The Silkway Rally has been going on in a great manner for Hero MotoSports Team Rally. Their rider Paulo Goncalves rode wonderfully well to finish second in the ninth stage of the rally. Both the riders of the team completed this rather difficult stage and reached the finish line safely. Their other rider, Oriol Mena, took the ninth position, maintaining sixth place in the overall rankings. Paulo Goncalves, on the other hand, is placed 16th in the overall rankings. With this performance, the Indian factory racing team has successfully achieved its sixth podium finish in the rally.
The ninth stage took competitors for a 501 km run, out of which 290 km made up the special stage for the day. The stage offered a fast and beautiful route, mostly set along sandy roads, only to turn a bit slower in the latter half as bumps and dunettes mixed with dry riverbeds made life more challenging for the riders. The last few kilometres set up the competitors for a fast dash to the finish line to reach the Jiagyuguan bivouac, marking the end of the penultimate stage of the Silkway Rally 2019. The riders can now rest and prepare for the next stage of this iconic rally.
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Paulo Goncalves (Comp No: 4): ”It was a beautiful stage today with a lot of dunes and sand tracks. I felt really good during the stage and the bike worked perfectly as well. I finished just 43 sec behind the stage winner so it is a really good outcome for the Team. I pushed myself hard today to improve my timing and speed. Now only one more day left in the Silkway Rally and I hope everything goes well tomorrow to finish my first rally with Hero MotoSports Team Rally.” Oriol Mena (Comp No: 25): “It was a difficult stage towards the end with some really dangerous piste. I brought the bike to the finish stage safely for the team so I am really happy with that. I am feeling quite good and confident about my riding and looking forward to finishing the Rally tomorrow.”