The Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team have completed a successful final test before the upcoming Dakar Rally at this year's Morocco Rally.
With
Adrien Van Beveren collecting a solid sixth place result in the final standings and
Xavier de Soultrait showing improved pace throughout the event in Africa, the team are now ready to enter the final part of their preparations ahead of next January's Dakar.
Playing host to the final round of the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, the 2018 Morocco Rally saw the elite of international rally racers battle for success for six consecutive days on widely varied terrain. From enduro-styled technical sections to fast gravel tracks and sandy dunes, this year's Morocco Rally was a true challenge for men and machines.
Improving his race pace as the rally progressed,
Adrien Van Beveren was in a position to be fighting for the top-three in the closing stages of the rally. With his best individual stage coming on the penultimate day, Adrien collected a strong fourth place result on stage four.
For the first time since my crash during the previous Dakar, this week I felt I could race at the same level as my fastest competitors.
"It's been a challenging rally with tricky navigation and many treacherous parts. There were lots of stony trails and fast sections and I opted not to take many risks," Van Beveren explained.
"Overall, I am really happy I could control my pace and be fast whenever I wanted to. The last two stages have been my best at this rally. On the penultimate stage I was battling for a top-three result, but I was the first to arrive at the spot where Franco had crashed. I stayed there for almost one-hour until the helicopter arrived. I want to wish him a speedy recovery and I hope he's back racing with us soon.
"It's also been an honour to race alongside
Eric de Seynes and
St̩phane Peterhansel, who were competing in the SSV class with the new YXZ1000R. There's a great spirit within the Yamaha team and it feels great to be part of this big family," Van Beveren concluded.
