman who moved into the overall lead. David Casteu (KTM 450) already staked his claim to the overall lead yesterday, and today he bested previous leader José Cornejo to take the reins of the race with a time of 9 h 03?47? and just one day to go. Cornejo remains within striking distance, though, a mere 1?18? behind the leader. Peru continues to pin its hopes on Felipe Ríos, who’s also in the mix and will be feeling the pressure tomorrow to claw back the 3?08? separating him from the French rider. QUADS: VÍCTOR GALLEGOS TAKES THE STAGE AND THE LEAD Chile’s Víctor Gallegos (Honda TRX 700 XX) achieved one of the most important results of the day by taking the stage with a time of 5 h 03?29?, enough to catapult him into the lead after an unlucky Ignacio Casale was forced to withdraw due to mechanical problems. Gallegos has his sights set on the Peruvian race in which he claimed last year’s Dakar Challenge. Gallegos was 2?24? quicker than Gastón Pando and 10?04? faster than Rodolfo Guillioli in today’s stage, and now leads the general classification with a time of 9 h 41?03? and 10?39? to spare on rising star Alonso Elías. The 17-year-old followed up on yesterday’s surprisingly good ride with another solid performance today. Rodolfo Guillioli now holds the same place overall as in today’s stage, third at +15?13?. CARS: NANI ROMA STRENGTHENS HIS GRIP ON THE RACE Spain’s Nani Roma (Mini All 4 Racing) and navigator Michel Périn took their second straight win at the 2014 Desafío Inca. After triumphing in the opening stage, the official Mini driver clocked a time of 4 h 35?43? to make it two out of two and consolidate his overall lead with a time of 9 h 09?04?. Nani’s taking no prisoners in this year’s Desafío Inca as he grabs stage after stage on his quest for Peruvian glory. Rodrigo Moreno (+1 h 10?15?) and Diego Weber (+1 h 16?24?) rounded off today’s podium. The Mini team will settle for nothing less than victory after tomorrow’s stage. WHAT THE PROTAGONISTS HAD TO SAY Pablo Quintanilla (motorcycles) – Stage 2 winner: “Today’s stage was long and the heat made it much harder than yesterday’s. Navigating was a bit tricky. I got lost and it cost me several minutes, but after that I settled into a good pace and had no problems finding my way around. I rode well, I felt well. At least it washed away the bitter taste left by yesterday’s stage.” Víctor Gallegos (quads) – Stage 2 winner and leader of the quad classification: “Today went much better than yesterday. This stage was much tougher than the previous one, to be honest. I think my quad’s more suited to firmer terrain. Yesterday was too soft, with lots of fesh-fesh. I had trouble going full throttle, but today’s stage was more stop-and-go, with cut dunes. I was in my element.” Nani Roma (cars) – Stage 2 winner and leader of the car classification: “I felt better this morning, but we had a small problem with the car which he had to check out, a strange noise inside the gearbox, and we took it a bit easier because the second gear didn’t work properly. We’ll have a look at it now, but I’m happy we made it to the finish. I started the second special very strongly and suddenly we heard a deafening noise coming from the gearbox, so we just eased up and finished in good condition.” |
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For more information: www.desafioinca.com |
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Photo credit : A.S.O / Shakedown Press Team |
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