The China stage, the highlight of the 2019 Silk Road Rally, finally arrived as scheduled. The eighth stage from Bayinbao Lige to Alxa Right Banner is the longest stage since the start of the race. The total length of the stage is 786.11 kilometers, of which the special stage is 326.6 kilometers. This stage is not only a long distance, but also has a variety of terrains, which is an uncompromising cross-country rally stage. For those riders who are not so experienced in the desert, the first few dunes will bring a lot of challenges. If navigated correctly, the real challenge lies ahead: dunes, riverbeds, ditches, canyons and meadows. Entering China is the key to determining the pattern of the competition, and the final champion will be decided in the next two stages.
In the car group, if everything is still possible before the start of the real desert stage, then after the eighth stage, Attiya from the Middle East showed with his own strength that he is not only good at rally roads, but also for desert roads. Not to mention. Even in the face of the Chinese desert where he set foot for the first time, he is still bound to win. The Qatari took the lead from the CP2 point of the stage, and maintained the advantage until the end without any suspense, thus winning all the stage champions of this rally car group so far, and expanding his lead in the overall standings Arrived at 1 hour. The Dutch driver Van Luen continued his stable performance in the sixth stage, ranking second with a gap of 4 minutes and 35 seconds, and the French driver Cerradoli only ranked third with a slight gap of 32 seconds.
Facing the Chinese desert for the first time, Attiya said after the race: “I am amazed by the sand dunes in China. I feel that the driving and piloting are more difficult than the rally in Africa. I am impressed by the huge sand mountains along the way. If there is a mistake in this, it will cause a lot of time loss. Our goal is not to be the fastest, but not to make mistakes. We did not follow the ruts of the motorcycle, but followed the road book and our own rhythm. Today’s results I am very satisfied.”
As for the Chinese drivers, in today’s stage, Han Wei, who has always been known for his stability, continued to play steadily and won the fourth place in the stage, only 6 minutes away from the stage champion Al Attia, who once led the Chinese race. Liu Kun of the Legion failed to continue to perform in the desert stage he was most familiar with because of a car failure. As of press time, the other local drivers who have entered the top ten of the eighth stage are Sun Ping (sixth), Niu Banding (seventh), Zhang Ming (ninth) and Zi Rong (tenth). In his own home court, continue to play the leading role.
In the overall score list, Chinese car groups occupy five places in the TOP10. There is only 2 minutes difference between Han Wei’s overall score and the second-ranked French driver Perrichet. In the Badain Jaran Desert, this is hardly a gap. Drivers Sun Ping and Zhang Ming of Shaanxi Yunxiang Team occupy the fourth and fifth place in the overall list respectively, while Zi Rong and Chen Feng of Longxing Tianxia Rally Team rank eighth and ninth. Ruan Quan/Yan Ke of the 237 car group of Jiujiang Racing Team, driving the domestic red flag, is currently ranked eleventh in the car group ranking after the eighth stage.
In the motorcycle group, the British star Sam Sunderland lost time due to an accident in the stage and ranked eighth in this stage. The champion of the eighth stage is the Argentine driver Kevin Benavidez from the Honda team, and the second place with a difference of only 42 seconds is the French dark horse driver Van Beveren, the Portuguese driver Paul Gon Salvis won the third place in this stage with a difference of 3 minutes and 5 seconds. In the overall score list, Sam Sunderland temporarily ranked as the motorcycle champion with 21 minutes advantage.
In the truck group, the Kamaz master team performed well and won the top three in the stage. Sibalov led his teammate Maltif by 8 minutes and 1 second, while Kakinov, also from the Kamaz team, just missed the runner-up of the stage by only 34 seconds and ranked third. At present, after eight stages of the competition, in the total score list of the truck group, the drivers of the Kamaz team have the top three in their arms. The first is Sparov, who is 15 minutes and 56 seconds ahead of his teammate Kakinov. , Maldive ranked third.
Tomorrow’s stage
Alxa – Jiayuguan
Distance: 501.2 km
Special stage: 290.30 km
30% dunes; 10% sand; 60% gravel.
Stage 9: Long Yellow Sand
The ninth stage will be a high-speed sand stage. The giant sand dunes in the Gobi will not only challenge the drivers, but also amaze you. The next stage will be slower, with bumps, small dunes and dry riverbeds as the main challenges for the drivers. Before the end of the special stage, the drivers will usher in a high-speed stage.
