Coma Leads Sardina Rally Race After Day One
OutdoorHub 06.09.14
KTM’s Marc Coma opened his account in the Sardegna Rally Race on Sunday, the fourth round in the 2014 FIM World Cross Countries Rally Championship by securing the overall lead in Day One of five days of competition.
Riders traveled 320 km between the towns of San Teodoro and Arbatax in the Italian island, contesting two timed specials, one of 65 km and the second of 78 km. After accrued times, including the Super Special on Saturday, Coma, a Red Bull athlete registered a total time of two hours 26.35 with a small margin over Italy’s Alessandro Botturi. Factory teammates Jordi Viladoms also supported by Red Bull of Spain is sixth overall after Day One and Red Bull’s Ruben Faria of Portugal is thirteenth with a deficit of just under nine minutes.
Before the stage, Coma said the week would be complicated with tests that were more akin to enduro racing than rally. At the conclusion of Sunday’s race he commented that Sardegna was always ‘complicated and difficult’. “The coming days will be the same,” he said. “We must be vigilant and above all make no mistakes in navigation.” Coma also confirmed that the island terrain had been made more difficult because of heavy rain during the winter and riders would also have to be careful to conserve their tires.
The second stage on Monday, a loop course from and to the town of Arbatax, features a single 180-kilometer, very technical timed special where riders are unable to use GPS. This will be followed by a marathon stage on Day Three. The rally concludes on Thursday in San Teodoro.
Sardegna Rally Race Results
Prologue (Saturday – determined starting places)
1, Joan Barreda, ESP Honda
2, Mario Abrantes, POR, Suzuki
3, Marc Coma, ESP, KTM
4, Joan Pedrero, ESP, Sherco
5, Jordi Viladoms, ESP, KTM
Other KTM
7, Ruben Faria, POR, KTM
Special Selective Stage 1 (Sunday) Individual results after 47 km
1, Coma
2, Alessandro Botturi, ITA, Husqvarna
3, Paolo Goncalves, POR, Honda
4, Andrea Mancini, ITA, Beta
5, Armand Hernandes, ESP, KTM
Other KTM
8, Viladoms
11, Faria
Special Selective Stage 2 (Sunday) Individual stage results after 74 km
1, Gerard Farres, ESP, Gas Gas
2, Coma
3, Armand
4, Botturi
5, Viladoms
Other KTM
13, Faria
Overall positions after prologue, SS1 plus SS2 (Sunday –Day One)
1, Coma, 2 hours 26.35
2, Botturi, 2:27.03
3, Armand, 2:27.49
4, Farres 2:28.01
5, Goncalves 2:28.02
6, Viladoms 2:28.59
13. Faria, 2:35.32 (at 8 minutes 58)
