2014 OiLibya Rally of Morocco Stage 6 09/10/2014 Morocco Marrakech > Morocco Marrakech Total: 169 km Special stage: 113 km

Final podium for Helder Rodrigues and yet another stage win for Barreda in the OiLybia Rally of Morocco

The OiLybia Rally of Morocco drew to a close today in Marrakech with Joan Barreda taking the honours in the sixth and final stage. The Spaniard managed a fourth overall in spite of his final position being marred by a weighty penalty handed down earlier in the week. Fellow Team HRC rider Helder Rodrigues occupied the third step of the final podium, while Laia Sanz finished top female with tenth place on the final table.

Helder Rodrigues, as yesterday’s winner, landed the tricky job of leading out in today’s 113 km special. On the menu was fast, mainly flat track - at times wide, at others potholed - with a fair serving of dust. The Portuguese rider battled successfully to fend off his adversaries in the chase for the final podium place.

The stage winner was Joan Barreda who was fastest in five of the six stages in Morocco, setting a blistering pace which the others were unable to maintain. Nevertheless, Barreda had been hit with several penalties for excess speed that stopped him finishing higher on the overall final leader-board, narrowly missing a podium place by one minute. He closes the World Championship in 3rd place.

Laia Sanz once again shone. Spain’s champion clinched not only victory in the female category, but posted a notable tenth place in the stage.

Jeremías Israel was unable to start today, after having suffered a mechanical setback shortly after setting off from Zagora yesterday, which saw the rider obliged to return directly to the bivouac.

Paulo Goncalves was forced to abandon the race yesterday after a crash left him nursing a broken rib. The Portuguese rider headed back home to begin his convalescence ahead of the next big challenge: Dakar 2015. He finish the season as runner-up in the 2014 FIM World Championship Cross-Country Rallies.

Helder Rodrigues 3rd +12'13 Team HRC Today was a day that I opened the track so it was difficult to get good times. I wanted to get through it without losing much time to get onto the podium. In the end I got a result. I think that the team is happy. It’s the first race with this bike. The machine is really good, and hasn’t given us any problems. I felt bad for Paulo’s crash yesterday, which was very worrying. He could have got a good result, but that’s the way the races go. I happy that it wasn’t more serious.

Joan Barreda 4th +12'54 Team HRC We’ve won again. I think that we are on the right track and that’s what you have to look at. We’ll try to stay relaxed in the next few races, confident in the knowledge that we’ve done the job well. I had a much more confident race with the navigation, because I hadn’t taken part in Brazil, so I wasn’t in the running for the world championship. If I had to take any risks with the navigation or the speed, it was here. We have tried, and now we know that we have a few more good points than the rest. It’s great. We’ll try and follow this more consistent line, and now let’s see if the year goes any better. Let’s see if we can win the Dakar, which has been our aim over these last few years.

Laia Sanz 10th +1:42'56 Team HRC It’s been a great rally. I didn’t push it so much, rather I tried to be consistent and not have any problems. The result was a good one, but the priority was to get some kilometres under my belt, get more training and I think that we accomplished this. I had a good day in the rocks of the fifth stage, but on the whole, I think that I did well over all kinds of ground. It was only on the fast tracks that I wasn’t so comfortable, and I made a few navigational errors, without consequences. This has been a good training session for the Dakar. I wasn’t thinking about getting a result, but I began thinking that I could improve on it. But that wasn’t what counted. What is important is the kilometres and the road-books that we’ve done, and that has helped a lot.

Paulo Goncalves dnf Team HRC After yesterday’s fall, it’s now time to recover and get in shape for the next challenge which is the Dakar 2015. For the time being, I have to think that I was runner-up in the championship and I’m happy with that. We have battled hard throughout the 2014 championship. I really pushed it yesterday to try and win the race, but I fell and picked up a few injuries. But the important thing is the work that we have done over the course of the season. Team HRC has done a formidable job, with a better bike. We have the best team and the top riders, and all we need to win is a little more luck. I hope we find it in a couple of months in the Dakar.

Jeremias Israel dnf Team HRC I’m happy to have had this experience. The Rally of Morocco is the first experience that I’ve had since last season’s Dakar where I got injured and had to spend a year recovering. It’s been the first contact that I’ve had with Team HRC trying out the bike on real terrain. In a way I got a feel for it – I saw the pace of the top riders and got to try out stuff with the team. It was a difficult challenge, with a few negative points, such as the penalty on the first day, which didn’t reflect the effort that I put in. I was with Paulo when he fell yesterday. I helped him a bit. After, I had a small electrical problem that stopped me going any further. I’m fine and haven’t had any problems. In the next few days I’ll return to Chile and will start to prepa re for the next Dakar.

Wolfgang Fischer Team HRC Team Manager With the finish of the OiLybia Rally of Morocco, we have also finished a very intensive programme of testing for the Dakar. We were able to be the fastest in most of the stages, and showed the potential of the technical improvements, and the preparation of the riders. The end result was not what we wished for - we had been aiming for the victory here, but this time it was not possible. What is important is that Paulo has no serious injury, and can prepare well for Dakar. The riders are all in good spirits. Laia had an excellent race to finish tenth. We are happy for Helder to have taken the last place on the podium. As a preparation race, it’s a very satisfying place here. We wish our compliments to KTM and Marc Coma for a great world championship title, and for a very nice and sporting season, fighting closely in ev ery race throughout the whole year. We’ll see you again in Dakar and we’ll fight again.

2014 OiLibya Rally of Morocco Stage 5 08/10/2014 Morocco Zagora > Morocco Marrakech Total: 512 km Special stage: 302 km 

‘Bang Bang' Barreda takes command of a treacherous OiLibiya Rally of Morocco.

Joan Barreda once again has taken control of the OiLibiya Rally of Morocco. The Spanish rider on the CRF450 RALLY marked the fastest time in a hazardous fifth stage, bringing Team HRC’s tally to four out of five stage wins.

The rally caravan journeyed on today with the rally’s longest stage, setting off from Zagora before winding its way into the mountainous Draa area, and finishing up some 512 kilometres later in Ourzazate, which featured 302 km of timed special. The route was in complete contrast to yesterday’s – the dunes being replaced by rock-filled narrow and treacherous track.

Joan Barreda was, for the fourth time, the fastest of the race, setting a storming pace that allowed him to close down on the front-runners. In doing so, Barreda moves up into fourth place in the overall standings with just tomorrow’s stage in Marrakech still left to run.

Hélder Rodrigues, likewise, performed well in spite of the numerous dangers. The Portuguese Honda took place on the day, and looks poised to hold on to his podium place as the title chase looks forward to tomorrow’s grand finale with 113 kilometres of special.

Sublime fifth stage also for Laia Sanz. The Spanish rider had her best day out so far in the world championship, finishing in eleventh place, climbing two places on the overall leader-board.

Paulo Gonçalves was unable to finish the special. He suffered a fall in the early in the special before arriving at the first waypoint, which resulted in an injured shoulder and ribs. ‘Speedy’ had been battling to retain his FIM World Cross-Country Rally title which he had clinched in the same race last year. After the fall, he managed to make it to the first Control Point and was transported to hospital in Ourzazate.

Jeremías Israel continues to perform well in the later half of the rally, but had an accident today that saw him drop time. The Chilean rider chose to head straight back to the bivouac in Marrakech without finishing the stage. 

Joan Barreda 1st 4:15'37 Team HRC It was a really dangerous day today. I set off really pushing hard, but I saw straight away that there was so much to lose, with loads of dangers, and knew that I had to stay calm, especially in the river crossings with so many rocks. I changed the chip and focused on getting through without making any mistakes or crashing. In the end I caught up with the other riders that I had up ahead, making it a good all round result.

Helder Rodrigues 3rd +3'07 Team HRC It could have been a great day for me, but it didn’t turn out that way, because I was worried about Paulo, who I was very sad to see abandon the race. I found him and asked if he needed any help, but he told me to keep going. I tried as hard as I could right until the end, and I made it to the goal. We will be trying our hardest to get a result tomorrow. It’s great to hear that Paulo hasn’t got anything too serious.

Laia Sanz 11th +24'26 Team HRC Everything is going great until now. It’s a pity about the fall on the second day. I feel fine and I’m improving a lot with a stable and steady pace. That’s what it’s all about: keep getting better. The technique is very important, the speed of the bike, and the navigation. It’s been a perfect debut. Today was the most dangerous stage yet – full of dangers and rocks. I took it calmly and safely.

Martino Bianchi Team HRC General Manager It was a very difficult and dangerous fifth stage here in Morocco. It is a shame that we have lost Paulo Goncalves in a crash. We are happy that he didn’t injure himself badly. He was transported to Ourzazate hospital in a helicopter. They looked him over and it seems that he has got broken ribs and some damage to his shoulder, but not that bad. Anyway, we won another stage today, our fourth win in five days of racing. Barreda won again and showed that he is very fast, and he also proved himself to be very consistent in this type of hard race. Also, Helder was very good today in third position. We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s stage. We offer our best wishes to the whole team and hope they all finish safely.

STAGE 6 Thursday October 9th Marrakech - Marrakech Liaison: 32 km Special Stage: 113 km Liaision: 24 km

This last step is not just a parade, but a special that may change the results. The co-drivers have much to do on that land of multiple tracks. Competitors should stay focused to reach the finish of the stage under the palm trees. After a 24 km liaison, the winners and all finishers of the OiLibya Rally of Morocco 2014 will be welcomed by all the assistants, officials, VIPs, accompanying, public, ... at the finish podium in Marrakech.

2014 OiLibya Rally of Morocco Stage 4 07/10/2014 Morocco Zagora > Morocco Cheggaga Total: 379 km Special stage: 226 km

Positive day for Team HRC riders in stage four of the OiLibya Rally of Morocco

Team HRC were able to salvage something out of what turned out to be the toughest and most complicated day so far in the OiLibya Rally of Morocco, finishing in positions that will leave them poised for attack over the next stages. The best of the bunch were Goncalves and Barreda finishing in fourth and fifth respectively – a significant result considering the day's unfavourable starting order.

Difficult and complicated are the words that spring to mind when describing the M’Hamid to Cheggaga fourth stage of the OiLibya Rally of Morocco which played out over an abundance of sand dunes and rocky track. It was also a stage demanding a skilful command of navigation, one that left Joan Barreda riding the entire special unaccompanied. As yesterday’s stage winner, the Spaniard was forced to open the track - and there at the front he stayed until the finish line. Nevertheless, his flawless navigation throughout the 226 kilometres of special only served to help guide his adversaries as they went in pursuit of the tracks left by the Honda CRF450 RALLY. 

Barreda ended up finishing in fifth place, behind Team HRC buddy, and incumbent world champion Paulo Goncalves in fourth place, who had set off from behind the Spaniard. ‘Speedy’ lies in second overall position, just one and a half minutes behind the leader, and will be well-placed to attack in tomorrow’s stage which winds up in Marrakech.

The stage was a tough one for everybody including Helder Rodrigues, who finished in seventh place on the day and is in fourth on the overall leader-board. Rodrigues will be fighting to get back into a podium position as the rally goes into its final two days.

Jeremías Israel continues to get used to the new machine and today completed the stage in eighth place after a slight navigational error at the start before arriving at the dunes.

The stage gave Laia Sanz the opportunity to keep gaining experience as she clocks up more mileage on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, finishing the stage in fifteenth place and resisting well the physically demanding dunes of Cheggaga. The champion moves up to thirteenth place on the overall leader-board.

Access to the video of the third stage, here

Paulo Goncalves 4th 2'16 Team HRC It was the hardest day so far. I was lucky that Barreda opened the way and at a cracking pace. I managed to finish without losing too much time – my main aim. I’m pleased because team Team HRC is doing a great job. Tomorrow will be difficult – very different with a mountainous track of over 300 km and we will have to be focussed to keep our chances open.

Joan Barreda 5th +3'47 Team HRC I think that it has been the hardest stage so far of the whole rally. There were a hundred or so kilometres of dunes and I opened the way for the whole stage. I felt pretty good but I had one doubt about the route that was hard to find. After I kept a fast pace. We knew that it would be difficult and I think we did a good job. A really tough stage where you had to concentrate all the time.

Helder Rodrigues 7th +4'54 Team HRC It has been the most difficult stage – always offroad. There was practically no track from the beginning. A lot of navigation and I’m sure opening the track was not easy. I was behind and had a less complicated job. We’ll keep fighting for the podium.

Jeremias Israel 8th +5'29 Team HRC In the beginning I got lost with Jordi Viladoms, but we refound the route pretty quickly. I pushed as hard as I could in the sand and had a few problems with the GPS which wasn’t signalling right, but in the end I was able to finish the stage which I’m very happy about.

Laia Sanz 15th +18'22 Team HRC A very tough stage with a lot of sand and dunes. It was very hard to get throught at the beginning, but I’m very pleased about the way that it went. I felt great, better than before and I hope that it goes on that way. It’s all about getting more experience. To perform well at the Dakar you have to be consistent, not have any problems and keep improving.

Wolfgang Fischer Team HRC Team Manager All went well today. It was a very important stage today – the biggest with about 200 km in the south of Zagora. The riders did very well. Joan had the pleasure to open the track and ride out first and take the line. He did an excellent job as usual with a perfect navigation. He managed to not only to ride, but arrive first as well, without losing too much time to the other riders starting behind who had the advantage of being able to catch him up. Paulo pushed hard and rode most of the way with Joan, finishing a few seconds behind. Also for him it was a very important day. He lost the overall lead but not with a big gap. We are now in a good position for the final two days to fight for the victory. All the other riders did a good job too, so the team is ready for the final two days.

STAGE 5 Tuesday October 8th Zagora - Marrakech Liaison: 2 km Special Stage: 302 km Liaision: 208 km

A start of leg from just outside of Zagora who takes competitors into a narrow valley between two mountains. The tracks will be fasts but narrow with oueds crossings and magical landscapes. Competitors cross a palm trees then will cross a pass to see the wonderfull views of the valley. Trucks will be neutralized a portion of the stage and will join the rally for the final part, which will consist of a very fast and wide track. Pilots can fully let go!

2014 OiLibya Rally of Morocco Stage 3 06/10/2014 Morocco Erfoud > Morocco Zagora
Total: 313 km Special stage: 363 km

Joan Barreda wins the longest stage and Goncalves takes the leadership

Honda continued the tendency once more today in the longest stage of the Rally OiLibya of Morocco. The race concluded in Zagora with a third consecutive win for the CRF450 RALLY. Joan Barreda was once again the fastest, and Paulo Goncalves takes over the overall leadership.

At the end of a long gruelling day in Zagora, Joan ‘Bang Bang’ Barreda was once again the fastest in the 2014 edition of the OiLibya Rally of Morocco. The Spanish rider was heavily penalized yesterday for excess speed, with a thirty minutes penalty that saw his triumph annulled and passed down to yesterday's runner-up, his fellow Honda team-mate, Jeremias Israel. Today Barreda got off to a storming start, yet again proving himself to be the fastest on the track, leaving another HRC rider, Paulo Goncalves two and a half minutes behind. Honda and the CRF450 RALLY thus clinch the third double in three days.

Portuguese Goncalves, managed to keep up a cracking pace throughout the stage, fighting a splendid comeback that sees him move up to the top of the overall leader-board, with a forty second advantage over Marc Coma. In seventh place on the day, was Chilean Jeremias Israel, who yesterday won his first stage victory in a World Cross-Country Rallies competition, thanks to Barreda’s penalty.

Helder Rodrigues fought hard to maintain the pace, in the stage that ran from Erfoud to Zagora, with 313 km against the clock. The Portuguese Team HRC rider finished in the top ten, and hangs on to his overall third place in spite of dropping time in the overall standings. Laia Sanz, finished the stage without a fall, and with no more inconveniences than the heavily potholed track in the special. She performed better over the more technical parts of the course, with the frequent changes of route, which demand more attention at the navigation - one of her strong points.

Access to the video of the second stage, here.

Joan Barreda 1st 3:14'15 Team HRC There was a very fast liasion between Erfoud and Zagora, with a lot of rutted ground, where we had to really push. It was very tough. Yesterday, I finished the stage totally convinced of having done a good job. In the end we found something that we haven't seen in 30 years of rallying with a penalty like that. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, and if the rule applies to everyone.

Paulo Goncalves 2nd +2'30 Team HRC It was a long and hard stage with a lot of tricky navigation. Some dunes and rocks. But I pushed hard and closed down on Marc, and now I'm leader in the overall standings. I'm happy for me and for Team HRC. We'll try and get another good result tomorrow.

Jeremias Israel 8th +10'01 Team HRC A very long physical stage with those long plains that you never know when they'll finish. It was nice. It was my turn to open the way and when I came to a place and had doubts, Marc caught up with me. Sam and Marc are battling it out in the overall, and I let Marc go. After the penalty on the first day of I haven't got much chance overall. I'm happy that it was problem free.

Helder Rodrigues 10th +13'17 Team HRC It was a long and hard stage with a lot of hard navigation. In the end I made it without any problems, without breaking anything. The important thing is to be in the running for a podium place.

Laia Sanz 16th +30'05 Team HRC Today went well - better than expected. I lost a bit of time because there were so many holes that it was impossible to pick up speed. But the important thing is to finish the stage and gain experience, get a few kilometres under my belt. It's going well.

Wolfgang Fischer Team HRC Team Manager Day three in Morocco which ended with another double victory for Team HRC. Paulo Goncalves pushed hard to make up the time, and in the end finished as overall leader ahead of Marc Coma. Joan Barreda started from the rear after suffering a penalization yesterday, but he was once again able to show his amazing speed and win the stage. The other riders arrived without problems too. So, a very good day, and we will have an interesting stage too with a lot of sand, so we'll be able to see how the bike performs under these conditions.

Event information STAGE 4 Tuesday October 7th Zagora - Cheggaga - Liaison: 76 km Special Stage: 226 km Liaision: 77 km Many sand at the program of this 4th stage. At the depature of the special, the competitors can guess the Algerian border. They will then go in the Oued Draa and join the west of the Erg Chegaga. Prepare the plates and carefully follow your caps to cross 30kms on the erg. Many will be lost on differents parallels tracks to reach the finish.

2014 OiLibya Rally of Morocco Stage 1 04/10/2014  Morocco Erfoud > Morocco Damia Total: 320 km Special stage: 276 km
Double for Team HRC as the 2014 OiLibya Rally of Morocco gets underway

Team HRC got off to a flying start in the 2014 edition of the OiLibya Rally of Morocco, with Joan ‘Bang Bang' Barreda on the Honda CRF450 RALLY securing victory in the race's first timed special. Team HRC side-kick Paulo Gonçalves finished not far behind in runner-up position giving Honda their first one-two.

Joan Barreda becomes the first leader of the OiLibya Rally of Morocco, in this, the sixth and final rally of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. The Spanish rider set a cracking pace over the 276 kilometres against the clock, in a stage that covered both hard track and rocky terrain, and even included a first incursion into the dunes. Such was the speed over most of the stage, that not even a minor loss of route in the later part was able to stop the Team HRC rider crossing the finish-line in first place.

Joan Barreda’s win was reinforced by team-mate Paulo Gonçalves who made it a Honda double. ‘Speedy’ kept his distance from Marc Coma who started out from behind the Portugese rider, but was never able to get past him. Coming in behind Coma, in fourth position, was yet another Team HRC component, Hélder Rodrigues, who performed well over the special.

Team HRC debutants, Jeremías Israel and Laia Sanz managed to finish among the top thirteen finishers on their first outing on the brand new Honda CRF450 RALLY. Jeremías finished with a tenth place, and Sanz a note-worthy thirteenth.

Access to the Scrutineering video, clicking here

Joan Barreda 1st 3:04'11 Team HRC It went really well. I’m pleased with the way that the stage went. We started from behind and there was a lot of tricky navigating to do. Near the end I dropped a couple of minutes due to a slight navigational error, but it didn’t amount to much. Now we will be looking to see how we can improve even more over the next few days, and keep ahead of the rest. The strategy will have a crucial role in the race.

Paulo Goncalves 2st +1'49 Team HRC Today was a hard day for the start of a rally. We came across dunes, very stony areas, and difficult navigation. I started from behind in fourteenth place, and I came up against some slower riders who it was very difficult to overtake. Here we are. I’ve finished in second. It was very hard to stay in front because all the riders were pushing so hard.

Helder Rodrigues 4th +3'51 Team HRC I didn’t want to take any risks on the first day of the rally. I rode a consistent race. I had a minor problem with the roadbook and that’s why I tried to get through the stage without taking any chances. It’s a good position to begin tomorrow’s stage from, and I’ll be trying to make up a bit of time.

Jeremias Israel 10th +18'50 Team HRC Today was a complicated stage, with a bit of navigation at the beginning that I got through without problems. It was a very varied stage with fast ground and some dunes, and I’m very pleased to have made it to the end without any setbacks. Physically, I felt great on the bike, I’m getting a feel for how it reacts, and I’m thrilled to be riding for Team HRC. I am gaining confidence as I go and should be at my full potential soon.

Laia Sanz Laia Sanz 13th +25'07 Team HRC Today was a good stage – it’s important to make it through to the end of the stage without any problems. Today I had to open the race which was something that I hadn’t ever done. The first few kilometers were tough, but some of the top riders started to overtake me, so I kept calm because there was a lot of dust and a lot of danger. The important thing is to pick up a good rhythm and learn.

Wolfgang Fischer Team HRC Team Manager So, we had a very nice first stage in Morocco. Joan was able to win the stage. A very satisfying reward for all the work of testing and setting up the new bike. Also, Paulo has a nice stage finishing in second, and Helder fourth. Also Laia and Jeremias had decent stages and rode well, so everybody is confident so far and we are looking forward to preparing the next stage.

TOMORROW STAGE STAGE 2 Sunday October 5th Erfoud-Merzane Liaison: 26 km Special Stage: 211 km Liaision: 11 km After the first getting stuck in the sand, competitors will face again the Erg Chebbi in crossing from south to north: a novelty on this OiLibya Rally of Morocco 2014. Arriving south of the erg the rally separate into two ways. On one side the bikes will make a big crossing of dunes with multiple changes of direction. To the east, the cars & trucks will have to find their own way. Everyone will end up at the exit of the erg. Photographers will be many at this crossing where vehicles will flow on all sides. Then the rally will end up in the oued and competitors will have to find the pass that will take them on arrival.

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