  
Atacama Rally 2016
2016 Cross-Country Rallies Round R4 , Stage 5
The Atacama Rally finishes with Kevin Benavides on the podium
The riders from Team HRC have finished an important rally in preparation
for the Dakar Rally 2017 – the Atacama Rally – with Argentinean rider
Kevin Benavides on the rostrum, runner-up in the final stage.
Kevin Benavides was the best finisher among the components of Team HRC
with a podium finish in the Rally Atacama 2016 after a high-speed week in
the Chilean desert. The Argentinean rider, on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, made
it onto the podium after finishing second in the fifth and final stage in
the dunes of Copiapó.
Teammate Paulo Gonçalves started out first after yesterday’s victory,
but the final stage didn’t favour the Portuguese rider’s bid to retain
yesterday’s third position in today’s final standings. In spite of
opening the track throughout most of the day, the rider saw how various
adversaries closed in on him over the course of the stage. Paulo goes home
with an overall fourth place after Benavides whittled down the two-minute
gap between the stablemates.
American rider Ricky Brabec wraps up another race with the Team HRC squad
and continues to gain experience and hone his navigational skills on the
Honda CRF450 RALLY. Ricky comes away from his maiden Atacama Rally with
seventh overall position.
Team Honda South America Rally Team also featured in this, the fourth
date of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship with Argentinean
Franco Caimi, who relied on the support of Team HRC. Caimi finished the
rally just behind Brabec on the final table.
Paulo Goncalves - STAGE: 5th RALLY: 4th
We have finished another rally more. I have mixed feelings as I feel that I
could have done better if it hadn’t been for the fall and the pain that it
caused over the next couple of days. The important thing is the sensations
that we come away with which are very good. Yesterday I won the stage and
today I opened the track in the dunes and they only caught up with me two
kilometres from the finish line. I feel as if I am improving. The difference
isn’t so great. We’ve still got a couple of months work left ahead of us
to work on things. I have to congratulate Team HRC for the great work that
they have done on the bike.
Kevin Benavides - STAGE: 2nd RALLY. 3rd
I’m happy to have finished this rally in spite of the complications: a
fall on the second day that damaged the navigation instrument panel and
another one yesterday where I injured myself and lost some time. In spite of
everything I think that I’ve shown good pace and those mistakes will give
me something to contemplate and learn from. I’m feeling more and more
comfortable with the bike and with the team. HRC have worked really long and
hard and the results have been really good so I have to thank them very
much.
Ricky Brabec - STAGE: 6th RALLY. 7th
The final stage was good at full gas. It was pretty sandy so I tried to ride
my race. Overall the rally was good. It was a good learning experience.
There was only one really tricky day and the rest of the days were full gas.
This was a really fast rally. I don’t know how these guys can do it and
ride so fast on these roads. I’ll keep practicing and we’ll see where we
are at for the Dakar, but I think that Honda is very solid has a really good
chance with Kevin, Paulo and Joan this year.
Martino Bianchi - Team HRC General Manager
We have finished another rally and I think that it went well. All the riders
made it through to the end. This was an important rally, but a difficult one
with lots of desert, very high speeds and really good riders. The positions
of our riders have been very good and would have been better were it not for
a few falls. Luckily, no one was hurt which is the most important thing.
Benavides’ third place shows that he is constantly growing as a rally raid
rider. Paulo is a real asset, very focused on the race, fast and steady.
Ricky made his debut here at the Atacama Rally and we are satisfied that we
brought him out here, which has been a step forward. The young team is
growing and has done very well. I would like to thank all at Honda Chile
especially Fabio Mossini and all the staff at HRC who have helped out in
this race. Thanks to all the fans and Honda followers throughout the world.
Results Stage 5
1 Quintanilla Pablo CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team 58'51
2 Benavides Kevin ARG Team HRC +1'27
3 Price Toby AUS KTM Factory Racing Team +1'55
4 Sunderland Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +3'54
5 Goncalves Paulo POR Team HRC +4'04
6 Brabec Ricky USA Team HRC +5'37
7 Renet Pierre-Alexandre FRA Husqvarna Factory Rally Team +7'15
8 Caimi Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team +8'10
9 Walkner Matthias AUT KTM Factory Racing Team +9'11
10 Cornejo José CHI XRaids +10'30
Final Standings Atacama Rally 2016
1 Quintanilla Pablo CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team 11:48'38
2 Price Toby AUS KTM Factory Racing Team +0'29
3 Benavides Kevin ARG Team HRC +9'35
4 Goncalves Paulo POR Team HRC +10'02
5 Sunderland Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team +38'43
6 Walkner Matthias AUT KTM Factory Racing Team +41'46
7 Brabec Ricky USA Team HRC +45'11
8 Caimi Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team +1:07'11
9 Cornejo José CHI XRaids +1:17'58
10 Gouet Daniel CHI KTM +1:49'18
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