2014 Sealine Rally Stage 1 Results | Honda’s Barreda Quickest

2014 Sealine Rally Stage 1 Results | Honda’s Barreda Quickest
Team HRC Honda's Joan "Bang Bang" Barreda, who won stage one in the 2014 Sealine Rally
2014 Sealine Rally Stage 1 Results | Honda’s Barreda Quickest
Team HRC Honda’s Joan “Bang Bang” Barreda, who won stage one in the 2014 Sealine Rally

2014 Sealine Rally Stage 1 Results

Joan “Bang Bang” Barreda – a multi-stage winner in 2014 Dakar Rally – took the first of five stage wins in the Sealine Rally, round 2 of the 2014 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship.

The Spaniard, who finished third overall at the Cross Country Rallies season opener, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, was quick from the outset of Monday’s stage. When the Sealine Rally began at Qatar’s Losail Circuit, Barreda quickly found his rhythm aboard the CRF450 Rally, and passed his rivals.

The opening stage was the shortest of the race – only 164 kilometers – but was tough to navigate, constantly challenging the riders. Barreda was able to navigate without any issues.

Barreda would finish the stage just over a minute ahead of the man who finished second in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, four-time Dakar winner Marc Coma (Red Bull KTM 450 Rally). Taking third was Coma’s teammate Jordi Viladoms, who finished over five minutes behind Barreda.

As for the winner of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and the reigning Cross Country World Champion, Team HRC’s Paulo Goncalves had a navigation error, causing him to finish sixth, 11:30 minutes behind teammate Barreda.

Tuesday’s route is much longer. It will take riders 484.96 kilometers with 396.46 of those timed in a loop that takes them away and back into the bivouac.

2014 Sealine Rally Stage 1 Quotes:

Joan Barreda (Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally) says “I’m really pleased with the stage in Qatar. Not just because I’ve been very fast, but also because of the navigation: I did a really good job. I had tried to change the first day strategy, but in the end I’ve picked up a very important win which sets me up nicely for the next few days.”

Paulo Goncalves (Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally) says: “I didn’t keep a very good rhythm in the rally. I made a mistake at the beginning of the special and I lost a bit of time. We’ve still got more than 1600 kms to go, and I’ll try and make up a bit of the ground that I lost today. The bike is running like a dream and I’m very confident about the next few stages.”

Marc Coma (Red Bull KTM 450 Rally) says: “The key to a good rally in Qatar is to not make any mistakes because the navigation is complicated,” Coma said. “The terrain gives the impression of being easy but it is not. It is important to be mentally prepared and to have a good strategy.”

2014 Sealine Rally Stage 1 Results:

1 Joan Barreda 01:42’31 ESP HONDA TEAM HRC
2 Marc Coma +01’02 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory
3 Jordi Viladoms +05’04 ESP KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory
4 Mohammed Albalooshi +07’03 UAE KTM KTM UAC
5 Helder Rodrigues +09’24 PRT HONDA TEAM HRC
6 Paulo Goncalves +11’30 PRT HONDA TEAM HRC
7 Sam Sunderland +17’03 ENG KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory
8 Ruben Faria +19’12 POR KTM KTM Red Bull Rally Factory
9 Rafal Sonik +31’17 POL HONDA Poland National
10 Mohammed Abu Issa +33’19 QAT YAMAHA Abu Issa

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