Atacama Rally: Kevin Benavides wins stage two
By TMX Archives on 16th Aug 17
The Atacama Rally headed north in Chile with a lightning-paced Kevin Benavides taking the win in the second stage.
The Atacama Rally left Copiapo bound for the north in a second stage affected by an accident involving French rider Pela Renet who had to be airlifted to safety by helicopter.
For safety reasons the special stage was shortened to the neutralisation zone, where the fastest competitor at that point had been Monster Energy Honda Team rider Kevin Benavides. The Argentinean rider thus reduced the gap with overall leader Quintanilla to just seven seconds.
Kevin Benavides: "I felt really good today. I kept a good pace throughout the stage. At first, with sand, valleys and navigation until kilometre 70. Then, there were faster tracks. The idea today was to get a good position, maybe it was not the best thing to do to win, but I'm glad I got this victory. There are three days ahead and we are going to challenge the mathematics of it and keep up a good rhythm until Iquique. It's a pity for Pela, I wish him a speedy recovery and a return to the track as soon as possible."
Paulo Gonçalves, who set off sixth after receiving a somewhat dubious penalization, also finished the day in sixth place as well as occupying the same place in the general standings.
Red Bull KTM's Sam Sunderland fought hard to finish as runner up, just 17 seconds behind the winner.
KTM team-mate Matthias Walker placed seventh, just over two minutes behind his team-mate. KTM Rally Factory Racing rider Laia Sanz had a tough day, stopping to help an injured rider, and placed 14th.
Sunderland: "Today was a pretty good day. I lost a little bit through navigation, but was happy with the first part of the stage. It's always frustrating when they cancel part of a stage because we all want to race.
I was in a good position to make up some time but unfortunately didn't have the chance to maximise it. There are some long, heavy days coming up so I'll look forward to them and do my best to get to the front."
