Mexico City, April 28 (IANS) Ross Branch and Sebastian Buhler finished stage 4 in the 7th and 11th positions respectively as Hero MotoSports Team Rally successfully completed the fourth and penultimate Stage of Sonora Rally 2023.
Competing in the premier Rally GP class, Stage 4 was a better day for Branch, except for a mishap around the Road Book error. He found himself enjoying the Stage on his Hero 450 Rally bike, which performed at its peak. His consistent run through Rally finds him a spot in the overall top-10 of the Rally GP class at the 7th position, the team informed in a release on Friday.
Buhler had a tough day battling the broken terrains of the s'age's route and lost some time in the latter half of the stage. However, his consistent performance in the Rally places him in an overall 10th place in the Rally GP class.
Due to a mistake in the road book, several competitors missed the route at around 76 km and ended up losing time trying to find their way back. They were able to re-join the rally route only by about 93 kms. FIM officials analyzed the issue and proposed a solution that shuffled the top-order results.
Clocking almost 500 km on the saddle, the competitors found the second loop around Puerto Peñasco difficult, exhausting, and at times, confusing.
The day started off with some fast riding, which soon shifted gears to careful riding through stretches of broken pistes. Around four portion' of today's route were common with that of Stage 3, and the terrain was completely broken by the cars that raced on the route - adding a lot more danger for the bike competitors today.
The penultimate stage also introduced more dunes and maintained the essence of Dakar with its varied terrains, extreme heat, and complicated navigation.
With just one stage left in the race, the competitors will now focus on going all in for a final dash to improve their positions. Stage 5, the finale, will resume a northwest course towards San Luis Río Colorado, the "home" of the Sonora Rally. The journey to the border will be a 398 kms ride, of which 139 kms will be timed. The 9th edition of the Sonora Rally will close with a podium ceremony in the border city.
"It was a really good day - the bike was incredible, and the terrain was amazing - riding in the Mexican desert is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, there was a small issue with the road book from the organisers, and we had to turn around and try and find our way. It was a bit difficult, but it is what it is, and I'm sure they will take care of fixing it. I'm looking forward to the last stage," said Ross Branch at the end of the day.
"Stage 4 started with very fast pistes, but soon it went on to become a really hard stage with a lot of broken pistes. We rode in some parts from stage 3, where the cars had broken the terrain a lot; and riding through fesh fesh always has some surprises. So, I'm glad to be back in one piece, happy with my result, and looking forward to Stage 5," Sebastian Buhler said.
--IANS
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