Taklimakan Stage 6: car ranking shaken up
Competitors of 2018 Taklimakan Rally have raced today the longest stage of the rally (637,89 kilometers) around Hami. While the crew Han Wei / Liao Min (Geely) won the stage, three of its main rivals received a 30 minutes penalty. Zhang Min won a shortened stage in motorbike category.
STAGE 6 : HAMI > HAMI : 637,89 km Liaison : 54,12 km | SS : 491,15 km | Liaison : 92,62 km
After a stage 5 raced under a strong heat, exhausting for the bodies, the organization of Taklimakan Rally has decided to reduce the lenght of the two wheel’s stage. Therefore, the riders finished the stage at CP2, kilometers 203, while the racing cars raced the 491,15 kilometers as planned.
Stage 6 of 2018 Taklimakan Rally has completely changed the overall standing in car category. The stewards have penalized three crews to have missed a way-point at kilometers 438. Another thirty minutes were therefore added to the race time of Christian Lavieille / Jean-Pierre Garcin (BAIC), Lu Bungling / Sha He (BAIC) and Liu Kun / Wu Dajun (Geely).
The day was productive for the crew Han Wei / Liao Min (Geely) who won its third victory in 2018 Taklimalan Rally. The yellow buggy #105 is the new leader of the overall ranking before the #103 Zi Yungang/Wang Zengrong, its teamate in Geely Auto Coopertires team. The three BAIC led by Liu Yangui / Hongyu Pan, Lu Bungling / Sha He and Christian Lavieille / Jean-Pierre Garcin are now fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
In the bike category, Zhang Min (KTM) won the stage followed by Armand Monleón. The teamates of KTMR2R Rally team rode together during a big portion of the stage. Now leading the race with a large gap, the Spanish rider adapted his riding and did not take any risk. Thanks to his victory today, Zhang Min increases the gap with Zhao Hongyi in the overall classification. The fight for the second rank is still intense. The two riders are separated by around ten minutes.
Provisional classification of stage 6 / Car
1. Han Wei (CHN) / Liao Min (CHN), Geely, 4h29’29’’2. Zi Yungang (CHN) / Wang Zengrong (CHN), Geely, + 2’52’’3. Liu Yangui (CHN) / Hongyu Pan (CHN), BAIC, + 4’00’’4. Niu Bandin (CHN) / Fang Mingji (CHN), SMG, + 12’53’’5. Xu Aili (CHN) / Fu Xinming (CHN), Buggy, 16’54’’9. Christian Lavieille (FRA) / Jean-Pierre Garcin (FRA), BAIC, + 35’14’’ (30’ penalty)11. Rémy Vauthier (CH) / Jean Brucy (FRA), Optimus + 37’33’’|2. Lu Binglong (CHN) / Sha He (CHN), BAIC, + 38’31 (30’ penalty)
Provisional overall classification after stage 6 / Car
1. Han Wei (CHN) / Liao Min (CHN), Geely, 19h20’54’’2. Zi Yungang (CHN) / Wang Zengrong (CHN), Geely, + 7’57’’3. Liu Yangui (CHN) / Hongyu Pan (CHN), BAIC, + 21’04’’4. Lu Binglong (CHN) / Sha He (CHN), BAIC, + 37’00’’5. Christian Lavieille (FRA) / Jean-Pierre Garcin (FRA), BAIC, + 41’33’’44. Rémy Vauthier (CH) / Jean Brucy (FRA), Optimus, + 98h37’43’’
Provisional classification of stage 6 / Motorbike
1. Zhang Min (CHN), KTM, 2h21’48’’2. Armand Monleón (ESP), KTM, + 1’58’’3. Pablo Pascual (ARG), Zongshen, + 8’44’’4. Zhao Hongyi (CHN), KTM, + 10’36’’5. Wang Yun (CHN), Husqvarna, + 13’06’’6. Eric Schiano (FRA), Zongshen, + 13’47’’
Provisional overall classification after stage 6 / Motorbike
1. Armand Monleón (ESP), KTM, 23h47’41’’2. Zhang Min (CHN), KTM, + 1h30’40’’3. Zhao Hongyi (CHN), KTM, + 1h41’57’’4. Pablo Pascual (ARG), Zongshen, + 2h24’36’’5. Eric Schiano (FRA), Zongshen, + 4h02’36’’
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