Hero MotoSports Team Rally had a great turn of events in Stage 3 of the 2021 Rallye Du Maroc as Sebastian Buhler finished in the second position and Franco Caimi in fifth. Stage 3 of the rally comprised of a long journey through the 340km of special stages and 260km of liaison. The long loop in the Saharan desert was complicated by the ruts left by the bikes, cars and trucks that ran here during Stage 2 which left the riders in a difficult position to navigate through the course. Joaquim Rodrigues came out swinging in this stage after a disappointing Stage 2 and finished P9 on the stage. With that said, let us now look into Stage 3 and see how it panned out for the riders.
Sebastian Buhler started the stage in P17 and was on the pace immediately. He was within the top three at every checkpoint, eventually finishing in second place, even when he was using new components on his bike in preparation for Dakar 2022.
Franco Caimi was also preparing for Dakar 2022 and rode with the aim to gain more experience on the bike while sharpening his navigation skills in race conditions. His steady ride through the course gave him fifth place.
Joaquim Rodrigues delivered a determined ride on the stage. Despite losing time early in the stage, he recovered well to finish in the ninth position. He remains at P11 in the overall rankings.
After the stage, Caimi expressed, “I am happy to be back in the race after my problems earlier. It was a long stage, and I am happy with the result. We were able to put some more mileage on the bikes and every bit of training and experience will help. Congratulations to my teammate Basti who finished second, so overall, it was a good day for the team.”
With that said, the two longest days of the rally completed, Stage 4 will bring another 360km of special stages for the riders to tackle. For more information from the world of MotoSports, stay tuned to evo India for news and updates!