Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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IN THE WIND P40 QUINTANILLA CONQUERS ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE T he Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is in the books, and defending Cross Country Rallies World Champion Pablo Quintanilla got his title defense off on the right foot by winning the opening round of the season. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racer successfully conquered the massive sand dunes, high speeds and difficult navigation in the Liwa Desert of the United Arab Emirates to come out on top, ahead of Red Bull KTM's Sam Sunderland and Monster Energy Honda's Kevin Benavides. "I'm really happy to get the win in Abu Dhabi and it's been a fantastic start to the new season," Quin- tanilla said. "This year's Desert Challenge has been a really tough race from the beginning until the end. During these last few days we battled through extreme heat and the massive sand dunes of the area. There were many high-speed tracks and lots of off-piste sections where navigation was crucial. We also had some great fights with my main com- petitors and I'm happy I came out on top." It was an up and down battle for many of the top riders, as the lead switched throughout the five-day event. With difficult navigation through the deep sand, it made opening the track a difficult task. Sunderland was in control during the early stages of the race, and fought stay ahead of Quintanilla on day four, but a crash at the beginning of the timed stage put a damper on his efforts. "Opening the stage is never easy but my plan was to try to find a good rhythm and stick to it. Unfortunately there was a really blind drop-off on one of the dunes and I didn't see it until the last minute," said Sunderland. "I came off the bike and damaged the navigation equipment, hurt my knee a little and split my CamelBak. I ended up riding the remaining 235km with no GPS and no water." The incident caused Sunderland to yield over 17 minutes to Quintanilla, and despite his best efforts the following—and final—day, Sun- derland had to settle for second. Honda's Benavides rounded out the overall podium. The Argentin- ian was satisfied with his start to the season, and was happy for his HRC teammate Nacho Cornejo, who topped the Junior category. American Ricky Brabec finished sixth overall, voic- ing complaints about the high speeds and danger- ous nature of the event. American rider Andrew Short did not compete alongside his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team- mate Quintanilla at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, but Short will be in action in two weeks' time at the Merzouga Rally in Morocco. CN Final Standings: 1. Pablo Quintanilla (Hus) 16:51:11 2. Sam Sunderland (KTM) +5:11 3. Kevin Benavides (Hon) +8:34 4. Matthias Walkner (KTM) +9:36 5. Paulo Goncalves (Hon) +18:35 6. Ricky Brabec (Hon) +20:46 Defending champion Pablo Quintanilla got his Cross Country Rallies World Championship season off to a good start with a win in the UAE. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCIN KIN/HUSQVARNA MOTORCYCLES