SILK WAY RALLY

STAGE 8, ALASHAN, CHINA

PAULO FINISHES 3RD AND ORIOL 11TH

Paulo Goncalves, re-joining the rally today after failing to finish the last stage owing to a mechanical failure in his bike, rode with intent, taming the first of the Chinese stages with ease to rack up another stage podium for the team with his 3rd place finish. With today’s performance, despite the heavy time penalty faced for not finishing Stage 6, he clawed his way back into the overall rankings, now placed 19th. The Hero and winner of Stage 6, Oriol Mena, opened the stage today and was the first to face the stiff task of navigating in a new country and a fresh stage without any aide from previous tracks. Consequently, he decided to side with caution and focused on his navigation to avoid any unwarranted mistakes, in the process losing some time to his competitors. Mena finished the stage in 11th position, and 7th position in the overall rankings.

“

GETTING THE BIKE TO THE FINISH LINE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.”
- ORIOL MENA

Stage 9 will take place from Alashan to Jiayuguan. This is the moment when one gets to admire amazing fixed dunes of Gobi Desert. The next part is slower, as bumps and dunettes are mixed here with dry river beds, but the last kilometers will be very fast.

“Happy to get back into the race again. I finished the first stage in China and it was a big stage as well with lot of dunes and sandy tracks. Initially, I had some difficulty in focusing so I lost a bit of time in the first part of the stage. But in the second part, I found my rhythm and speed again to finish in 3rd place. So, I am quite happy with my effort today and looking forward to another interesting stage in the Gobi Desert tomorrow.”

“It was my first time opening a stage in a rally and I was a little bit nervous. So, I put more focus on my navigation and less on speed today. I did lose some valuable time to my competitors today but in the end, getting the bike to the finish line is most important, so I am happy with my effort today.”

TRIVIA

Alashan is known to be the home of the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso. He oversaw construction of the Chengqing Temple and spread Buddhism throughout the area, eventually passing away at the temple in 1746.

PROVISIONAL STANDINGS - STAGE 8

POS	NAME	TEAM	TIMING
1	Kevin Benavides	Monster Energy Honda	04h 20m 37s
2	Adrian Van Beveren	Yamaha Rally Team	+42s
3	Paulo Goncalves	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+03m 05s
4	Jose Cornejo	Monster Energy Honda	+04m 44s
11	Oriol Mena	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+18m 18s

PROVISIONAL OVERALL RESULTS

POS	NAME	TEAM	TIMING
1	Sam Sunderland	RedBull KTM	19h 30m 40s
2	Kevin Benavides	Monster Energy Honda	+25m 18s
3	Adrien Van Beveren	Yamaha Rally Team	+26m 16s
7	Oriol Mena	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+32m 15s
19	Paulo Goncalves	Hero MotoSports Team Rally	+27h 08m 38s

VIEW GALLERY

Silk Way 2019 - Stage 8

A look back at STAGE 8

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