Quintanilla Wins Rallye Du Maroc 2021
M
onster Energy Honda's new
recruit, Pablo Quintanilla,
came from behind to win the Ral-
lye Du Maroc in Morocco.
The Chilean bested teammate
Ricky Brabec on Stage 5 and
ultimately Red Bull KTM's Matth-
ias Walkner in the final standings
by one minute and 59 seconds,
with GasGas Factory Team's new
Australian recruit Daniel Sanders
taking the Stage 4 win, which
helped him to third overall in the
final standings.
"I am very happy with the vic-
tory," Quintanilla said. "It was
a very difficult week and I want
to thank the whole team for the
great job they did. Personally, I
felt very comfortable, I was rid-
ing with great pace, with good
navigation and that's very good
for my confidence. I am also very
motivated for the next objective,
which is the Dakar. We are going
to take a short break, rest, re-
charge our batteries and then we
will concentrate on the Dakar."
For Walkner, however, second
in Morocco was enough to seal
the 2021 FIM Cross-Country
Rallies World Championship.
The Austrian took second in
the opening round in Kazakh-
stan, won the Silk Way Rally a
month later and took second in
Morocco, sealing the title with
one round to go, the Abu Dhabi
Desert Challenge, starting on
November 6.
"It's been a super cool rally for
me [in Morocco]," Walkner said.
"I set out this morning hoping to
take the win, but I made a small
mistake about halfway through
that only maybe cost me a minute,
but it was enough on the short-
ened stage to lose out. Second
place is great though and to win
the world championship title early
is amazing. The team has been
great all year, so a big thank you
to them. It's time to relax now and
really enjoy the moment."
IN
THE
WIND
P52
Pablo Quintanilla's
proven to be right at
home on his new Honda,
taking out the 2021
Rallye Du Maroc title.
