Rally Sertões 2011 - Despres beats Zanol by unprecedented 4 hundredths of a second in the 6th Stage of Sertoes

And this is how a perfect, balanced, tight and thrilling dispute looks like. Sertões sets a new difference record between 1st and 2nd places.

Fotos: TheoRibeiro


Balsas, MA, August 15 - 428 Km is by itself a scary number. And when there are part of the 428 Km to exit Jalapão, then proportions get even larger. The way from Lizarda to Balsas started slow, and arrived to the new Brazilian agricultural border, and left competition behind on fast roads before crossing the mountains. A hard stage, which cut some of the favorites from the dispute (Casteau, for example, crashed after his rear wheel cut loose, suffered some bruises, got more than one hour late, but may return tomorrow. As to the Klaumann brothers, who were also fighting for the top places, they abandoned) and many others. A complete stage, which had a winner that can consider himself complete: Despres. And a runner-up that, given the conditions, deserves a more important title: Zanol.

Cyril Despres, impressed. "I have never won a stage with such a tight timimg, and I think no one has ever! The section today was just the way I like it, fast, despite not having so much sand as yesterday, and that’s what I prefer. What a race!"

Felipe Zanol incredulous. "I crashed yesterday, and my bike got a little twisted on the rear, but today I squeezed the gas as much as I could, in a very difficult special. What about losing for 4 hundreths? It is such little time after more than five hours, that I can’t even believe. And I’ll keep pushing tomorrow".

Check out the Unofficial Standings of the Day

1st 2 CYRIL DESPRES France KTM 05:11:05 82.55 km/h
2nd 1 FELIPE ZANOL Brazil Honda 05:11:054 82.55 km/h
3rd 20 PAULO GONÇALVES Portugal Husqvarna 05:12:47 82.10 km/h
4th 19 JUAN PEDRERO GARCIA Spain KTM 05:19:45 80.31km/h
5th 23 DANIEL GOUET Chile Honda 05:36:03 76.42 km/h
6th 38 MARCO PEREIRA Brazil Honda 05:42:00 75.09 Km/h
7th 11 ARISTIDES MAFRA JR Brazil Honda 05:47:08 73.98 km/h
8th 22 CLAUDIO RODRIGUEZ Chile Honda 05:51:41 73.02 Km/h
9th 44 RICARDO MARTINS Brazil Honda 05:55:18 72.28 km/h
10th 8 DIMAS MATTOS Brazil KTM 05:57:51 71.76 km/h

And that’s how Frace kept the leadership, with Brazil coming mere 1’30" behind in the Overall Standings:

1st 2 CYRIL DESPRES (FRA) 20:17:38
2nd 1 FELIPE ZANOL (BRA) 20:19:08
3rd 20 PAULO DA SILVA GONCALVES (POR) 20:26:29
4th 19 JUAN PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) 20:59:46
5th 3 DAVID CASTEU (FRA) 21:24:14
6th 23 DANIEL GOUET (CHI) 21:48:24
7th 38 MARCO ANTONIO PEREIRA (BRA) 22:16:10
8th 11 ARISTIDES MAFRA JUNIOR (BRA) 22:27:41
9th 44 RICARDO MARTINS (BRA) 22:31:48
10th 18 DIMAS MATTOS (BRA) 23:01:21

You can soon check the official results clicking on the link, after analysis and bonuses orpunishments:http://www.webventure.com.br/sertoes2011/resultados/acumulado

Remember that tonight the Sertões Rally gets back to it's normal pace, if one could call normal this crescent volume of work testing brains, fitness and mechanical parts.

And there’s more tomorrow, including a 14-km straight!

7th stage - 08/16
BALSAS (MA) - BARRA DO CORDA (MA)
Initial Liaison: 10 km
Special Test: 253 km
Final Liaison: 55 km
Total of the day: 318 km

Zarhi El Malek/ Carlos Lua Cintra Mauro
Tel. + 55 85 8120-0123
Tel. + 55 11 8282-9388
dunas@textobras.com

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