Dakar Rally-winnaars aan de start in Merzouga Rally

Gepubliceerd op: 13-03-2018 16:50

Toby Price, Sam Sunderland en Mathias Walkner komen over een maand aan de start in de Merzouga Rally. De drie meest recente Dakar-winnaars nemen het daar op tegen de mondiale top. Ook is er belangstelling van een aantal Nederlandse rijders waaronder Paul Spierings en Herwin Hopmans.

Het fabrieksteam van KTM komt met de drie blikvangers uit de recente geschiedenis van de Dakar Rally aan de start. Walkner en Price stonden in januari op het podium aan de finish in Córdoba. Sunderland keert komende week terug in competitie nadat hij door een crash de Dakar moest verlaten in januari. Na de Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge komt de Britse rijder aan de start in de Merzouga Rally.

Het zijn echter de ervaren namen die de dienst uit zullen maken. Team Honda HRC komt met de sterkst mogelijke opstelling aan de start met Paolo Goncalves, Joan Barreda, Kevin Benavides en nieuwbakken fabrieksrijder José Ignacio Cornejo. Yamaha zet Franco Caimi in, hij werd vorig jaar nog derde in de Merzouga Rally. Husqvarna brengt wereldkampioen Cross Country Pablo Quintanilla aan de start.

De Merzouga Rally is inmiddels uitgegroeid tot een springplank voor nieuwe coureurs die dromen van deelname aan de Dakar Rally. Het betekent dat niet alleen elite rijders aan de start komen, 56% van het deelnemersveld start voor het eerst in de Merzouga Rally. Velen onder hen willen in de toekomst de Dakar Rally gaan rijden. Daarbij zijn ook Paul Spierings en Herwin Hopmans namens Nederland.

Tweevoudig Dakar-winnaar Nani Roma komt ook aan de start in de rally, met een voertuig in de Side-by-Side categorie. Roma zal samen met wedstrijdleider Edo Mossi de deelnemers begeleiden in hun nieuwe avontuur. Na iedere etappe kunnen deelnemers workshops volgen om zo beter voorbereid te zijn op het echte werk. 

Hoewel de startlijst voor de Merzouga Rally al indrukwekkend is, zijn de registraties nog tot 25 maart geopend.

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José Ignacio Cornejo announced as new Honda HRC rider

Monster Energy Honda Team announces the incorporation into the ranks of José Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Cornejo, who becomes one of the official Honda Racing Corporation team riders. Team HRC continues to show faith and nurture the talents of the young and promising riders who, one day soon, will turn out to be the great names in the sport. This is true in the case of Chilean rider José Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Cornejo, 23 years old, who has strengthened his bond with the Monster Energy Honda Team. The adventure began back in January when the rider competed in the Dakar Rally replacing injured rider Paulo Gonçalves. The appointment of Nacho Cornejo to substitute for Paulo Gonçalves, on his HONDA CRF450 RALLY, turned out to be a success and the Chilean rider proved to be extremely quick, surprising everyone with his rapid adaptation to both the bike and team. Cornejo finished the Dakar Rally in tenth place, the highlights of which were a fifth place in the tenth stage and a seventh spot in stage four, where he provisionally held seventh position in the general standings. With results like these and the attitude shown by the young rider, Cornejo was an obvious choice as the new official HRC rider. The agreement with the Chilean rider from Iquique, will run for three full seasons – until the end of the 2021 Dakar Rally – with his maiden race as an official rider set for the FIM World Championship Cross-Country Rallies at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Nacho Cornejo’s role of honour includes a world title: the Cross-Country Rallies Junior Championship which he won in 2016. In 2015 he finished tenth in the Desafío Ruta 40 and the Atacama Rally. He debuted in rally competitions back in 2012 at the Desafío Inka, where he posted second place overall. Raul Castells, Monster Energy Honda Team Manager commented: “We are very happy to have a new team member. José Ignacio Cornejo took to the part really well, and we were pleased with him and the way that he integrated so quickly into the Monster Energy Honda Team. He’s a lad that’s easy to get on with and everyone in the team really likes him. After what he did in the Dakar, it seemed like the most natural thing to do to incorporate him into the team with the other young riders to help them grow in the sport. Let’s hope that he adapts as quickly as possible and hopefully we will be able to achieve great successes together. We wish him all the best.” José Ignacio Cornejo said: “I’m really happy to have signed for the Monster Energy Honda Team as one of the HRC riders. In the Dakar I had the opportunity to enter into a great team, even though I knew it was just for the one race. Now I’m really motivated and I hope to be able to bring a lot to the team. It’s an important step for my career – something that, for a long time, I’ve been hoping for. I’m really pleased to be here as we start things off. I will give it my best shot.”
 
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