SILK WAY RALLY

STAGE 5, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA

HALFWAY MARK SEES BOTH RIDERS IN THE TOP 5.

Seizing the opportunity right from the start, Paulo Goncalves rode fast and hard today to gain some of the time he lost in the previous 2 stages, catching up with the riders in the front. His blazing effort in today’s stage rewarded him with another stage podium with a 3rd place finish. As a result, he also moved several places up in the overall rankings to 4th place, regaining his spot in the Top 5. Oriol Mena too had a solid day, as he tamed another very fast stage with a 9th place finish in Stage 5, and in the process retained his overall 5th position in the Top 5. At the half way mark of the Silk Way Rally, Hero MotoSports Team Rally finds itself in a strong position, with both the riders in Top 5 thanks to some fantastic and consistent performances by both Paulo Goncalves and Oriol Mena.

I FELT CONFIDENT SO DECIDED TO PUSH MYSELF A BIT.”
- PAULO GONCALVES

Stage 6 will take place from Mandalgovi to Dalanzadgad. On this day, participants cross the border of Mongolia and China, moving to the next bivouac rally in China.

“So happy to finish the second day of the marathon without any problems. It was a long marathon stage with 800 km being covered over 2 days, so I feel great to see it behind me. I got into a good rhythm today and felt confident on the Mongolian terrain so decided to push myself a little bit. We are in a good position at the end of the 5 stages but we have 5 more in front of us so my focus will be to finish them well for the team.”

“I made a good run in the 2nd day of the marathon stage with no navigation mistakes. It was again a very fast stage so I decided not to push too hard today and save it for the 2nd half of the rally. The bike is performing so well, the team is doing an amazing job and I am feeling really good, winning confidence with every passing day. Now, one more day is over and one day less to arrive in China.”

TRIVIA

The Gobi Desert is the place where we first discovered that dinosaurs laid eggs. Moreover, the desert is home to Oyu Tolgoi, the world's third largest copper and gold mine.

PROVISIONAL STANDINGS - STAGE 5

POS NAME TEAM TIMING
1Sam SunderlandRedBull KTM 03h 05m 31s
2Kevin BenavidesMonster Energy Honda+01m 33s
3Paulo GoncalvesHero MotoSports Team Rally+02m 47s
4Xavier De SoultraitYamaha Rally Team+06m 59s
9Oriol MenaHero MotoSports Team Rally+09m 10s

PROVISIONAL OVERALL RESULTS

POS NAME TEAM TIMING
1Sam SunderlandRedBull KTM 12h 44m 26s
2Luciano BenavidesRedBull KTM +13m 44s
3Kevin BenavidesMonster Energy Honda+18m 18s
4Paulo GoncalvesHero MotoSports Team Rally+21m 10s
5Oriol MenaHero MotoSports Team Rally+26m 02s