Stage 1 of the 9th edition of the Afriquia Merzouga Rally 2018 saw Sherco TVS and Hero MotoSport riders improve their respective rankings over the prologue stage. Stage 1 of the rally saw the riders start their day at Timbaktu hotel and and then battle across two loops of 110.7 km and 96.01 km respectively. At the end of Stage 1 of the Merzouga Rally, Sherco TVS was leading the Indian contingent with Joan Pedrero ranking at P6 overall, followed by teammate Lorenzo Santolino at P9.
(Joan Pedrero currently leads the Indian contingent at P6)
At Hero MotoSports, rider Oriol Mena finished Stage 1 at P11, while teammate CS Santosh finished the day in 20th place overall. Meanwhile, Sherco TVS' debutant riders Duplessis Diego Martin climbed up to P12 while Vanni Cominotto finished at P27. Stage 1 was divided into two loops and challenged the riders with its complicated navigation leading onto the second loop that offered dunes, sand and water zones.
Leading the Indian contingent, Sherco TVS racer Joan Pedrero said, "The stage was a test of our navigational skills and included dunes, sand as well as water zones. I am happy with my performance and look forward to improving my rankings in the next stage."
(Sherco TVS' rookie riders Cominotto Vanni and Duplessis Diego Martin finished in top 30)
Leading the Hero team, Oriol Mena said, "First part of the stage had really difficult navigation. I started the stage at the third position with no tracks to follow, so I had to put all my focus in navigating. At one point, I lost a few minutes in finding the correct way but I managed to collect all the waypoints. The second part of the stage was relatively easy except for one point in the river where it was difficult to find the way. It's just the first day and I am feeling good, the bike is performing well, so let's see how it goes in the coming days."
(Oriol Mena has had a good start to the Merzouga Rally and will try and climb back into top 10)
Speaking about his day, CS Santosh said, "First stage was a bit difficult for me as the two loops were same for bikes and the Side-by-Side vehicles. I started behind the SSVs so I had to be careful with the navigation as there were a lot of tracks everywhere. The first loop was tricky but I made some good time and overall kept my mistakes to the minimum. In the second loop again I started behind the SSVs and lost some time in trying to pass them. Overall a good learning and I think the next few days are going to be as tricky as this one."
Stage 2 of the Merzouga Rally 2018 will see riders make a run of 175 km in the region of Erg Chabbi and will also be divided into two loops. The opening and closing sections of the stage will be run in the dunes of the erg. Stage 2 is touted to be a very difficult stage and will challenge the riders over physical endurance and navigation techniques.
