Marathon Stage in Croatia Completed: Two Days Full of Challenges

The Dinaric Rally in Croatia is approaching its end – only one racing day remains. On Thursday, riders had to take on the longest single-day distance of the event, cross the national border, and complete the demanding two-day marathon stage. Both CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team riders reached the finish with smiles on their faces, despite a wide range of difficulties along the way.

“The second day of the marathon is done – and it was intense! 480 kilometers, almost half a day on the quad. We had everything: fast sections, forest trails, meadows with tricky navigation, and steep, technical climbs that reminded me of Romania’s Hunt the Wolf rally. It was a very tough day, I feel exhausted, but I’m happy to have finished and brought the machine back without any major damage,” said Adomas Gančierius, adding that the mechanics will now work on solving a fuel tank overheating issue – at times the fuel nearly boiled inside.

According to preliminary results, Gančierius was the fastest among all quad riders over the two-day marathon stage. His teammate, Antanas Kanopkinas, recorded the second-best result, although he once again had some unpleasant moments with his quad on Thursday.

“It was a wonderful, fast day. The mountains and scenery were beautiful, everything was really good – except for one rollover that I definitely didn’t need,” said Kanopkinas with optimism at the finish.

Now, only one racing day remains, which will decide who stands on the podium. For the moment, both CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team riders are inside the quad top three. Kanopkinas is less than eight minutes behind second-placed Piotr Michalak, while Gančierius holds a solid advantage of more than sixteen minutes over the Polish rider and leads the standings.