Hero MotoSports Team Rally had a rough Sunday in the second round of the 2021 Rallye Du Maroc as technical issues saw both Sebastian Buhler and Franco Caimi retire from the round. The longest round of the rally fell strenuous on the Hero 450 Rally bike, but the day was saved with J-Rod’s exceptional ride through the dunes of the Saharan desert as finished in the top 10 after yesterday’s disappointment. With that said, let us look into the Round 2 of the Rallye Du Maroc and see how it unfolded for the Indian team.
Joaquim Rodrigues started the day from P18 after a navigational error in Round 1, but managed to finish P10 in the 340km loop. His bike seemed to be out problems and was in a good rhythm through the entire route. This was the only good news to arise from the Hero MotoSports camp for the day as Franco Caimi and Sebastian Buhler were hit with technical issues which saw them retire from the round.
Buhler faced technical issues in the last round, and even though he started the stage with the target of testing new parts in race conditions, he retired after opting to come back to the Bivouac. Initially, Buhler was setting competitive lap times till the first checkpoint but he found it difficult to continue at race pace and decided to retire.
Franco Caimi started first for the team, maintained a good pace in the opening half but a technical issue brought his bike to a stop. Caimi, who was the lead finisher for Hero MotoSports in Round 1, now plans to use the rest of the rounds as testing grounds for the 2022 Dakar Rally.
Caimi summarised the day by saying, “I started the day well, feeling confident on the bike and the bike was working perfectly. Sadly, after around 150km, I had some technical difficulties and there was nothing I could do to solve them. It is painful, not just for me, but also for the team who put in so much hard work. We will focus now on getting the bike ready, and use the rest of this rally for testing and training, and also in case one of my teammates needs my help on the stage.”
Round 3 will be equally strenuous for the rider and the team with another 340km of special stages and 260km of liaison, bringing the total to 500km of ride through the Saharan desert. Navigation might be confusing for the riders as the track intersects with sections from the previous round which now has ruts left by the bikes, cars and trucks. J-Rod has moved into P11 but has to watch his teammates drop to the back of the timesheet after their retirements in the round. For more news and updates from the world of motorsports, stay tuned to evo India!