october 05, 2015 - Honda Moto

2015 Cross Countries Rally: Team HRC gets the OiLibya Morocco Rally campaign underway tomorrow

Team HRC have made it problem-free through the technical and administrative formalities and are all set to tackle the OiLibya Morocco Rally.

It was Zagora, with 35 degrees in the shade, which welcomed the five Team HRC riders today, as the squad went through the administrative checks followed by the technical scrutineering prior to the start of the sixth and final round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. The Honda CRF450 RALLY riders can look forward to a tough test ahead, in a race which starts tomorrow, where they will do battle for victory whilst carrying out the final fine-tuning ahead of the Dakar – the pinnacle of rally season – due to get underway in just three month’s time.

Team HRC lines up their two main riders, Portuguese #paulogoncalves – fifth in the world championship standings – and Spaniard Joan Barreda for this edition of the OiLibya Morocco Rally. The formation will also feature a new incorporation: Italian Paolo Ceci.

Furthermore, as a result of the excellent relationship between Team HRC, Honda Sudamerica and Honda South America Rally Team, the team will be reinforced with the presence of Jean Azevedo, making his first outing on the brand new Honda CRF450 RALLY and Kevin Benavides, making his debut in a rally whose points count towards the world championship.

The race will have its starting point and base in Zagora, with the first stages to be run in the area to the south of the city: the Mhamid Dune Valley, the Draa Valley and the Chegagga Erg, before the OiLibya Morocco Rally arrives for the first time at the Atlantic Coast. The race will finish in Agadir after some 1,358 kilometres of special stage.

TOMORROW’s STAGE
STAGE 1 : LOOP OF ZAGORA
LIAISON 133 KMS – STAGE 330 KMS
In this first part of the Rally, competitors will have to take the rythm on fast tracks, undulations, and sometimes-trial tracks. They will have to pay attention about following the good cap and cross the Jbels, oueds on the way to the CP1. There will be the opportunity to go faster on the tracks and then to surf on dunes on the way of CP2. The second part of the stage will be on sinuous tracks and sometimes-stony tracks in a beautiful landscape. To join the finish line, competitors’ll cross the last mountain pass to contemplate the unlimited valley.