RACE SUMMARY

HERO MOTOSPORTS COMPLETES THE RALLY WITH TWO RIDERS IN TOP 5.

Hero MotoSports Team Rally completed their first rally of the new season on a strong note, with two of its riders finishing in the Top 5 overall standings.

Joaquim Rodrigues and Franco Caimi, placed fourth and fifth respectively after Stage 3, started the final stage with the best chances of achieving a Podium for the team. Joaquim made a strong start to the stage but settled on the side of caution owing to a couple of crashes and brought the bike home safely in the seventh position. This was enough for him to earn a fourth place in the overall standings, building upon his win in the Prologue and a strong performance throughout the rally.

Franco Caimi also made a strong final dash and managed to secure fifth place in the last stage of the rally - his efforts rewarding him with a fifth place in the overall standings too. With this, he managed to achieve a Top 5 finish in his very first rally in Hero MotoSports colours.

Sebastian Buhler, who had received a 15 minute penalty yesterday owing to an engine change effectively lost his chance of an overall podium finish. Yet, he put the new engine to good use and achieved good speed to finish the final stage in fourth place. He finished the rally on the eight position in the overall rankings.

With a report card that boasts of a stage win in the Prologue, three stage podiums, seven Top-5 stages and all the riders competing for the top positions, Andalucia Rally undoubtedly turned out to be a highly successful and positive first step for the Team in this new season. The resurgence of Joaquim Rodrigues, the consistency of Sebastian Buhler and the fresh energy of Franco Caimi in the team augurs really well for the team’s prospects in the upcoming season.

COMING UP

Next up for Hero MotoSports Team Rally will be the Rally Kazakhstan scheduled from June 7–13, where the team will be looking to gain more experience and saddle time for the riders while battling for top results.

WOLFGANG
FISCHER

“This has been a great start to our season. We tested some new configurations in the bike and also in the team. I am very happy that we have a lot of positives to take home. It was great to see JRod back among the top positions, while Buhler was very impressive with his consistency and in Caimi, we have another top contender bringing fresh energy into the team. The bike has also performed really well and supported the riders to fight for the top positions, so all in all, I think we have a very good combination. Now we look to build on this further in the next rallies. Last but not the least, we want to express our thanks to everyone back in the Hero family and our supporters across the world. This is a tough time for all of us and we urge you to keep safe.”

JOAQUIM
RODRIGUES

“Today was difficult day for me as I had a couple of crashes and hurt my hand and knee a little bit. So, I decided to slow down and focus on getting the bike to the finish safely. In the second part, I got into a better rhythm and pushed through to the finish line. I am setting a good pace on the bike and the bike is also performing really well, so I am happy with the results. I want to thank my team, entire Hero family and all our fans for their support.”

Sebastian
Buhler

“I am very happy that I managed to get some good stages for the team in the rally. The bike worked really well and the team also made a great job so everything was perfect. I feel that I am getting better day by day and even though the results could have been better, overall we had a very good rally. I want to express my special thanks to our team and fans across the world.”

FRANCO
CAIMI

“I focused today on improving my feeling and confidence on the bike so I am happy to be at the end and with the way things have gone in my first rally with my new team. I really enjoyed it and want to thank my entire crew for doing a fantastic job through the rally and also our supporters and my new Hero family. Now we will start our work for the upcoming Kazakhstan Rally.”

PROVISIONAL RANKINGS - STAGE 4

POS NAME TEAM TIMING
1Pablo QuintanillaMonster Energy Honda Team02h 09m 55s
2Joan Barreda Bort Monster Energy Honda Team+11s
3Lorenzo SantolinoSherco Factory Rally Team+47s
4Sebastian BuhlerHero MotoSports Team Rally+01m 05s
5Franco CaimiHero MotoSports Team Rally+02m 00s
7Joaquim RodriguesHero MotoSports Team Rally+02m 50s

OVERALL RANKINGS AFTER - STAGE 4

POS NAME TEAM TIMING
1Joan Barreda BortMonster Energy Honda Team10h 47m 32s
2Lorenzo SantolinoSherco Factory Rally Team+03m 28s
3Pablo QuintanillaMonster Energy Honda Team+10m 29s
4Joaquim RodriguesHero MotoSports Team Rally+13m 50s
5Franco CaimiHero MotoSports Team Rally+14m 05s
8Sebastian BuhlerHero MotoSports Team Rally+26m 04s