Toughest day in Morocco: even riding became a chance to rest

On Thursday, Rallye du Maroc competitors faced the longest special stage of the entire rally – 360 timed kilometres and almost 590 kilometres in total including the liaison sections. The longest day was made even tougher by the fatigue carried over from Wednesday’s demanding stage. After reaching the finish, CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team rider Antanas Kanopkinas admitted that he even found himself resting while riding the quad.

“It was a very, very tough day. I still hadn’t recovered from yesterday, so during the whole morning liaison to the start I was basically snoozing while riding. Before the start I tried to wake myself up, but a few extreme moments on the course did that pretty quickly. Still, waking up didn’t give me any extra energy, so physically it was a very difficult day. It was also extremely hot – I drank maybe five or six litres of water, so at least in that sense I probably set a new personal record today,” Kanopkinas said after reaching the finish, exhausted but still in good spirits.

Kanopkinas was also pleased that despite the exceptionally demanding day, the quad suffered no damage. Ahead of Friday’s start, he said the most important thing for him now is simply to get a good night’s sleep.

On Friday, the competitors will face a shorter distance – around 450 kilometres in total, with approximately 319 kilometres against the clock. As on the previous days, the route will consist mainly of hard-packed and rocky terrain. However, there will be fewer dunes on Friday – the terrain where the leader of the quad category feels perhaps most comfortable.

The competitors are getting closer to the finish. Only two days of racing remain.