Coma Well Placed after Stage Two of Sardina Rally in Italy
OutdoorHub 06.03.13
KTM factory rider and multiple Dakar winner Marc Coma continued to occupy a top position on Sunday in Stage Two of the Sardinia Rally. At the end of the second timed special he was positioned between leader Alessandro Botturi of Italy and his old rival Cyril Despres in third. The three top riders are only separated by less than a minute.
The course took riders from Aborea to Chia on the Italian island over a distance of 292 km with the first timed special of 60 km and the second of 54 km. Sunday’s stage was a marathon stage so riders were not allowed any mechanical assistance during or after the stage. This played a role in how they faced the ride, Coma said.
“The first stage was very difficult with lots of navigation so I was happy to be in the lead at the end of it.” Coma commented. “Then the second stage was faster but I wanted to ride carefully and take good care of the bike because it was the marathon stage.”
Coma said he was satisfied with the outcome of the day’s ride where the weather continued to improve and riders did not have the same muddy conditions as the previous day. “I feel very good and I am very happy with the bike. Tomorrow I need to take care of the tires, which we already used today, but this will be the same for everyone.” The Sardinia Rally is a somewhat different format to other rallies and Coma rides the KTM 450 EXC Enduro machine instead of his normal KTM 450 Rally bike.
The two other KTM factory riders contesting the rally are Ruben Faria of Portugal and Jakub Przygonski of Poland. They are currently seventh and thirteenth.
Stage Three takes riders from Chia to Arborea over a distance of 293 km, which Coma expects to be faster because the ground is drying out as the weather improves. There are again two timed specials, the first of 115 km and the second of 55 km.
Results Day Two Sardinia Rally
Overall aggregate results after Sunday’s two timed specials
1, Alessandro Botturi, Italy, Yamaha 4:48.05
2, Marc Coma, Spain, KTM, 4:48.34
3, Cyril Despres, France, Yamaha, 4:49.03
4, Fabio Ceci, Italy, Yamaha, 4:52.13
5, Paolo Goncalves, Portugal 4:55.19
6, Joan Pedrero, Spain, 455.51
7, Ruben Faria, Portugal 4:56.17
8. Jordii Villadoms, Spain, Gas Gas 4:56.19
9, Andreas Mancini, Italy Beta, 4:58.54
10. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Honda 5:01.27
Other KTM
13, Jakub Przygonski, Poland 5: 07.17
