The first speed stages of Breslau Rally in Poland started on Monday. In the intense summer heat, the athletes had to cover more than a hundred kilometres on the military training ground near Zagan city. Tracks were complicated by dust and sand, making overtaking difficult, and equipment overheating. The day was challenging for the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team riders, one of whom could have ended the rally before it was even halfway through
"We said yesterday that today would be just 120 sportive kilometres, but they were long. The first two stages were short and very fast, and I managed to pass them without any navigational errors. And the last speed section was held in the so called Polish Sahara and was 88 kilometres long," said Adomas Gančierius, adding that at the longest section of the day he had a lot of other competitors to overtake, and the slow-disappearing dust made it very difficult.
The rider also mentioned that although the conditions were really tough, the machinery held up well and mechanics only checked all the main components and changed the air filters, which were very necessary today: "There was a lot of dust, a lot of fesh-fesh type sand. It was very interesting in places, with bright red soil - it was like riding on Mars. I had to almost stop sometimes because when caught up a car, even the button that signals to rivals that you want to overtake wouldn’t help. It was a really hard stage, but I'm happy to be in the finish.Also, I don’t think the next ones will be easier."
Another rider in the team, Antanas Kanopkinas, had a much more difficult time, as his quad's engine failed to cope with the challenges of the track and broke down.
"It seems that this rally is not mine at all - lots of misunderstandings and all sorts of unforeseen things. Today we seem to have buried one engine. Although it would be more accurate to say that we buried it in the show before the rally, when we were doing the burnouts and thought it didn't do any damage to the machinery. But it turns out that one hour of tyre burning with no ventilation did the trick, and today we managed to finish only one of the three special stages, albeit in emergency mode. As I have said before - never give up. Tomorrow we go further," said A. Kanopkinas after today's less successful finish.
Preliminary Monday results after three special stages show that A. Gančierius was in sixth position among the quads, while A. Kanopkinas dropped to 31st place due to two unfinished stages. The team members said that the results can still change, as the last, longest speed section of the day had a tricky and quite difficult in terms of navigation part of the track, with many failing to find the right track the first time, and some even failing to complete the course. Both members of the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team had no navigational difficulties.