BARREDA SECOND IN THE MOROCCO RALLY

The fourth stage of the Morocco Rally proved to be particularly tricky due to the constant changes in terrain which included soft sand, stony ground and the light but treacherous dust know as “fesh fesh”. The Husqvarna Rally Team by Speedbrain knew straight away that they were going to be in for a hazard-filled day. It was Goncalves who bore the brunt of the bad luck when just twenty kilometres into the special test had to turn back to get his rear wheel changed after a heavy collision with a big stone. This setback cost Goncalves dearly coming in 43 minutes behind the stage winner and dropping to eighth place in the overall standings.

Barreda also paid dearly for a directional error finishing the stage in tenth position but moved up a place in the overall classification thanks to a technical hitch with Rodrigues’ engine. Barreda now holds second overall place behind Despres. Fish continues to get positive results and after today’s stage moves up into the top ten in the overall standings. Tomorrow see the penultimate stage of the rally with 246 km (154 miles) of special test and a transfer of 181 km.

Joan Barreda: “Today really was a tough stage. So much navigation! There was loads of dust and terrain that constantly changed. But on the whole I’m happy not to have made any big mistakes or crashes, even if I loosed some time from the leader and to be second in the overall standings.”

Paulo Goncalves: “Today was a day to forget for me. 20 km into the special test I realized that I had a broken back wheel and I had to race back for assistance as quickly as possible but lost a lot of time. Then I found that there were so many riders up ahead that it was impossible to make up any time. There’s always something to learn in this race. Anything can happen but you learn from it.

Matt Fish: “A really difficult stage. I’m pleased with the way it went without any major problems and always up there with the main pack. I’m there in the top ten now so I’m really satisfied.

Wolfgang Fischer – Team Manager : ”It was a really tough day for us. Goncalves got a problem with the back wheel that we could really have done without. But that’s the way the rallies are. Barreda was pushing from the start but then he made a couple of mistakes and ended up a bit behind. Fish, on the other hand, did really well, he was very consistent .”

Classification stage 4: 1. Przygonski (KTM), 2.Despres (KTM) a 2’27”, 3.Zanol (Honda) a 4’19”, 4.Pain (Yamaha) a 5’10”, 5.Verhoven (Yamaha) a 6’09”……..7. Fish (Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain) a 9’18”, 10.Barreda (Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain) a 15’06”, 21.Goncalves (Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain) a  43’36

Unofficial standings overall after stage 4: 1. Despres (KTM) , 2.Barreda (Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain)  a 17’59” , 3. Verhoven (Yamaha) a 31’51”, 4.Zanol (Honda) a 33’21”, 5.Pain (Yamaha) 33’23”---------- 8.Goncalves (Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain)  a 47’43” ,…….10.Fish (Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain ) a 53’59” .