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2015 Cross Countries Rally Round 4 , Preview 1

Team HRC in Sardinia with Paulo Goncalves

The twisting tracks of the island of Sardinia will this weekend host the fourth round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. Paulo Goncalves will be there to represent Team HRC.

Portuguese Honda stalwart Paulo Goncalves is set to be the sole participant for Team HRC as the Sardinia Rally kicks off this weekend. ‘Speedy’ arrives at the Italian event hot off the back of a win in the Desafío Ruta 40. Although the Argentinean rally results weren’t included in the world championship points system, the race was crucial, nonetheless, to gain vital experience on Dakar-style terrain in the countdown to the great 2016 odyssey. In the top-level category, Paulo finished third in the Sealine Qatar Rally and lies ninth in the competition’s general rankings and will be looking to leapfrog several places up the leader-board by the time the Sardinia Rally closes next Thursday.

The Sardinia Rally poses one of the most particular and demanding dates of the world championship calendar as riders compete – not on rally bikes – but rather enduro bikes equipped with a navigation kit. The lighter enduro machines are more manageable and easier to handle on the narrower, zigzagging routes of the island.

Proceedings get underway on Saturday 6th from the Hotel Is Molas in Pula, a town in the south of the island, with the scrutineering and technical checks before the event’s curtain-raiser takes place the same afternoon at the Capoterra motocross circuit.

Sunday sees the first stage with both the start and finish taking place in Pula. The race will wind its way from the south-eastern part of the island to the north east with the final destination at the tourist haven San Teodoro. The rally features a marathon third stage where competitors will have to camp out in a tent.

Sardegna Rally Race 2015

Day Stage Route Special1 Special2
6th June Prolog Capoterra 3 km
7th June Stage1 Pula – Pula 85 km 70 km
8th June Stage2 Pula – Fordongianus 105 km 85 km
9th June Stage3 Fordongianus – Sa Itria 105 km 85 km
10th June Stage4 Sa Itria – San Teodoro 75 km 85 km
11th June Stage5 San Teodoro – San Teodoro 205 km

Martino Bianchi - Team HRC General Manager

Sardinia Rally is one of the habitual stops of the world championship calendar, but it is a really demanding one with a lot of navigation and difficult tracks. We will race in Sardinia with Paulo Goncalves who after the great performance in the Desafio Ruta 40, will be once again fighting for the world title in a race that he likes and where we would like to get good results. On this occasion, we will race with the CRF 450 enduro version, tuned like a rally bike that matches perfectly the characteristics of the twisting Sardinian tracks.
Sardinia Rally is also one of the races of the Dakar Challenge, so it will be interesting to watch and assist other young Honda riders like Italian rookie Jacopo Cerutti, racing for the first time in a World Championship rally event.

Location Information

Since the beginning, Bike Village had set the ambitious goal to let Sardegna Rally Race be considered among the great rallies. On the eve of the seventh edition, this goal is perfectly reached. The fans of these fascinating races born in the desert have found in the Sardegna Rally Race… read more.
Sardinia