Merzouga Rally: Sherco TVS’ Juan Pedrero Finishes 5th Overall After Stage 3

Stage 3 of the Afriquia Merzouga rally was relatively shorter with a total distance of 175km. The stage took the riders around the twin loops of Erfoud with the bigger loop accounting for 112km and the inner loop adding another 63km. During the second half of the stage, a desert storm lasting about 30 minutes passed through the region and made matters challenging for both the riders and organisers.

Joaquim Rodrigues (JRod) of Hero MotoSports Team Rally started the stage well, but a puncture in the bike’s cooling system forced him to stop to fix the leak and lost time in the process. But then, things took a turn for the worse when he found himself caught in the middle of the sand storm. While other riders had already passed the finish line, JRod was forced to stop in the middle of his run. He finished the day at 23rd place. “I was feeling really good at the start of the stage and tried to catch the guys in front of me. But then my bike started losing water because of a puncture in the cooling system. I managed to finish the 1st loop somehow. The team fixed the issue and I started the 2nd loop, well, only to get caught in a big sand storm. I had to stop in the beginning as I couldn’t see anything but then I started again, driving at a very slow speed of 5kmph to bring the bike home safely. It was really hard to navigate in the storm but in the end I am happy to be back safely,” Rodrigues said at the end of the stage. Also read: Exclusive: Sherco TVS 2017 Dakar Bike Ridden

The stage proved testing for Indian motorsport star C S Santosh who had to deal with a malfunction in his roadbook equipment causing him a delay in finishing the 1st loop. The 2nd loop turned out to be much better for Santosh as he rode through the small dunes with ease until he too got caught in the storm just a few kilometres before the stage finish. Santosh beat Rodrigues and finished the day at 17th position. Commenting on his performance, Santosh said, “Today was going to be a relatively short day with just two stages and a lot of navigation. I started the stage really well and I was able to catch the rider in front but then a malfunction happened in the remote that controls the road book and the echo to the odometer. It was a bad 1st part of the stage for me. Team fixed the issue at the stage break and 2nd loop was good for me until I got caught in the storm for the last 4km or so. Overall, I rode well today but lost some time. I am now looking forward to the marathon stage.”

Meanwhile, riders from Sherco TVS seem to have handled the challenges pretty well, with Juan Pedrero finishing at fifth position at the end of Stage 3. Indians Abdul Wahid Tanveer and Aravind K P finished 28th and 29th respectively while French rider Adrien Metge trails at 62nd place.

Provisional Results Stage 3:

1. Farres Guell Gerard- KTM, 03:13:32 Hr

2. Caimi Franco- Yamaha, 03:14:09 Hr

3. De Soultrait Xavier- Yamaha, 03:16:47 Hr

17. C S Santosh- Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 03:54:14 Hr

23. Joaquim Rodrigues- Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 04:15:27 Hr

Provisional Results Overall:

1. De Soultrait Xavier- Yamaha, 07:17:55 Hr

2. Farres Guell Gerard- KTM, +04:41 min

3. Caimi Franco- Yamaha, +20:08 min

5. Juan Pedrero- Sherco TVS, +32:26 min

15. C S Santosh- Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +01:13:54 Hr

16. Joaquim Rodrigues- Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +01:16:00 Hr

28. Abdul Wahid Tanveer- Sherco TVS, +03:32:49 Hr

29. Aravind KP- Sherco TVS, +03:44:03 Hr

62. Adrien Metge- Sherco TVS, +40:29:50 Hr