Re: Hero MotoSports Team Rally in the Rally Du Maroc with a three-rider team

Hero MotoSports Team Rally displayed a sturdy performance during the gruelling Stage 1 of 2019 Rally Du Maroc.

For Hero MotoSports, Paulo Goncalves had a good outing and he finished at the 16th position. His teammates JRod and CS Santosh navigated cautiously through the dangerous rocky mountain ravine trails and finished at 18th and 36th positions respectively.







The first stage of the Rally challenged riders with tough riding conditions during the 262 km run through the tricky and mixed contours of Erfoud.

The Second of the five stages of the Rally will take the riders for a challenging run of 435kms through the strenuous terrains of Erfoud before finishing at the bivouac. This will form the first leg of the Super Marathon stage, which will complete at the end of Stage 3.

Paulo Goncalves, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “It was a tricky and dangerous stage. I decided to ride safe and not take any unnecessary risks. I am happy with finishing the stage and getting a good feeling on the bike. Will try to build it up from here in the next stages. ”

Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “I didn’t have a great stage, which was expected as I started at the back of the pack. It was terrible to ride in the dust for the entire stage. So, I focused on getting the bike safely at the finish line. Looking forward now to a better performance tomorrow.”

C S Santosh, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “It was by far one of the hardest stages I have ever done. The track was through the mountains, it was rocky and always turning, so it was a really difficult and physical stage. I made a mistake in the beginning, and also had a crash and hurt my leg, so it was difficult to get into any kind of rhythm. Overall I am just glad to have finished this stage and we will see how it goes from here on.”

Provisional Results of the Stage 1

1. Sam Sunderland RedBull KTM Factory Racing 03h 16m 41s
2. Ricky Brabec Monster Energy Honda Team +52s
3. Matthias Walkner RedBull KTM Factory Racing +02m 08s
16. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +08m 51s
18. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +10m 35s
36. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +52m 16s

Provisional Overall Results at the end of the Stage 1

1. Sam Sunderland RedBull KTM Factory Racing 03h 42m 45s
2. Ricky Brabec Monster Energy Honda Team +01m 08s
3. Matthias Walkner RedBull KTM Factory Racing +01m 52s
15. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +09m 47s
18. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +12m 11s
35. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +55m 52s

Re: Hero MotoSports Team Rally in the Rally Du Maroc with a three-rider team

Hero MotoSports Team Rally displayed a determined performance during Stage 3 of the 2019 Rally Du Maroc.







Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders, focused on reaching the finish line on day 2 of the Super Marathon Stage. JRod finished the Stage in 21st place, Paulo in 25th and Santosh in the 26th place. With this stage’s results, in the overall standings Paulo Goncalves on now at the 16th position, JRod on 17th and Santosh on 26th position.

Stage 3 of the Rally, the second part of the Super Marathon Stage, introduced several innovations like a ‘10 min window’ for bikes and a pre-painted roadbook delivered 15 min before the start of stage 3. It stimulated and challenged the competitors beyond the usual.

The penultimate stage of the Rally Du Maroc will offer one last big test of 408 kms for the competitors, enduring more dunes and tricky navigation challenges. This will be perhaps the most crucial stage in determining final standings.

Paulo Goncalves, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “We finished the 2 long days of the Marathon stage. It was a really tough stage with a lot of tricky navigation. I made a navigation error and lost a lot of time in finding my way back. It looks difficult now to achieve a top result for the team, but of course we have a couple of more days of riding left to do to help the team get more feedback on the bike, which at the moment is working perfectly.”


Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “Another difficult day came to an end for me. Just after I started the stage, my roadbook reader stopped working and I had to do the full stage manually which was really tough. Then there was a particular waypoint where everyone one lost a lot of time and me too, so I decided to just take it easy and finish the stage safely.”

C S Santosh, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “It was a really long and exhausting day with over 500kms done in the heat and dust. There were fast tracks in the first half and there were also some parts with really tricky navigation, especially in the river beds, where I got lost a couple of times and lost a fair bit of time. Really happy to see the back of this long, exhausting stage and now we rest to recover for the next stage.”

Provisional Results of the Stage 3

1. Toby Price RedBull KTM Factory Racing 03h 40m 33s

2. Matthias Walkner RedBull KTM Factory Racing +01m 55s

3. Franco Caimi Yamaha Rally Team +02m 21s

21. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +28m 14s

25. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +45m 07s

26. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +49m 57s


Provisional Overall Results at the end of the Stage 3

1. Toby Price RedBull KTM Factory Racing 11h 57m 39s

2. Matthias Walkner RedBull KTM Factory Racing +04m 06s

3. Franco Caimi Yamaha Rally Team +06m 40s

16. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +58m 23s

17. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +58m 48s

26. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +03h 30m 31s

Re: Hero MotoSports Team Rally in the Rally Du Maroc with a three-rider team

Hero MotoSports Team Rally put on display an impressive performance to win the Stage 4 of the 2019 Rally Du Maroc. Team rider Paulo Goncalves claimed victory for the Team.

Joaquim Rodrigues also improved his form in the race and finished close at the 11^th position. With this result, Paulo and JRod have climbed their way into the Top 15 with Paulo at 13^th and JRod at 15^th position in the overall rankings. The Team’s third rider, CS Santosh is in the 25^th position.

The penultimate stage of the Rally took competitors one last time around the bivouac of Aoufous for a run of 408 kms. In the final stage of the Rally, the competitors will take on the last test of 456 kms that includes the timed special of 168 kms.

Paulo Goncalves, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “Finally a good stage for me. With no navigation mistakes today, I was able to convert this stage to a win for me and my team. I am happy for the team and the entire assistance crew as they have been working really hard before and during this rally to support me, so they deserve today’s victory. We have already tested this bike for about 2000 kms in tough and tricky conditions in the sand and stony tracks and till now no mechanical problems, so we are really happy with this result. ”

Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “Finally we had a good day, both for me and team. Paulo and I had a clean race with no mistakes, so we are happy with the results. The bike is working really well so these are good signs for us. Now we have only have one stage left and I will try to bring the bike home safely.”

C S Santosh, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “The final big stage of the rally got over today. It was a fast stage, really physical with a lot of rocks and off-piste. The first part of the stage was really good for me, I felt good and had good energy but the stage took its toll by the time I hit the second half. I lost my way towards the end and lost some time there, finally managed to get across the finish line. It has been an eventful rally for me and the team and I am just happy to make to the end of it.”

Provisional Results of the Stage 4

1. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally 03h 37m 11s
2. Ricky Brabec Monster Energy Honda Team +58s
3. Andrew Short Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +01m 30s
11. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +09m 15s
27. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +01h 04m 34s

Provisional Overall Results after Stage 4

1. Andrew Short Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 15h 45m 25s
2. Pablo Quintanilla Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +28s
3. Ricky Brabec Monster Energy Honda Team +02m 06s
13. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +47m 48s
15. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +57m 28s25. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +04h 24m 30s

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Hero MotoSports Team Rally successfully completed the 2019 Rally Du Maroc with a top 15 finish. All three of its riders finished the race, achieving yet another 100% arrival at an international rally for the Team.

With no pressure to fight for a position, exhibiting true sportsmanship, Paulo Goncalves let the top riders pass through so as to not influence their closely fought battle for the podium. He finished the stage at an easy pace on 20th position, while JRod finished at the 19th position and C S Santosh too brought at the 27th position.

At the end of the exciting five days of rally racing, Hero MotoSports Team Rally secured another Top 15 finish with Paulo on 13th and Joaquim Rodrigues on 15th position. C S Santosh closed the rally at the 24th position in the overall standings.

The team’s priority for this Rally was to test the bikes in a competitive environment before the 2020 Dakar Rally. The bikes delivered a flawless performance through the five days of rallying and the team managed to collect valuable data and feedback. The sheer grit and perseverance showed by all the three riders in the long and exhausting stages will be a big plus for them in the upcoming Dakar.

Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager and Head - Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “It was a very good preparatory race and we also got a chance to test out a new road-book system before the Dakar. So, all in all quite a valuable experience. After having lost Oriol to an injury just before the race, our approach was to be cautious and safe to avoid any unnecessary crashes and injuries. From that perspective, it was a success for us as we had no technical issues with the bike, secured a fabulous stage win and posted another 100% arrival with all the three riders and bike crossing the finishing line. A key takeaway from learning perspective will be the navigation and that’s what we will focus on for the next two and a half months leading up to the Dakar. We wish a speedy recovery to Oriol so that he can join us soon so we can put forward our full-strength team, come January.”

Paulo Goncalves, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “Happy to finish the Rally Du Maroc safely. It was quite a tricky rally for me as I committed a few navigation mistakes in the starting stages, compromising the chances of a top result. But the last 2 days were really good where I got back into my rhythm and could win a stage for my team. Today of course being the last day, I switched off my race mode and focused on bringing it home. It was a really good experience and training overall and now we start getting ready for the Dakar.”

Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “It’s a good feeling to have finished the Rally Du Maroc 2019. It has been a tough week for me since the beginning but a solid experience nonetheless. It was our last race before the Dakar so we wanted to get as much feedback for our bikes for the Dakar and we are all happy with how well the bikes have performed. So, we take a bit of a rest now and then it’s time to focus on the Dakar.”

C S Santosh, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “Finally happy to have finished the Rally today. It was a really tough rally with long stages and tough navigation and then we had the new road-book system as well. Very exhausted at the end of it but today was a good day for me. Made a good stage today, felt comfortable on the bike so I am happy with that. I finished all the rallies that I participated in this this year so that’s a really good sign for me and that I am making good progress heading into the Dakar. We’ll see you guys in Saudi Arabia next!”

Provisional Results of the Stage 5

1. Toby Price RedBull KTM Factory Racing 02h 13m 15s
2. Joan Barreda Monster Energy Honda Team +02m 54s
3. Luciano Benavides RedBull KTM Factory Racing +03m 10s
19. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +14m 08s
20. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +15m 50s
27. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +29m 38s

Provisional Overall Results after Stage 5

1. Andrew Short Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 18h 03m 54s
2. Pablo Quintanilla Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +01m 21s
3. Joan Barreda Monster Energy Honda Team +02m 44s
13. Paulo Goncalves Hero MotoSports Team Rally +58m 24s
15. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally +01h 06m 22s
24. C S Santosh Hero MotoSports Team Rally +04h 49m 03s