SILK WAY RALLY

STAGE 02 BAYKALSK, RUSSIA

ORIOL AND PAULO IN 2ND AND 3RD PLACES.

Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders consolidated their good performance of stage 1 with a fantastic run today to pass stage 2 of the Silk Way Rally with flying colours, breaching the top 5 rankings.

Oriol Mena in particular was on a roll today, relentlessly pushing ahead to catch several riders ahead of him, in a fast stage. His great performance today resulted in a 2nd place finish in the stage, enabling him to climb up to 6th position in the overall rankings. Paulo Goncalves was not to be left behind, as he too made a blazing run to get another solid stage under his belt. With a commendable 3rd place finish today, he moved up by a few places to 3rd place in the overall rankings, breaking into the top 3 early in the rally.

“

I'M FEELING GOOD ON THE BIKE AND QUITE CONFIDENT.”
- ORIOL MENA

Stage 3 will take place from Ulan-Ude to Ulaanbaatar. Moving from Buryatia to Mongolia, the participants will find difficult navigation through hilly terrain. Up and down - like a Mongolian gopher, the crew looks for the right course, rising above the hills.

"It was a good stage for me today. There were a lot of stones and water fills in the beginning but 90% of the stage was in forest terrain. Towards the end it became a bit slippery but the bike handled superbly. It’s just the beginning of the rally so my focus is on arriving in the same way for the rest of the rally."

"I rode really well today and am quite happy with the results. It was a fast stage today with muddy holes to start with. I rode carefully in this section to avoid any crashes. After about 100kms, the terrain changed into a fast piste and hard ground. Finally, after 150 kms of eating a lot of dust at the back of the lead pack, I pushed hard and managed to overtake the rider in front of me."

TRIVIA

Ulan-Ude has been the epicenter for many clashes and wars over the years. It is home to one of the world's oldest sects called 'The Believers', established in the 1600s.

PROVISIONAL STANDINGS - STAGE 2

POS	NAME	TEAM	TIMING
1	Sam Sunderland	Redbull KTM	02h 20m 30s
2	Oriol Mena	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+39s
3	Paulo Goncalves	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+50s
4	Kevin Benavides	Monster Energy Honda	+01m 07s
5	Joan Barreda	Monster Energy Honda	+02m 40s

PROVISIONAL OVERALL RESULTS

POS	NAME	TEAM	TIMING
1	Kevin Benavides	Monster Energy Honda	02h 52m 28s
2	Sam Sunderland	Redbull KTM	+08s
3	Paulo Goncalves	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+01m 19s
4	Luciano Benavides	Redbull KTM	+02m 25s
5	Joan Barreda	Monster Energy Honda	+02m 39s
6	Oriol Mena	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+03m 03s

VIEW GALLERY

Silk Way 2019 - Stage 2

A look back at STAGE 2

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