IN
THE
WIND
P48
manship on stage four when
he halted his race to help out
downed rider Kevin Benavides.
The HRC rider was unconscious
after hitting an unexpected
obstacle, which teams agreed
was not marked as it should
have been in the road book.
Price helped Benavides regain
consciousness and stayed with
him until help arrived.
HRC Honda definitely had its
share of misfortune. Star player
Paolo Goncalves led the charge
at one point, but was forced
out of the race after dislocating
his knee on stage three. Team
HRC also backed American
Ricky Brabec in the rally, but an
electrical issue during the fourth
stage left the young Californian
unable to complete the section.
Brabec was, however, able to
line up for the final stage where
he finished tenth.
"It was a tough time for Team
HRC this week, but we came
out safe and that's the most
important thing," said Brabec.
"The week was tough. We had
a few problems here and there,
but we worked through them.
We got a finish. Now we'll keep
training and go for the Dakar."
KTM rider Ivan Ramirez
competed as a member of the
KTM Warsaw Rally Team. The
defending National Hare and
Hound champion gained entry
to the Dakar Rally through the
Sonora Rally earlier this year,
and contested the Morocco
Rally to get his feet wet in inter-
national rally competition before
the January event. Ramirez put
in a consistent effort to finish
15th overall before flying to
Spain for the ISDE.
American rider and noted
Baja competitor Shane Esposito
contested the Morocco Rally in
what was reportedly a last-min-
ute effort. He finished a remark-
able 12th overall, beating many
factory riders in the process. CN
Morocco Rally Results:
1. Toby Price (KTM)
2. Sam Sunderland (KTM)
3. Pablo Quintanilla (Hus)
4. Helder Rodrigues (Yam)
5. Xavier De Soultrait (Yam)
It was a tight
battle to the
finish, but Red
Bull KTM's Toby
Price pulled off
another impres-
sive rally win.
Things didn't go quite as
planned for the HRC team, but
American Ricky Brabec still man-
aged to card a finish.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
HRC
