KM TOT 249,00 – PS1 70,73 – PS2 68,09

First half of the Marathon stage leads the competitors to the bivouac set up in a sacred place. Mena Valdearcos wins in the category of bikes, Souday in control of quads, De Seynes/Liparoti crew commands the SSVs

Total distance: 249,00km.  – PS1 70,73 – PS2 68,09

The first part of the Marathon stage brought the competitors in the magical Sa Itria, where the rally caravan has literally fallen into the time machine. The bivouac was set up in the area of the famous Sa Itria Sanctuary, where a church dedicated to the Virgin of Itria and mysterious megalithic ruins demonstrate that the region was inhabited since very distant times. For the night this place will serve as sanctuary for riders and drivers … without assistance. Under the patronage of Menhir, so-called “Perda de sa Itria”, the competitors will spend a well-deserved chill-out evening. Bikes, quads and SSVs will rest in a crowded parc-fermé.

The third day of the rally is in fact the midway point of the first Marathon stage. At the end of the 249 km long stage between Arborea and Sa Itria the competitors were sent to a separate bivouac and left without support from their teams until they will be reunited at the end of the stage 4. As one of the fundamental parts of rally-raid, the Marathon stage lasts for two consecutive days.

As the first and the second one, also the third stage was cut by 2 special stages of 70,73 and 68,09 km respectively. The track manager Dario Del Vecchio explains:_”Since the Italian TT Rally-Raid Championship is joining the rally today, I thought to spice up the competition. The first special is very fast as it uses the WRC and tyre-testing tracks in Monte Grighine. The second special is more navigated, very technical, trickier, and finishes with a steep down-hill. The first part of the stage will be ideal playground for the SSVs, while the second part will be extremely challenging for all 4-wheels vehicles. Another interesting point of the first part of the Marathon is the altitude – the race scales from 0 to 1400 m of altitude to finish then at around 800 metres.”

Mena Valdearcos, Souday, De Seynes – heroes of the day

In the battle of bikes Oriol Mena Valdearcos won the first part of the Marathon stage, while Jacopo Cerutti, winner of both special stages, hurt his hand after the second special and got reached by the helicopter. The medical team sewed his hand right at the spot and afterwards the 28-years-old returned to the bivouac by himself. Arrived late at the finish line, Cerutti got 38 minutes of penalty, slipping eventually to the 5th place overall. Alessandro Botturi, who finished the stage in second, became the new leader of the overall classification and is currently leading also the Italian Raid TT, in front of Maurizio Gerini and Mirko Pavan. Maurizio Gerini finished the stage in third place. We can also call it bad luck, but Andrea Mancini , unofficial leader of the second special stage, made a mistake in the very last last piece of his extremely fast stage and was penalized, finishing the day in fourth. Reaching the finish-line Andrea said: “I am quite happy with my today’s performance, but also angry with myself for the mistake I made in the last part of the second special stage. That’s where I lost the today’s stage.”

There have been no changes in the category of quads – Sebastien Souday won the stage and still tops the overall classification, while the second and the third place are still occupied by Rafal Sonik and Kamil Wisniewski.

In was a great and very fun day for the pioneers of the SSV category, with the French crew De Seynes/Liparoti dominating the stage and the overall classification, still followed by fearless Italian crew Ercolani/Politino.

And now, an unusually hot day in Sardinian wilderness is about to turn into a magical evening with a great Sardinian feast to celebrate the race, racing spirit, friendship and life. _”Besides being a great sport event, this is also a great opportunity for the promotion of Sardinia. As non-competitor I can’t say much about the race itself, but the riders told me that the terrain here is unique, when compared to other races around the world. Even if this year we don’t have the biggest names competing, I am thrilled to see these young guys battling for seconds.”_ commented the Race Director Tullio Casti. “Once you pass the Sardegna rally school, you fear nothing more,” added Camelia Liparoti. 

STAGE 3 UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

1. Oriol Mena (SPA) Honda 2h34.17.74
2. Alessandro Botturi (ITA) Yamaha 2h34.36.15
3. Maurizio Gerini (ITA) Husqvarna 2h36.11.14
4. Andrea Mancini (ITA) Beta 2h36.21.52
5. Mirko Pavan (ITA) 2h38.16.79
6. Cristian Espana Munoz (SPA) KTM 2h38.44.80
7. Luigi Martelozzo (ITA) Husqvarna 2h42.58.81
8. Omar Chiatti (ITA) Yamaha 2h44.13.73
9. Fausto Vignola (ITA) Husqvarna 2h46.17.42
10. Alessandro Cavicchi (ITA) Husqvarna 2h49.23.98