Rally dos Sertoes: Gonclaves Wins Penultimate Stage, Retains Lead
Speedbrain’s Paolo Gonclaves
2013 Rally dos Sertoes Stage 9 Results
The penultimate stage of the 2013 Rally dos Sertoes in Brazil took the riders 341 miles Friday from Minacu to Gioanesia, with a special stage of 164 miles.
And taking his fourth-stage victory was Speedbrain 450 R pilot Paolo Gonclaves. The Portuguese racer rode his machine with precision, and was able to gain some time in overall standings on Yamaha’s Cyril Despres. The five-time Dakar winner trails Gonclaves by 25 minutes 49 seconds.
Speedbrain reports stage four, which went through a national park, was a bit shorter than Thursday, but the terrain was tough. Riders could easily loose time in the fast sections and hillside tracks, but Gonclaves was able to overtake Despres, who started in from of him.
Paulo Goncalves (Speedbrain 450 R) says: “I am happy not only to keep my lead in the overall rankig. I gained some more time and also won the stage so it was a perfect day. It’s time to thank my Team and the developers of the Speedbrain 450 R which is a perfect machine. Tomorrow I am going to ride smart and safe. The race is still not over but our chances for the overall win are very good at the moment.”
Finishing third at stage nine was three-time Dakar winner Marc Coma. The KTM 450 Rally rider has finished on the podium in every stage except for the marathon stage when Coma had rear-rim issues. Overall, he is third, just over 37 minutes behind Gonclaves.
Marc Coma (KTM 450 Rally) says: “I started with a slow pace to be sure not to make any mistakes. We were again in mountains and the first half was a dusty Enduro-style section before we had to tackle a faster section that was more enjoyable to ride. Tomorrow is the last day of the rally and the stage will be shorter. The rally is almost over today but with one like this, anything can happen.”
The final stage of the Rally dos Sertoes will end Saturday at Goiania after 180 miles with 76 miles of special stage.
2013 Rally dos Sertoes Stage 9 Results:
1. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Speedbrain) 03:19:30 hrs
2. Coma (ESP, KTM) +00:03:34
3. Przygonski (POL, KTM) +00:10:34
4. Mota (PRT, Yamaha) +00:11:12
5. Azevedo (BRA, Honda) +00:14:45
2013 Rally dos Sertoes Overall Standings after Stage 9:
1. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Speedbrain) 28:59:52 hrs
2. Despres (FRA, Yamaha) +00:25:49
3. Coma (ESP, KTM) +00:37:19
4. Azevedo (BRA, Honda) +01:15:24
5. Przygonski (POL, KTM)+01:30:26
