The fourth day of the Hellas Rally Raid promised to be one of the most challenging from the start. This is the first part of the two-day marathon, during which the athletes had to cover more than 300 kilometers. Changing weather conditions and falling rain made the tracks even more slippery and less predictable, and the team could not avoid mistakes.
"We exchanged the sun for rain - the tracks are completely wet at the moment. Nevertheless, today was very good for me. I started from the 99th position, so I overtook a lot of motorcycles on the track. I reached the finish line successfully, without any technical problems. Tomorrow, the same difficult and long day awaits again", said the Frenchman Gaetan Martinez, after reaching the finish line.
For another CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team driver, Thursday was not so successful. Antanas Kanopkinas had an accident one hundred kilometers before the finish line: "It was a long day, and the plan was just to reach the finish safely, but it didn't work out. I hit a pile of rocks and as a result the power steering failed and I had to drive without it for the remaining hundred kilometers in the mountains. The rain and the ever-appearing ruts on the road only made the situation more difficult, and the speed dropped sharply. It required to give a lot of strength, at the same time, of course, occured many more dangerous situations on the track. In the end I'm glad to have reached the finish line – still quite a few days ahead. Today's result is poor, but nothing is lost. Time to eat, rest and start again tomorrow."
On Friday, the participants will have no easy day also - they will again have to cover a similar distance as today, and the weather conditions are difficult to predict. Rain falling in the mountains changes the characteristics of the tracks and the participants need to adapt to them immediately to avoid dangerous situations. In total, the athletes have three days of racing left, two of which will cover more than 300 kilometers each.
Comments