2014 Sealine Rally Final Results | Honda’s Barreda Victorious

2014 Sealine Rally Results

The 2014 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship has a new leader following the Sealine Rally.

And it’s another Team HRC Honda rider – Joan “Bang Bang” Barreda. With his two stage wins, and third in the fifth and final stage on Friday, Barreda took the top-points position from teammate and winner of the opening round (Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge), Paulo Gonclaves.

The win was also Team HRC’s third straight win since the Honda CRF450 Rally debuted at the Morocco Rally last season.

During the final stage of the Sealine Rally, the Spaniard Barreda immediately found his rhythm, but knew he only needed a few tenths of a second to beat the leader after stage four, Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma. He rode an intelligent race, and once he found Coma, he kept him in check until the finish line.

Taking the stage win was Helder Rodrigues following an untouchable pace throughout the 363-kilometer win. This made for four stage wins from Honda with no mechanical issues.

Taking second was Red Bull KTM’s Ruben Faria, who finished 1:06 minutes behind. Barreda finished third, followed by Coma in fourth; the four-time Dakar winner finished 5:59 minutes behind Rodrigues.

As for Abu Dhabi Desert winner Paulo Goncalves, he had navigation issues, and finished sixth, 11:57 minutes behind Rodrigues.

With his win, Barreda now has a one-point lead over Coma with four rounds remaining. The Cross Country Rallies World Championship now heads to Italy June 7-12 for the Sardinia Rally Race.

2014 Sealine Rally Final Quotes:

Joan Barreda (Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally) says: “I’m really pleased. Finally, after a whole week of really hard work, I’ve made it. I’m really happy for the victory, for the team, and for Honda. We have won here in Qatar, and we are leading the world championship too. This is a just reward for all the hard work that the team has done.”

Helder Rodrigues (Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally) says: “Last race day in Qatar. It has been a very positive one for us all. Joan has won the race. I finished third and I’m happy, and above all, for the team result. Paulo had been ahead as well, and I think that we’ve done a great job together. Honda has done really well to win the second race of the championship. Thanks to everybody.”

Paulo Goncalves (Team HRC Honda CRF450 Rally) says: “After three consecutive wins in the world championship, I wasn’t able to finish on the podium here. But I’m very happy with the job. The final result may not be so good but I’ve got speed, a great bike, a terrific team, and I’m fighting for victory in every rally.”

“We’ve had a very tough race here with some complicated tracks and some difficult navigation. If I forget about the error in the first stage, I would have been in the running for another victory. We’ve got to stay on this course, and keep working towards the goal in the next race.”

Marc Coma (Red Bull KTM 450 Rally) says: “We added some good points for the World Championship and we again did a good job. We had a consistent race with a good pace, just as we did in the first round in Abu Dhabi. It is very difficult to be competitive in all the stages because they are really different races. These rallies are also short and it is only the small details that decide the outcome. We tried right up until the end of the last stage but it was not been possible to break away from the group of riders.”

2014 Sealine Rally Stage 5 Results:

2014 Sealine Rally Final Standings: