Shoei UK

In the end the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge was a nail-biter. Paulo Goncalves aboard his Speedbrain 450 Rally bike gave another brilliant performance in today´s closing leg of the prestigious desert race.

The Portuguese captured the victory of stage five just ten seconds ahead of his arch rival Marc Coma, placing him second overall in this first round of the FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship 2013.

On Thursday the participants had to cover 296 more kilometres on their way back to Abu Dhabi. It would become the most thrilling stage of the whole event. Paulo started the day behind Coma and both were forced to put the hammer down on the very fast course, as their world elite competitors were still fighting for top positions also. Navigation didn´t play a role today and riding finesse wasn´t a factor either. Goncalves kept his cool under the full speed circumstances and managed to win the stage from defending World and Abu Dhabi champion Coma. In the final rally classification the 34-year-old offroad veteran missed out on Coma by
32 seconds.

Victory on the the final stage for Paulo Goncalves

Paulo Goncalves: “I gave everything today and I´m overwhelmed with the outcome. Winning the stage and taking second overall, that´s great. It was a Hitchcock-type affair really, and the smallest mistake could have ended my rally prematurely. I stayed cool though and got the job done. Unfortunately I missed the rally victory by a few seconds. But we showed we have front-runner capabilities and that our motorcycle works fine. I was confirmed that I can fully attack on the bike and run the speed of the very best. Many thanks to my team for their splendid job and sincere congratulations to Marc. We were fighting fair and square.”

Team principal Wolfgang Fischer added: “A real nail-biter indeed. At the beginning of the stage Marc Coma was able to gain some ground, but after Paulo had stopped for refuelling he was closing in on him. Ultimately Paulo deserved to win the stage. The ridiculous 32 seconds deficit after such a long rally shows how competitive we are. The top riders in the sport are all on a similar level. Half a minute difference after over 14 hours of total race time, now if that isn´t remarkable! The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge makes for a brilliant start into our season as a race team and shows our potential as a manufacturer. We have two top riders with Paulo and Joan Barreda and Quinn Cody will join the line-up shortly in Qatar aboard the new Speedbrain 450 Rally. We also used our time here in Abu Dhabi to let several privateers try out the bike. They were all very impressed with the machine. It has been further optimised since the Dakar we are back to preparing the engines in-house. A big thanks and congrats to Paulo, the whole team and our partners, certainly to Monster Energy. Joan Barreda will be fit in a couple of weeks, it´s just a bummer he couldn´t finish the race. Tonight we will celebrate and we´re already looking forward to the Sealine Qatar Rally in a fortnight.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2013
Result Leg 5:
1. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Speedbrain) 3h11m54s
2. Coma-Camps (ESP, KTM) +00:00:10
3. Rodrigues (PRT, Honda) +00:00:32
4. Przygonski (POL, KTM) +00:00:37
5. Sunderland (GBR, Honda) +00:01:48

Overall Result:
1. Coma-Camps (ESP, KTM) 14h31m51s
2. Paulo Goncalves (PRT, Speedbrain) +00:00:32
3. Sunderland (GBR, Honda) +00:08:45
4. Ullevalseter (NOR, KTM) +00:17:12
5. Przygonski (POL, KTM) +00:18:02

The proven squad led by team principal Wolfgang Fischer is bringing a new bike to the competition in 2013 – the “Speedbrain 450 Rally”. Joan Barreda and Paulo Goncalves will be aboard machinery already known from previous race activities conducted under the “Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain” banner.

The in-house developed race motorcycle showed its worth with a debut win at the Pharaons Rally 2012 and furthermore with four stage victories during the Dakar 2013. Now a new phase begins with the bike being raced under the manufacturer name Speedbrain.

The Speedbrain Rally Team has opted for a busy schedule to start the season. There are three major events scheduled within the next six weeks for the Bavarian outfit. First there are the two opening rounds of the FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship to be held on the Arabian Peninsula. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Sealine Rally in Qatar are forming a challenging double header to begin with. Then in May the Powerdays
2013 – held near Leipzig as part of the Baja 300 – see the team´s first display on German soil.

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is offering 2,000 kilometres of riding and racing through the desert. The race is a respected highlight in the calendar each season and opens the FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship yet again. This Saturday (6 April) sees a short but demanding special stage at Yas Island, right next to the famous F1 circuit, before the following five days will force the riders to their limits. The participants are facing tremendous amounts of sand and later massive dunes in the heat of the Liwa desert. The field returns to Yas Island on 11 April. The ambitions are high within the Speedbrain camp, as Barreda and Goncalves both stood on the podium last year, placing second and third overall.

Sealine Qatar Rally
The race in the emirate of Qatar is getting underway on 22 April. The event is somewhat shorter than the Abu Dhabi opener, confronting the athletes with a total distance of 1,500 km. The organisers have announced a new route for this year´s edition. Rally pundits expect a tight race and four difficult days.

Powerdays/Baja 300
The Speedbrain Rally Team won´t find much rest after returning from the Arabian Peninsula. The next stop is on home territory from 9 to 11 May. Held near Leipzig, the Baja 300 offers a two-day format with a 50-km loop that has to be completed several times each time. The Speedbrain squad isn´t necessarily competing for silverware, but rather to present itself to the fans and to provide a look behind the scenes of the team.
Riders and mechanics will be available to the public.

Speedbrain Team principal Wolfgang Fischer: “We´ve worked hard since returning from the Dakar and we are very well positioned for the 2013 season. We have a brilliant bike, top-notch riders with Joan and Paulo and a proven team setup. Additionally, we will have U.S. rider Quinn Cody further strenghtening our programme in Qatar. Many of the world´s best riders are competing at the first two rounds and we intend to be front-runners. At the Baja 300 we are looking forward to meeting and greeting the fans and make ourselves available. These are interesting weeks ahead for us. Thanks to all our partners who lend their support in the upcoming season, especially Monster Energy.”

Photo: PR Speedbrain

 
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1′s Kevin Strijbos marked his first top-three moto finish of the 2013 FIM Motocross World MX1 Championship campaign in front of 27,000 spectators at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands last weekend to classify fourth overall while team mate Clement Desalle emerged unscathed from a first corner crash to end the day sixth in the MX1 class.

Valkenswaard was a different prospect to what the riders usually encounter at the facility south of Eindhoven. The cold had hardened the sand significantly so the usual waves of bumps and ruts were reduced and the terrain remained slippery and fast.

Strijbos endured contrasting moto experiences: The Belgian was frustrated with his set-up in the first run of 35 minutes and two laps. He felt powerless to improve on a ranking of seventh position despite a bright start that saw #22 running among the leaders in the formative phases of the race. Several modifications to the forks and also the behaviour of the rear shock paid dividends for the next outing where the track had begun to roughen-up but was still hard-packed in many places. Strijbos was given a new lease of life and was able to keep Evgeny Bobryshev distant in fourth place to notch a very decent third position.

The Grand Prix of Italy at Arco di Trento, north west of Venice, will host round four of the series in a fortnight and is followed a week later by a trip to Sevlievo in Bulgaria. Desalle will travel to southern Europe with second position in the Championship and only a 26 deficit to leader Antonio Cairoli. Strijbos has now moved up into fifth place.

Kevin Strijbos: “It was a tale of two different motos really. I had a good start in the first race – around fifth or sixth – and in the beginning I just tried to mix it up but by the third lap I had loads of arm-pump. I couldn’t hold on any more and I was so mad about that. I wasn’t tired or anything but I just couldn’t push. I was angry after the race and I knew with the front fork and the shock the way they were I wouldn’t be able to hit the lines and ruts like I wanted. I talked to Frank about the set-up and he tried something drastic that had worked for me in 2011 when I had a few wild-card rides with the team. A big thanks to him because it was so much better. I could move the bike around a lot more and could do what I wanted. It is a bit of a pity we didn’t get it sorted for the first race because I could have made the podium today. I had the speed for sure. It is good to make the top three anyway and again I want to thank the team for its support, everyone worked hard and helped me turn this day around.”

MX1 Moto 1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:45.837; 2. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:02.473; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:09.193; 4. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:26.611; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.675; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:35.943; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:49.340; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +1:13.591; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +1:16.523; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:16.668.

MX1 Moto 2: 1. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 39:22.098; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.521; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:14.800; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:37.145; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:44.981; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:52.555; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:00.383; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +1:02.518; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:02.629; 10. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1:06.622.

MX1 Overall: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 40 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 34 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 30 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 30 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 29 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 28 p.; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 23 p.; 10. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 21 p.

MX1 World Championship Standings (after 3 of 18 rounds): 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 142 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 116 p.; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 115 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 108 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 89 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 87 p.; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 87 p.; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 73 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 61 p.; 10. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), 58 p.

Photo: PR Suzuki-Racing.com

In Rounds 3 & 4 of the World Enduro Championship in San Juan Argentina this weekend the E2 KTM factory riders Frenchman Johnny Aubert and Ivan Cervantes of Spain split the podium glory over the two days of competition in what is shaping up to be a very competitive class. Aubert finished on the podium in third on Saturday with Cervantes in fourth place, trailing by just four seconds. Then on Sunday, Cervantes had the edge, finishing second with Aubert in fourth place at the end of the day. Aubert too experienced problems in the latter part of the race when a small stone blocked his rear brake.

Teams now return to Europe and competition will resume in Puerto Lumbraras May 11 & 12 for rounds 5&6 of the 14-round championships.

E2
Johnny Aubert, France, KTM (3-4)
Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM (4-2)

E2 Standings after Round 4
1, Alex Salvini, 75
2, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 65
3, Johnny Aubert, 60
4, Ivan Cervantes, 60
5, David Knight, 44

Photographer: Edmunds J./KTM Images