Hero MotoSports Team Rally concluded the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on a high with rider Joaquim Rodrigues finishing on the podium. The third-place finish marks the rider's first podium in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, and second for the team including Franco Caimi's third-place finish at the Silk Way Rally. The podium finish places Rodrigues in fourth place in the Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, while Franco Caimi finished in 8th and Sebastian Buhler in 12th position.
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Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: "First of all, we would like to wish Sebastian a speedy recovery, and we hope to have him back soon. Hearty congratulations to JRod for a well-deserved podium finish. It was also great to have the full team here as CS Santosh joined us, signalling his speedy recovery. Overall, we have had an exciting season, during which we have improved a lot and the growth is evident from the podium finishes. Our focus will now be on ensuring readiness for the Dakar Rally. Thanks to the entire team for their great work."
Hero MotoSports' rider Joaquim Rodrigues on the podium
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: "I had a failure on my navigation system on the stage, but I am happy that I was able to finish. A podium in this rally is a great result for the team, and good motivation just before the biggest race, the Dakar. This is my first podium in the championship and the fact that this is the same race where Paulo scored his first Podium in 2012 makes this result that much more special for me. I want to once again wish my teammate Buhler a speedy recovery, and thank my team and fans around the world for their constant support."
The rider finished third in the overall standings pushing through multiple challenges in the final stages including the failure of his navigation equipment. Despite the challenges, Rodrigues held on to fantastic momentum and crossed the finish line +7m7s behind the stage leader Adrien van Beveren on the Yamaha. The final stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge saw the riders traverse 216 km of challenging terrain, concluding the total distance of 1350 km over five days.
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This is the last rally event for the 2021 season as the Hero MotoSports Team Rally now gears up for the gruelling 2022 Dakar Rally scheduled in January. The rally heads back to Saudi Arabia and will take place between January 2-14, 2022. The next couple of weeks will be all about preparing for Dakar for the team, its riders and machines.
Provisional Stage 5 Rankings
1 Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha 02h 32m 06s
2 Matthias Walkner RedBull KTM Factory Racing + 14s
3 Ross Branch Monster Energy Yamaha + 03m 01s
4 Andrew Short Monster Energy Yamaha + 06m 42s
5 Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 07m 07s
Overall Standings:
1 Matthias Walkner RedBull KTM Factory Racing 17h 38m 40.4s
2 Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha + 03m 31.8s
3 Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 35m 25.6s
4 Aaron Mare + 01h 59m 54.6s
5 Konrad Dabrowski Duust Rally Team + 02h 50m 21.4s
