Team HRC‰Ûªs Portuguese ace collected his third special stage win as the Atacama Rally, the fifth round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship ‰ÛÒ came to an end over the weekend.
It turned out to be a successful day all-round for Team HRC and, in particular, for Paulo Gon̤alves, who stormed to victory today with a ferocious pace in the 100 kilometre special stage.
The start had once again been delayed for two hours due to heavy early morning mist. The HRC rider has put in ever more consistent performances since the opening day‰Ûªs mishap which robbed him of a win in the first full stage. This persistence has paid off over the course of the week and has seen the rider continue an ascent up the overall scoreboard, posting a well-deserved sixth final place.
"Today was a great special stage." Goncalves said. "I started out very focused on attacking. I wanted to win the special and regain some of the positions in the overall rankings.
"I finished sixth and I won another stage. I‰Ûªm pleased with the work and with Team HRC‰Ûªs performance."
Goncalves won the stage ahead of Red Bull Rally Factory KTM rider Sam Sunderland, with KTM Warsaw Rally Team's Pablo Quintanilla rounding out the stage in 3rd position ahead of Australian Toby Price to secure the overall rally win.
