Hero MotoSport improve on Stage 3 after a difficult Stage 2 runHero MotoSport

Hero MotoSports Team Rally improves in Stage 3 of Rally Kazakhstan 2021

Franco Caimi is now the highest running rider for the Indian team at Rally Kazakhstan 2021

Published on:

12 Jun 2021, 5:17 pm

The Hero Motosports Team Rally had a satisfactory Stage 3 run at the Rally Kazakhstan today after a difficult Stage 2. Franco Caimi led the charge for the team and put in a solid fourth place finish in the stage. Sebastian Buhler and Joaquim Rodrigues also improved from their performances from Stage 2 and finished seventh and eighth in this stage respectively. Overall, after Stage 3, Franco is the leading rider from the team in eighth, followed by Buhler in ninth and J-Rod in tenth.

Sebastian Buhler made a slight error in navigation close to the finish lineHero Motosport

All the riders from Hero found a better rhythm during this stage. However, Joaquim continued to struggle with the terrain, especially when maintaining high speeds. Buhler, on the other hand, made a few navigation errors along the way.

Franco Caimi, at the end of the day’s stage, said, “Today was another fast stage, and I had fun on the bike and really enjoyed the stage. There were a few places that were dangerous due to the speed, and were also physically tough. I got lost a little during the last 30km in the dunes, but I was able to find the right route again. I am happy that I could finish the stage safely, and happy to put yesterday's problems behind us. The target is to keep building on our strengths and come back stronger each day.”

The Hero riders found better pace in their Hero 450 Rally bikeHero Motorsport

Stage 3 was the longest special stage of the rally and the second leg of the Marathon stage. The terrain of this stage was filled with high-speed bumpy sections along with some demanding sections on a rocky descent from the plateau. The last 10kms of the stage were in the dunes with the stage finish atop one.

J-Rod was not confident maintaining high speeds on the stageHero MotoSport

Stage 4 will be held tomorrow on a 308km long route with over 260kms liaison. This stage comprises different terrain. It starts in the valleys, moves to a wadi and then heads onto steppe plains. The riders would then face some alternating dunes and sandy grounds and finish on some well defined tracks. Finally, they would have to liaison back to the bivouac at Aktau. Ross Branch from Monster Energy Yamaha Rally leads the table from teammate Adrien Van Beveren, followed by Matthias Walkner from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

The results are as follows:

Provisional Rankings Stage 3:

POS NAME TEAM TIMING

1 Sam Sunderland Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 3H 38M 18S

2 Adrien Van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha Rally +02M 08S

3 Ross Branch Monster Energy Yamaha Rally +03M 30S

4 Franco Caimi Hero MotoSports Team Rally +04M 27S

7 Sebastian Buhler Hero MotoSports Team Rally +06M 42S

8 Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +08M 28S

Overall Rankings after Stage 3:

POS NAME TEAM TIMING

1 Ross Branch Monster Energy Yamaha Rally 9H 45M 46S