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QUINTANILLA ENJOYS STRONG START TO ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING RIDER KICKS OFF THE WEEK-LONG EVENT IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES WITH A TOP FIVE RESULT IN THE FIRST COMPETITIVE STAGE Reigning FIM Cross Country Rallies World Champion Pablo Quintanilla has made a positive start to his 2018 international rally racing campaign by securing a fifth place result in the first full rally stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Following an untimed demonstration lap around the Yas Marin circuit on Saturday, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge competitors headed for the dunes of UAE today. As the reigning World Champion, Pablo was the first rider to take the start of today’s 418km long stage. Doing an excellent job navigating in the dunes of UAE, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider completed the timed special without being passed by any of his competitors. Putting in a total time of three hours 23 minutes, Pablo is 10 minutes behind the provisional overall leader with four more stages still to be contested in the event. Monday’s stage will be the longest in this year’s rally. Featuring a total of 519km in the dunes of the UAE, tomorrow’s stage is expected to be one more tough challenge as riders head towards the end of the event oThursday in Abu Dhabi. Pablo Quintanilla: “It was a really good stage for me today. I had the chance to open the stage all the way from the beginning to the end, and that was a great experience. I managed to get a good pace so nobody was able to catch or pass me during the whole stage. As the first rider to take the start this morning, I knew it would be a great challenge to remain fast in the desert, but I’m really happy I made it happen. I might have lost some time to the day’s winner Toby Price, but this has just been the beginning of this rally and there’s still a long way to go. My goal from now on is to catch the pace of the leading riders and try to push during the next few stages. I am satisfied with the job we did today and tomorrow I will do my best to make up some time in the provisional overall.” 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Stage 2 Provisional
Classification
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING RALLY STAR TAKES CONTROL WITH THREE STAGES STILL TO BE CONTESTED IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Following a well calculated plan of attack, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla has won the second timed special of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to place himself at the top of the event’s provisional overall standings. The Chilean rider is a little over one minute ahead in the overall with three stages still to be contested in the dunes of UAE. The fifth rider to take the start of Monday’s 287km long timed special, FR 450 Rally mounted Quintanilla made the most of his good starting position. Avoiding any mistakes, the reigning FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion enjoyed a great pace throughout the stage to eventually put in the best time for the day. With two of the five special stages out of the way, Pablo is currently leading the rally’s overall standings by one minute and eight seconds from his closest rival Sam Sunderland. Featuring a total of 372km, tomorrow’s stage includes a 281km long timed special in the big dunes of the United Arab Emirates. Pablo Quintanilla: “It wasn’t an easy stage today but I’m satisfied with the final result. There were many dunes and temperatures were quite high in that area. Most of the timed special was in an off-piste section and that made navigation a lot more difficult. I had a good starting position in the morning and took full advantage of it to make up the time lost yesterday. I felt really good in the dunes today, I was fast and had a good race pace from start to finish of the timed special. It was a good stage for me. The plan for tomorrow is to do exactly what I did in stage one. As the first rider to take the start, I want to avoid any navigational mistakes and remain fast throughout the timed special. I feel good at the moment on my bike and I’m looking forward to one more good stage tomorrow.” 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Stage 2 Provisional Classification 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Provisional Overall Standings After
Stage 2
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING RALLY STAR SITS FOURTH OVERALL WITH TWO STAGES TO GO IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Reaching the end of a gruelling stage three of this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla is currently fourth in the event’s provisional overall standings. With two more long rally stages remaining, the Chilean rider is a little more than one-minute away from the provisional top three and less than 11 minutes behind the current overall leader. Living up to the difficult task of opening Tuesday’s 281km long stage, FR 450 Rally mounted Quintanilla was enjoying a highly competitive pace for the first half of the timed special. Pushing hard through the fast, sandy sections of the Liwa desert, Pablo was inside the stage’s provisional top three when a small technical issue forced him to ease his pace. Making good use of his experience, Pablo brought his Husqvarna home to post the eighth fastest time for the day. Currently fourth in the provisional overall rankings, Quintanilla has his eyes set on taking advantage of his good starting position tomorrow in the hope of reducing the gap to the riders ahead of him. Taking place on Wednesday, the penultimate stage of this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge features a total of 390km to be run by all competitors. Tomorrow’s fourth timed special of the event is 244km long. Pablo Quintanilla: “I was having a great day until the refuelling point. The stage started with some big dunes and some massive drops. The pace was quite fast. As the first to take the start this morning, I was doing my best to stay up front and my pace was good in the fast sections. Right after the refuelling point I had a small technical issue that didn’t let me continue in the same rhythm. I was unable to keep the pace with the guys up front and had to do my best to avoid losing much time. At the end I’m happy I brought my bike home and I’m still within striking distance to the top. We finished a tough stage and we now have two more to go in this rally. Everything could happen and I will do my best to make up for the time lost.” 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Stage 3 Provisional Classification 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Provisional Overall Standings After
Stage 3
PABLO QUINTANILLA TAKES CONTROL WITH ONE STAGE REMAINING AT ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING RALLY STAR TOPS THE PENULTIMATE STAGE AND REGAINS PROVISIONAL OVERALL LEAD Making short work of a demanding stage four at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla has secured stage victory and regained the lead in the event’s provisional overall standings. With tomorrow’s timed special featuring a motocross-styled start, the Chilean rally star is entering the fifth and final stage of the event with a lead of six minutes and 17 seconds in the provisional overall. Featuring a 244km long timed special in the dunes of the Liwa Desert, Wednesday’s stage four of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge was no walk in the park. The eighth rider to take the start this morning, FR 450 Rally mounted Quintanilla made the best of his advantageous position to make up for the time lost during a tough stage three yesterday. Topping two out of four stages contested so far in the United Arab Emirates, Quintanilla has put himself in the best possible position ahead of tomorrow’s final stage. Leading the overall by a little more than six minutes to Sam Sunderland and close to 10 minutes to Kevin Benavides, Pablo will look to wrap up his week-long adventure in the massive dunes of the UAE with the overall victory tomorrow. Featuring a total of 356km, the fifth and final stage at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge includes a 218km long timed special. Pablo Quintanilla: “Everything is going according to plan and I’m happy about it. Today I had a really good start position and took full advantage of it. It’s always difficult to ride fast in the dunes and the off-piste sections, but I did my best to remain focused and avoid mistakes. I made some good passes today and had a good pace from start to finish. I’m happy I got the stage victory but most importantly I am satisfied I made up some good time in the overall. I have a small but decent gap in the lead going into tomorrow’s final stage. I’m happy to be in this position and I will do my best to bring home the overall victory at this rally. It would be the best possible way to start the new season.” 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Stage 4 Provisional Classification 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Provisional Overall Standings After
Stage 4
PABLO QUINTANILLA CLAIMS VICTORY AT ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING STAR ENJOYS BEST POSSIBLE START TO 2018 CROSS COUNTRY RALLIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Delivering the goods when it mattered the most, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla has earned victory at the opening round of the 2018 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship – the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the United Arab Emirates. Powered by his Husqvarna FR 450 Rally machine the Chilean rally star ensured a positive first step towards successfully defending his Cross-Country Rallies World Championship title. Remaining focused on his well calculated plan of attack, Pablo put in the fifth best time on Thursday’s fifth and final stage. Retaining his lead in the overall classification, the Husqvarna rider wrapped up the 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge five minutes and 11 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Racing through the heat, long stages and demanding off-piste sections of the Desert Challenge, in starting the new season in the best possible way, Pablo now looks ahead to what promises to be an exciting season of international rally competition. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rally team will be back in action at the 2018 Merzouga Rally on April 15/20. Following his winning result in the United Arab Emirates Quintanilla will be joined at the Merzouga Rally in Morocco by his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team partner Andrew Short. Pablo Quintanilla: “I’m really happy to get the win in Abu Dhabi and it’s been a fantastic start to the new season. This year’s Desert Challenge has been a really tough race from the beginning until the end. During these last few days we battled through extreme heat and the massive sand dunes of the area. There were many high-speed tracks and lots of off-piste sections where navigation was crucial. We also had some great fights with my main competitors and I’m happy I came out on top. I would like to thank all the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team for the amazing job they did during this week. They are always by my side and this helps me achieve the results I want. It feels good to start the season with a victory and I’m looking forward to the events to come.” 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Stage 5 Provisional Classification 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Final Overall Standings
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