On Wednesday, the participants of Rally Albania continued the race and reached the middle of it. In addition, the two-day marathon stage ended today, so the scars on teams vehicles could already be handled by mechanics, and the Lithuanian representatives in Albania - CFMOTO Factory Racing Team - riders got a chance to relax a bit.
The second part of the marathon stage was quite difficult for the duet of Darius Biesevičius and Audronė Kanopkinienė racing in SSV. They had to preserve their vehicle and constantly stop next to the track and inflate a tire that was no longer holding pressure. Still, the duo has reached the finish and will be able to start tomorrow with a fully rehabilitated buggy. Mechanics, whose help was not allowed yesterday, will already be able to work for the team today.
"It was a good day today. The first speed section, the longest after the marathon, was difficult for us because we had one punctured wheel that was constantly letting air out. It took as much as four times to stop and inflate. We drove slowly and tried not to damage that wheel any more. After the intermediate service, we already drove to the other two speed sections. I didn't like the first one after the service - with a lot of pits, rocks and very deep tracks. But here we did not make any mistakes in navigation. The third was very fast and with little navigation, but everything was fine here as well, ”said Darius Biesevičius, the SSV driver of the CFMOTO Factory Racing Team.
Today, CFMOTO Factory Racing Team ATV pilot Antanas Kanopkinas chose a slightly different strategy. After the failure of the ATV`s power steering unit that happened yesterday, he decided to skip the first speed section of the day and then use the help of mechanics that was already allowed.
"I skipped the first speed section of this day on purpose and decided to take a time penalty, because after the power steering issue yesterday, it would have been suicidal to go to the mountains. Still, all my rivals have withdrawn, so I have to reach the finish line in every way possible. The second speed section, which was unfavorable for the buggies, I really enjoyed. It was fun to fly over rocks and off-road. I even lost one headlight - the ATV looked like a one-eyed Joe. And the third speed section went well, nothing bad happened. Now is the time to rebuild the vehicle and strength as much as possible, "said Antanas Kanopkinas.
On Thursday, CFMOTO Factory Racing Team members are waiting for another difficult day. Although, this time the organizers planned a little less combat kilometers. In the speed sections, participants will have a distance of 120 km, some additional kilometers will have to be covered in crossings. The Rally Albania will end on Saturday.