Tuesday, the third day of the Rally Albania, was a very challenging day for the competitors - the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team riders spent fifteen hours on quads, and when they got back to the bivouac, they didn't even tried to hide the fact that it had been an incredibly difficult day. In fact, the team didn't do too well today and had to spend a lot of time on track.
Starting in the morning in the north of Albania, the riders had to cover almost four hundred kilometres to reach their next bivouac, located in the beautiful town of Pogradec, close to two mountain ranges and a large lake. Although the scenery was extremely beautiful throughout the route, the team members say that they did not have neither the will nor the energy to enjoy it in the second half of the day.
A good start and a difficult afternoon
"Three hell of a challenging stages and a lot of kilometres. The first section was very good, although I lost bit, I didn’t lose a lot of time there. On the second section we had some technical problems - the battery wire came loose and we lost a good five minutes," said Antanas Kanopkinas after a long day.
Although in the first two stages team had a small mistake and a minor technical fault, the real problems started on the third and final stage of the day: "We punctured two front tyres and then a series of disasters started - we lost a lot of time and had to give up the first place in class, but we are alive and well and the rally is still only halfway done. Tomorrow we're off to the racing again - never give up!"
Adomas Gančierius also did not hide his exhaustion and said that there are no easy days in this rally. The teammates helped each other on the track when either one of them broke down, and both were overtaken by their closest rival in the quad standings, Frenchman G. Martinez. After today, A. Gančierius is second in the quad standings and A. Kanopkinas is third.
The CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team's quad racers say that in the coming days they will have to make up for today's lost time, but at the same time they will have to strive for a successful finish. Four more days of racing lie ahead, with one of them being as long as 450 kilometres. Already in the first days, the riders said that the distances in Albania should be calculated differently than usual. The kilometres are longer and more challenging on the winding and challenging mountain roads, and the gruelling heat only makes it more difficult.
On Wednesday, the riders will have to tackle 320 kilometres of the speed section, with the route heading towards central Albania, where there should be fewer mountains and therefore easier roads to expect. However, the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team riders, who are taking part in this rally for the second time, say they are not expecting any easy days.