Honda HRC’s Campbell and Ventura take on the Moroccan dunes
After a night of rest following a lengthy stage one, the Honda HRC Rally 2 pairing of Preston Campbell and Martim Ventura were ready to tackle a day of dune-bashing on their Honda CRF450RX RALLY bikes. The spectacular Erg Chebbi dunes in Morocco set the stage for 307 km of timed racing, though before reaching the soft sand, the riders still had to navigate rocks, ravines and broken tracks en route from Erfoud to the dunes at Merzouga.
Eager to stay in touch with the frontrunners, Campbell and Ventura were running fourth and fifth respectively by the 151 km mark, both within just one and a half minutes of the fastest time. Campbell embraced the dunes, taking on the challenge of the Moroccan desert with confidence on his first visit, ultimately finishing the day sixth, 6’19” behind stage winner Michael Docherty.
Ventura, meanwhile, looked set for a strong result after his fast start. However, at the 182 km refuelling checkpoint, the Portuguese rider had lost a significant 23 minutes due to damage to his mousse on the rocky sections. Determined to complete the stage, he battled through the dunes, but by the finish line had slipped down the standings. Despite the setback, Ventura will continue riding tomorrow, using the stage to gain crucial experience on his Honda CRF450RX RALLY in preparation for the Dakar Rally in January.
The Honda HRC pair will face another tough day in the dunes on a second loop from Erfoud, hitting the sandy terrain almost immediately after a short 3 km liaison, before tackling 323 km against the clock.
Martim Ventura 84
It was a tough day today, I started slowly and increased the pace and it was going good. But in the middle of the stage there was a very stony area and I damaged the mousse in my rear tyre. I then had to ride the second half of the stage with no mousse and just try and get the bike to the finish. That’s been my main goal every day, to get testing and improve the bike and me. It was tough today, but the main goal is to bring the bike to the bivouac, we did it and I’m happy for that. Tomorrow we will be back, so let’s go.
Preston Campbell 85
Stage two was fun, there were a lot of different sections, you had fast and rocky parts and fast and sand washes and then you got quite a bit of dunes. So each section you kind of had to change up what you were doing and adjust to the terrain. I had a great time, the dunes were super fun in the middle and at the end.
