Photo credits: Red Bull KTM
The 10-day Silk Way Rally has commenced and teams such as Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team and Red Bull have made reports on their progress within these three days. As for Red Bull KTM, the team is ecstatic that Luciano Benavides has managed to deliver sterling results. The Argentinian rider recorded the third fastest time, one place ahead of teammate Sam Sunderland. Laia Sanz, on the other hand, comes in 13th as the rally crossed into Mongolia.
“Today was another good day. It was another very fast stage with a few challenging sections but I found a good rhythm and was able to push. I had a little trouble getting past the rider who started off ahead of me, but after that, the stage went really well and I’m happy with my riding and the result. The bike has been perfect and I’m feeling good so looking forward to the next few stages now,” says Benavides as quoted from KTM Factory Racing.
“There was a change of country and 700 kilometres on the menu today, so it’s been a long day. There is such a big contrast in terms of terrain from the tight forest tracks in Russia to these big open plains and valleys here in Mongolia. All-in-all it’s been a good one – it’s never ideal to open on a 700-kilometre stage but someone has to do it and although I did make one mistake that cost me a few minutes, I didn’t lose too much time to the guys behind. There is still a long way to go, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“The stage went well today, not amazing, but not too bad. I normally like this type of terrain but today I didn’t feel 100 per cent comfortable so I didn’t want to push too hard. I didn’t lose too much time so that puts us in a good place for tomorrow. We’ve been testing some things on the bike too, which is very important in preparation for the next Dakar.”
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