Honda’s Ventura wins third-straight W2RC du Maroc Rally2 stage – extends o/a class lead ahead of Docherty

Scoring his third-straight World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) OLA Energy Rally du Maroc stage win, Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Martim Ventura extended his overall lead to 18 minutes over Rally2 class 2nd place racer, Hero Motosports, powered by Monster Energy’s Michael Docherty, with Monster Energy/Honda’s Preston Campbell joining the overall class podium as well following Thursday’s Stage 3 action in the Sahara Desert.

Heading into Thursday, Ventura had a close 03:36 lead on Docherty, but blew things wide open in Stage 3, winning by 07:20 over 2^nd place Campbell – and by 15 minutes over 4^th place Docherty.

“I’m feeling good. Trying to be calm – and fast – at the same time,” said Ventura. “That’s the main goal for this week. The rhythm is there, and I am happy with that. But I am still making some mistakes that cannot happen (Ventura explained a late-stage navigational error cost him five minutes). We’ll look to improve on that and be up there (in the lead) more.”

In the RallyGP class Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Tosha Schareina, currently 2nd overall in the W2RC series points, had his best stage result of the du Maroc thus far, placing 2nd, less than two minutes back of Stage 3 winner Luciano Benevides (KTM).

“We have been working so hard to find a solution, changing so many things (on the bike), and finally we found the rhythm again,” said Schareina. “I’m happy for that, though I’m so sad for the first two days. But this is racing. This is rally. So, anything can happen until the end. I feel I have now found my place to win stages, and we’ll continue from there.”
 

Placing 4th on the day was Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Ricky Brabec, which put him within striking distance of the overall du Maroc RallyGP podium as he’s only 02:48 back of the leader, Edgar Canet (KTM).

“We started 2nd and caught Daniel (Sanders, KTM) early, at Kilometer 30,” said Brabec. “And from there I opened up quite a good distance (from him) in the dunes. Made one little mistake, just missed a corner by a couple meters, and Daniel was able to sweep around the inside of me. But, yeah, it was going good. We executed the plan perfectly. I executed well – up to the refueling. Then a little mistake there – and all the results were mixed up really good. Tomorrow I’m in a good spot to make a strong push.”
 

In the Stock Car division, Monster Energy’s Sara Price and navigator Sean Berriman with the Defender team, who were leading the classes overall standings heading into Stage 3, ran into some “issues” that, ultimately, dropped them from the overall class lead.

“Today was going great – until it wasn’t,” said a dejected Price. “Not how we wanted to come out of the lead of this rally. It was a tough day, to say the least. We were running a good pace, doing exactly what we needed to do in the position we needed to be in, and experienced some issues with the car that my team is going to be taking a look at overnight – and resolve those issues I experienced on today’s stage.”
 

The W2RC FIM motorcycle field at the du Maroc continues through the sands of the Sahara, with Friday’s penultimate Stage 4 again opening out of the Zagora bivouac – smack dab in the middle of the Moroccan Desert. Much like Stages 2 & 3, Stage 4 again showcases sand tracks, dunes and highly technical navigation through the vast Sahara desert. 

Notes & Quotes

• “Stage 3 was good. A mix of everything and pretty tough navigation I thought. But I did pretty well I think. Overall, a super-fast ending to the day. Bike was working well and I was able to push all day. Happy with my performance and podium result and I’m looking forward to the last two days.” – Campbell
• When asked of how the Honda CRF450RX Rally does keeping up with the factory Honda RallyGP bikes, Campbell said: “Tosha (Schareina) caught me at neutralization. I tried to latch onto him as long as possible. But other than that they (Monster/Honda’s veteran RallyGP class racers) ride away from me.”
• Tougher day for Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally W2RC rookie racer Bruno Crivilin as he dropped off the pace – as well as the overall Rally2 class podium. “The first kilometers are good, feeling good on the bike. But then I go inside the dunes and that was difficult navigation for me. I make mistakes. I don’t know why I experienced that, but today the navigation was difficult. It’s hot, yes. But it’s more difficult for the navigation. But let’s go. I have two more days. And I will continue to push.”
• “We have so many problems, just like everybody. But no excuses. We just have to keep on riding.” – Schareina
• Rolling right into the 3rd place podium position behind Schareina on Stage 3, with his first podium of the du Maroc, was Hero/Monster Energy’s “Nacho” Cornejo. 
• Added Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Adrien Van Beveren, who placed 6th in RallyGP on Stage 3: “It was a really tough day for me. I didn’t feel at my best from this morning and I struggled more than I expected throughout the stage. Despite that, I started with a good pace and was the fastest over the first kilometers. But as the day went on it became more difficult. It was the longest stage of the rally so far, with a lot of heat, which made it even more demanding physically. I tried to manage the situation, stay focused and bring the bike safely to the finish. Now the priority is to recover well and hopefully feel better tomorrow.”
• Monster Energy racers were all in agreement that Stage 3 was the toughest test yet of the du Maroc. The stage was highlighted by an incredibly demanding 363 km timed Special section, out front of nearly 600 total km’s in the saddle in and around the dunes surrounding Merzouga.
• Top Monster Energy flavors in the Moroccan desert? OG Zero Sugar, Lando Zero Sugar and Ultra White.
   

Monster Energy Rallye du Maroc Stage 3 results
 

RallyGP
2nd – Schareina (Honda), 03:57:34 (+ 01:58)
3rd – Cornejo (Hero), 03:58:23 (+ 02:47)
5th – Brabec (Honda), 04:02:24 (+ 06:48)
6th – Van Beveren (Honda), 04:03:21 (+ 07:45)
8th – Howes(ZXMoto), 04:12:25 (+ 16:49)

Overall (Prologue + Stages 1, 2 & 3)
4th – Brabec (Honda), 10:31:50 (+ 02:48)
5th – Schareina (Honda), 10:47:47 (+ 18:45)
6th – Van Beveren (Honda), 10:48:51 (+ 19:49)
7th – Cornejo (Hero), 10:55:15 (+ 26:13)
9th – Howes (ZXMoto), 12:15:25 (+ 01:46:23)

Rally2
1st – Ventura (Honda), 04:00:58
2nd – Campbell (Honda), 04:08:18 (+ 07:20)
4th – Docherty (Hero), 04:15:58 (+ 15:00)

Overall
1st – Ventura (Honda), 10:33:40
2nd – Docherty (Hero), 10:52:16 (+ 18:36)
3rd – Campbell (Honda), 11:03:18 (+ 29:38)
7th – Crivilin (Honda), 11:22:52 (+ 49:12)

Up now… 

Rallye du Maroc’s penultimate Stage 4 is the third (of four) stages run in a loop starting – and finishing – in the Zagora bivouac. Sand tracks, dunes and highly technical navigation is on the menu for the Monster Energy W2RC racers and their competitors over the final three stages in the Moroccan desert.