The week-long Merzouga Rally came to its conclusion on Friday, with the last stage kicking-off in Motocross style. It was a high-octane and intensely fought stage, all in dunes, which brought the curtains down on the rally on a high.
The final stage of the 9th edition of the Afriquia Merzouga Rally saw Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team’s Joan Pedrero finish in the top 10 with a P7 finish, followed by Martin Diego Duplessis at P11. Vanni Cominotto moved up to P21 in the overall rankings while Lorenzo Santolino finished at P31 (post revised stage 4 rankings).
For Hero MotoSports Team, the Rally ended in another good result with Oriol Mena finishing in top 15 at P15 and C S Santosh finishing in top 20 at the P19.
Commenting on his performance, Joan Pedrero, Racer, Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team said, “The Merzouga Rally is tough and very competitive but I am thrilled to have finished in the top 10. It has been a great learning ground and I hope to use these learnings going forward.”
Oriol Mena, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, “This was the last and the shortest stage of the rally with only 48 km to cover, which they further reduced to 40 km due to some last minute changes. I started with the fastest group of riders but decided to maintain my own speed because I did not want to take unnecessary risk in the last stage. My focus was to get my Hero bike across the finish line and I am happy to have put the bike in the Parc Ferme. One more race in the books for me and will be going home with rich experience.”