The newly-appointed Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team’s rider Adrien Van Beveren won the Sealine Cross Country Rally second stage on his Yamaha WR450FRally in Qatar; a promising performance for his first race of the season.
It was hot on track for the second stage of the Sealine Cross Country Rally as Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team’s riders Hélder Rodrigues and Adrien Van Beveren started their journey at 6AM local time. The mercury soared and the sweltering heat rose steadily to 37°C at noon. The competitors raced 100km more than yesterday, to complete a 346km timed special. The second stage was very demanding for the riders, with a route made of 85% rocky terrain in the desert and 15% abrupt dunes, with two track portions in the sand. The end of the stage was particularly tough, as the navigation got even more complicated, with constantly changing directions; there were endless possibilities on the Qatari desert’s broad open tracks but only one path that led the riders to the Losail International Circuit, were the bivouac is set up.
Van Beveren is gaining momentum on his WR450F Rally and scored a stage win after a smart race. After a good start, on a steady pace, he first misread some road-book navigational notes just before refuelling. But then, the young rider stabilized his speed, coordinating the road-book playback whilst kept a podium pace. Van Beveren gained confidence over the distance as he was having a sensational ride on his WR450F Rally. He made adequate track analysis in the last kilometres resulting in his first stage
win of his first race of the new season.
“More than the stage win today, I’m keeping in mind the great experience I’m having in this race. It was a tough stage with a lot of navigational challenges, there were lots of notes on my road-book and the route directions were constantly changing. I made a few mistakes on my way but I tried to keep up a good speed, while maintaining a safe reading pace, without straining. It is an encouraging result for me, as I am figuring out my own method step by step. The rally-raid requires some discipline: beyond the riding qualities you have, you have to practice the navigation and learn how to interpret the notes correctly; that’s what I am doing here in Qatar, back in competition. At the same time I am discovering the new bike and I have a good feeling on this 2016 WR450 FRally. I hope to achieve some more.”
