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Tag: JRod
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Caimi 16th in Stage 4; J Rod crashes out: Dakar 2023
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia) 4 Jan 2023: Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, endured an exceptionally tough day at the Dakar Rally 2023.
Franco Caimi finished Stage 4 in the 16th position, followed by Sebastian Buhler in the 22nd and Ross Branch in the 23rd positions in the Rally GP class. Joaquim Rodrigues met with an unfortunate crash around the 90kms mark, due to which he had to exit from the race.
Living up to its expectation of being “the toughest Dakar so far in Saudi”, Dakar 2023 has been throwing varied challenges to competitors since Day 1. With unusually tall sand dunes and tricky navigation through sandy tracks, Stage 4 was not short of drama.
Joaquim Rodrigues is the latest in the list of top competitors who have exited the Dakar 2023 due to injury. Around the 90km mark today, JRod suffered a fall that rendered him immovable due to a broken left femur. Airlifted to the hospital in Ha’il by the Dakar medical assistance team, JRod will now undergo surgery, and hopes to recover soon.
Seeing his team mate injured was psychologically demanding for Franco Caimi. However, he mustered courage and picked up pace to finish the stage in good time. Franco currently holds the 13th position in the overall Rally GP class standings.
It was an even more difficult day for Sebastian Buhler and Ross Branch, both of whom ran out of fuel in the 250km-long first part of the stage. The rains from the previous day rendered the sandy terrain wet and hard, and their machines battled with technical issues that consumed more fuel than normal.
Both of them had to wait considerable amount of time before receiving help from trailing competitors who lent them fuel to reach the refueling point. However, even with the heavy time losses, they battled on to the finish line, demonstrating the true spirit of Heroes. Undeterred, Ross and Buhler will continue their fight in the race, even though their overall ranks have been adversely affected today.
The entire Hero MotoCorp team wishes a fast recovery for Joaquim and hopes for his speedy return to racing.
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Hero MotoSports riders finish in Overall top-15
Bishi (Saudi Arabia), 12 Jan. 2022: Having successfully completed 10 stages including a stage win, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, is poised to complete the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally with a good result.
One of the fastest specials of the Dakar Rally 2022, Stage 10 saw Hero MotoSports riders Aaron Maré and Joaquim Rodrigues ride strong and finish in the 11th and 21st places respectively in the RallyGP class.
Two years ago on the same day, January 12, the team lost their star rider Paulo Goncalves, a Dakar ace, a good friend, and a role model to everyone in the bivouac. Painful memories from the day made today’s race emotionally difficult for his brother-in-law, JRod. Yet, he demonstrated courage to complete the stage in the 12th fastest time as a tribute to the late rider. However, having missed a waypoint, he attracted a penalty that set him back to the 21st position in the RallyGP class. 10 stages down, JRod maintains his position at 14th place in the overall RallyGP class standings.
Pushing through the stage quickly and avoiding navigational errors, Aaron Maré continued his consistent performance at Dakar 2022 in Stage 10 as well. His latest finish has helped him break into the overall top 15 of the RallyGP class at 15th place.
The 757 km long Stage 10 from Wadi Ad-Dawasir to Bisha had a timed section of 374 kms featuring beautiful landscapes of the desert. The riders made their way to the finish passing through sandy tracks across valleys, wadis, and small canyons, and narrow stony mountain tracks.
Next up is the penultimate challenge from this edition of the Dakar. The 345 km special is a loop around Bisha, and will be the biggest technical challenge in the final part of the rally, throwing dunes of all sizes, shapes, and textures at the riders. This 11th stage of the Dakar will end at Bisha, before heading back to Jeddah on the last day.
Joaquim Rodrigues
“Two years ago, I experienced the toughest time of my life. I did not expect it to affect me much today, but then all the painful memories kicked in while I was on the stage. I found it difficult to focus on the race – it was a really hard day, but I’m glad I could finish the stage somehow. Two days to go, and the aim is to keep bringing the bike home every day.”
Aaron Maré
“I had a great day today, having started strong and pushing fast and I was able to catch up with the riders in front before refuel. Post refuel, the navigation became tricky, and so I paced myself a little bit to ensure I made no mistakes. I made it to the finish with no crashes or navigational mistakes, and am happy with my result that helps me with a good start position for tomorrow’s tricky stage. Just two more stages left in the race, and I’m looking forward to finishing well.”
Provisional Stage 10 Rankings – RallyGP class:
1. Toby Price Red Bull KTM Factory Team 03h 05m 32s
2. Luciano Benavides Husqvarna Factory Racing + 02m 09s
3. Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha + 03m 35s
4. Lorenzo Santolino Team Sherco Rallye + 05m 40s
11. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 08m 09s
21. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 23m 36s
Provisional Overall Standings after Stage 10 – RallyGP class:
1. Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha 33h 27m 06s
2. Sam Sunderland GasGas Factory Racing + 05m 59s
3. Pablo Quintanilla Monster Energy Honda + 06m 15s
4. Matthias Walkner Red Bull KTM Factory Team + 08m 24s
14. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 01h 15m 02s
15. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 01h 17m 08s
Provisional Overall Standings after Stage 10 – All classes:
1. Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha 33h 27m 06s
2. Sam Sunderland GasGas Factory Racing + 05m 59s
3. Pablo Quintanilla Monster Energy Honda + 06m 15s
4. Matthias Walkner Red Bull KTM Factory Team + 08m 24s
15. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 01h 15m 02s
16. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 01h 17m 08s
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JRod wins maiden Dakar stage; brings in first success for Hero MotoSports
Al Qaisumah (Saudi Arabia), 4 Jan. 2022: Portuguese star Joaquim Rodrigues, of Hero MotoSports Team Rally not only won his maiden Dakar stage but brought the first success for the Indian manufacturer of two-wheelers at the World’s toughest rally raid event.
TVS ace Harith Noah, the lone rider representing India, finished the stage 29th after losing time before the first Way Point but recovered brilliantly to make up at least 11 positions and finished at a respectable 29th which put him in an overall 31st place.
After creating history with the victory for the World’s largest bike maker, Hero Moto Corp, the Portugal rider “J-Rod”, who endured the worst of experiences, with the death of his team-mate Paulo Gonçalves on 12th January 2020, said: “It’s my first stage victory on the Dakar and its historical for the team, I’m really, really happy. I was riding well and so fast that I even said to myself, ‘Paulo is riding with me here’. I think he and I won here today”. On Tuesday, he enjoyed one of the best, thanks in part to his former countryman and teammate.
JRod, as he is affectionately called, won the 255-km Stage 3 in 2 hours, 34 minutes and 41 seconds. Earlier today, as Daniel Sanders, the leader on the first two days, was eagerly awaited at the finishing line to discover the outcome of this Special Section. But the hungry Australian stopped for a couple of minutes to take bite and lost a good three minutes and dropped to fifth place. Toby Price has completed the stage in second place, ahead of the incredible Mason Klein.
But today it was Joaquim Rodriques, who deserves all the praise.
About J Rod
Joaquim Rodrigues has had to deal with a lot in the past couple of years, but riding his bike has slowly helped the 40-year-old to recover his form and confidence. At Dakar 2020, the Portuguese rider lost his brother-in-law Paulo Gonçalves, who tragically died on the seventh stage. The terrible event plunged the entire rally raid family into a state of mourning, and left Joaquim battling with depression.
After an extremely difficult year, he made the bold decision to return to the Dakar in 2021 and ride it in honour of the man who was married to his sister Sofia. One of the most emotional moments of the rally was seeing a tearful Joaquim cross the finish line on the final day and point to the skies.
The Hero MotoSports factory rider now takes Paulo with him wherever he goes racing, and the whole team wear Paulo’s final race number, 8, on their kit. Joaquim has had a busy 2021 season, competing in as many rallies as possible to help Hero fine-tune their 450 Rally and target the top places at Dakar 2022.
He began with a promising fourth place at the Andalucia Rally, and ended with a first world championship podium at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge -the same rally where Paulo took his maiden world championship podium in 2012. Over the course of a long professional career in supercross, motocross and rally raid, Joaquim has learned that you have to play it smart on an event like the Dakar. In spite of everything he was going through last year, he still took a very creditable 11th place in the bikes, and will now be looking to finish in the top 10 for the second time after his 2017 debut.
Before Dakar 2022 JRod said: “The main goal is always Dakar. We need to ride in the desert, and this year we tried to race as much as we could. The bike is always new, we’re always developing. That’s why we use all these races during the year to test new stuff. I think all the factory teams do that, because the best testing is racing, you know? I think we’ll be better prepared for the next Dakar.
“Time on the bike is always good! You feel more comfortable, more loose on the bike. Racing is the best thing you can do. And the results are showing that also. The whole team is doing good and that’s what’s important. Every time I go on the bike now, Paulo goes with me, to every race. It was hard times, still is hard times, difficult for my family, my sister and her kids. It’s been tough, you know. But taking him with me motivates me a little bit to keep pushing, to keep going and not give up. That was Paulo. I have many years of racing already, not only rallies but also motocross and supercross.
“And you can’t do more than what you can control. Just go out there every day and do the best you can. Make your bad days work as well as you can, and at the end of the race see what you get. I take every day as it comes, not thinking about the final result. Even if I come last, if I feel it was the best I had in me that day, it’s good enough for me. That’s the mentality you need to have, especially for rallies.”
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J Rod to spearhead Hero Motosports challenge
Abu Dhabi (UAE), 4 Nov 2021: Indian Hero Motosports team will launch its campaign in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with 39-year Joaquim Rodriques spearheading a three-rider team at the 30th anniversary team that begins on Friday.
More accomplished 33-year Franco Caimi of Argentina, who finished 8th overall in Dakar 2020 will join the Baja India 2018 winner J Rod, who went on to win the Pan Africa Rally in 2019 and youngster 26-year Sebastian Bubler of Portugal, the reigning 2020 FIM Bajas World Cup winner. The Hero team finished in top-10 in the recent outing at Rallye du Maroc.
The team will not have the popular Indian face in CS Santosh, who suffered a major crash in Dakar 2020. However, he wished the team in an Insta post on Thursday. “Reborn today! It’s almost like that after making my way to Abu Dhabi to see the team get ready for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and seeing the bikes being unboxed for the first time again after 2013 when I did the Desert Challenge as a privateer with @probikesdubai ! Great to see my family again for the first time this year after the Dakar Rally! I love all these guys and I definitely love the privilege I have to race Cross Country Rally with them,” the ace cross country rider and, the first Indian to finish Dakar said tagging his team Hero Motorsports. The Red Bull athelete has taken a recovery time of over six months and had only started training recently and is yet plan his competitive activities and is hoping to kickstart his work for Dakar 2022.
Khalid Al Qassimi, whose victory in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge four years ago propelled his rallying career in a new direction, says the event can help attract more young Emirati talent into motorsport in the years ahead.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge provided the perfect platform for Al Qassimi’s switch from the World Rally Championship to cross country, and winning his home event in 2017 proved to the UAE star that he could mix it with the best on a new world stage.
“I wanted to try something different, so having the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to turn to was perfect,” said the Abu Dhabi Racing founder and former FIA Middle East rally champion, who lines up in the 30th anniversary event starting on Saturday alongside Dutch co-driver Wouter Rosegaar in a PH-sport Zephir T3. “Winning it showed me I had what it takes to go to the top level in off road rallying.”
Al Qassimi’s 2017 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory was the first by a UAE driver since Mohammed Mattar in 1992, and led him to FIA World Cup 2WD title. He wants to see new UAE talent on the podium in the future, and backs plans by the Emirates Motorsports Organization (EMSO) to use the rally as an important part of motor sport development.
Khalid Al Qassimi – “If we’re smart, we’ll find more drivers.” “There is talent out there, and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge can help bring more young people into the sport,” he says. “It shows them there’s a chance to compete at world level, just like the Dakar Rally is doing in Saudi Arabia. If we’re smart, we’ll find more drivers.”
As the the cars, buggies, bikes and quads sweep across the dramatic Al Dhafra dunes next week, ADNOC Distribution, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will play a vital role, with mobile refuelling bases, as well as fixed refuelling stations at the rally bivouac, keeping the rally flowing.
Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO, ADNOC Distribution, said: “We are delighted to again support the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, an event that truly showcases the vibrancy and diversity of the UAE’s landscape. Our expertise in providing quality fuel for a wide range of vehicles ensures that the engines are well equipped to handle the challenges faced, as riders battle the elements in this fantastic event.”
ADNOC Distribution also supplies fuelling facilities for the Abu Dhabi Aviation helicopters to provide potentially life-saving aerial Search and Rescue support for the medical crews on permanent standby to be taken to the aid of competitors needing attention.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the EMSO and FIA Vice President for Sport, said: “We’re very grateful to ADNOC Distribution for being a loyal and vitally important supporter of the rally over the years. Added to the fuel and facilities they deliver throughout the event, we appreciate the genuine enthusiasm they show for each edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.”
No driver starting the penultimate round of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies knows the event as well as veteran UAE competitor Yahya Al Helei, who marks his own unique Desert Challenge 30th anniversary.
He maintains his 100% appearance record with Khalid Al Kendi in a Nissan Pick Up, and no-one takes more pride in Al Helei’s incredible run in the event than son Mansour, who started rallying as his father’s co-driver.
Mansour was given his break as a driver when Khalid Al Qassimi launched the Abu Dhabi Racing junior team in 2014, sending a group of young Emiratis into the Middle East Rally Championship, and the Junior World Rally Championship.
The mentor and his protégé were team-mates again at this year’s Dakar Rally, Al Helei finishing inside the top 30 on his first attempt while Al Qassimi grabbed seventh place.
With Mansour starting the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge alongside Abdulla Dakhan in a T4 CAN-AM Maverick, the EMSO hopes to see more young Emiratis following his pathway.
That’s a sentiment shared by top Emirati rider Mohammed Al Balooshi, the multiple Arab moto cross champion who runs his own academy in Dubai and in 2018 became the first winner of the FIM Bajas World Cup title from the GCC region.
The KTM rider enters another Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge a week after seeing his bid for a second World Cup crown reduced by mechanical problems in Portugal to fourth place in the standings.
“This is my home event, and I love what it has done for my development as a rider, and the chance it gives to young Arabs to test themselves against the best in the world,” said Al Balooshi.
Among the young Emiratis relishing such an opportunity this time is Yamaha quad rider Abdulaziz Ahli, who takes on six-times FIM World Cup quads champion Rafal Sonik as the Pole seeks his third Desert Challenge crown.
The 30th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge takes place under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region. The rally is supported by the Ruler’s Representative Court Al Dhafra Region, the UAE Armed Forces, Abu Dhabi Aviation, National Ambulance, Abu Dhabi Police, ADNOC Distribution, Yas Island, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi Municipality, Al Dhafra Region Municipality, Al-Ain Water and Tadweer.
