IN
THE
WIND
P44
TOBY PRICE LEADS MOROCCO RALLY
T
wo-time defending FIM
Cross-Country Rallies World
Champion Pablo Quintanilla
came into the final round of the
championship with an eight-point
lead over KTM's Toby Price, and
the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
rider was simply seeking a
podium finish to wrap up his
third title. But from the first stage
of the Morocco Rally, the race
has been anything but ordinary.
Heavy rain before the race
turned the opening stage into a
demanding one, which resulted
in Quintanilla getting lost twice.
He ended up finishing a dismal
12th place while Price dominated
the day, and just like that, Quin-
tanilla was squarely behind the
eight ball with the championship
on the line.
Three days later at the end
of stage four, Quintanilla has
clawed his way back up to fourth
place, and endured the challeng-
ing marathon stage, but is now
battling a cold. It will be a fight to
the finish for both championship
contenders on the final day of
the rally, Tuesday, October 9.
"This marathon stage was
tough for me," said Quintanilla.
"I have been struggling with a
cold these last few days and
yesterday I felt the effects on my
body. Today I pushed more and
managed to put in a great time
in the special test. The goal is to
get back stronger tomorrow and
continue pushing until the last
kilometer."
"Yesterday's stage was harder
on our tires than expected," said
Price, describing the first half of
the marathon stage. "So we had
to ride intelligently today. I navi-
gated through the stage really
well and made up some good
time. One more day to go now,
so we'll see where we end up."
American riders Ricky Bra-
bec and Andrew Short are both
inside the top 10, with Brabec
gunning for an overall podium.
Brabec, of the Monster Energy
Honda HRC squad, currently
sits a strong third in provisional
standings.
Short is currently 10th in the
overall standings, showing good
consistency in what has been a
tougher-than-expected rally. CN
With only one round
remaining, Toby Price is
within striking distance
of the Morocco Rally
win and the FIM Cross-
Country Rallies World
Championship.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
RALLY
ZONE
