Four Uruguayans Finished this Route 40 Challenge
The Desafío Ruta 40 2013 ended, a competition that integrates the Dakar Series and also awards points for the Cross Country and Argentine Rally World Championships, where the four Uruguayans who made up the Off Racing Uruguay team had to live different experiences that in some cases were very enriching and in others it led to deep sadness.
The final positions went to Laurent Lazard (Yamaha) twentieth in the Motorcycle General and regarding those who scored for the World Championship (they were the best on the planet) he finished thirteenth; Alejo Maissonave (KTM XCW-R) finished twenty-seventh; For his part, Fernando Vidiella (KTM 690 Rally) was thirty-second out of 51 who arrived at the end and 65 who started. Unfortunately the only one who had to leave in the third stage was Marcos Ruffinatti (KTM 450 XCW).
The team had to go through very difficult times since in the fourth stage one of the members of this team, Nicolás Rojas, had a fatal accident, who suffered a strong impact as a result of going off the track at kilometer 1.5 of the selective fourth section. This brought them down emotionally who are yet to recover from this impact.
For this reason they decided not to make more announcements until the end. Now they make a balance of how this date was for each one that for all those who arrived said that it was very complicated, very difficult and where the rain and the cold was what most complicated them.
DECLARATIONS
Laurent Lazard.-“I have very little desire to talk because the death of one of the members of the team, who slept in the same room, who trained with me, who was at my house in Uruguay, affects you a lot, also as a boss of the team I had to take care of everything. I had a quiet race although I felt better than I expected on the third day and unfortunately we got that news. From then on, the truth is that I no longer want to ride a motorcycle. I am going to get together with the people who support me and I am going to study what I am going to do in the future. As for the bike, it went very well and I am satisfied, bearing in mind that I had not been on a motorcycle for months, that the training was not adequate, being in a date of the 20th World Championship and in the 450 World Championship I am in 13th place It's not bad at all. Besides, you have to remember that the best in this specialty were there, just look at the classification and see that ahead of me there are riders who in a Dakar are within thirty. What surprised me was that physically I finished very well, whole, although emotionally I am destroyed. I think that the third stage was the filter and then the rain and having to start at five or six in the morning with temperatures between 1º and 2º. I apologize to all those who were waiting for the press releases, but we were not in the mood to speak."
Alejo Maissonave.- “I had drawn up a plan for myself that meant not breaking the bike, not getting hurt and reasonably reaching the middle of the table since I knew that an important position was impossible as there were many riders at the world level. I had three falls throughout the race and they were all minor, nothing happened to me. As for the bike, it was perfect, a 10. The only inconvenience that affected us all was the death of Nicolás. That complicates you a bit at the moment of leaving, because you start to think that if it happened to him it could happen to anyone. I was still calm because I was not risking, at no time did I have the feeling of hitting myself hard. I had run three previous ones and they were never as tough as this one, with very long liaisons and specials. One day we left at six in the morning and I arrived at the camp around 7:30 p.m. Apart from "Nico" the only negative thing about this race was the intense cold, the rest of the stages, the places and the variety of terrain were very nice, where on the same day you went from sand to stones, stuck, fast . Now we prepare financially, physically and with the bike for what will be my participation in the Dakar next year”.
Fernando Vidiella.- “For me the result was very positive because the goal of finishing was one of the objectives and we were able to complete it. The level was much higher than what I expected from both the riders and the terrain, the length of the stages and the technical assistance. Stages 3 and 4 were the filter of the race where one has to be passionate about this sport to be able to finish it. That was where there were a lot of dropouts. The truth is that I learned a lot and I will try to apply it in the next rally that I participate in and in the Dakar that may be present in 2015”.
Marcos Ruffinatti.- “I had prepared myself very well physically to endure the race, I had put together the bike very well because I had the expectation of being as far ahead as possible considering the experience one has. In the second stage we had a problem with the road-book as the automatic broke and I had to make it work manually which threw me back. I was still able to advance since I had started 43 and finished 31. In the third we had a lot of “fresh fresh”, that is, a lot of dust for 150 kms. Despite that, he had passed many riders, in some cases crashed, others because they were slower. Unfortunately, due to a mistake or lack of experience, we did not put any special protection on the air filter and with so much dust the engine began to suck up dirt. This caused me that after the neutralization, when we were going for km 270, the engine blew up, he said enough. This was around 3:00 p.m. When the afternoon began to fall I asked a truck for a lighter and with branches that were in the place, I lit a fire to be able to withstand the cold, which was very cold. They just came to pick us up at 11 pm. They only took me, the motorcycle was thrown away. The next day we went out to look for the motorcycle, we loaded it, but we found out about "Nico's" misfortune and then neither the mechanics nor I wanted to make an effort to put the motorcycle back in condition, re-engage with two days lost. It was still an interesting experience."
In this way, these four Uruguayans finished this Route 40 Challenge, with a lot of experience that they will surely pour throughout their sports activity and even in their personal lives.
After the cancellation of the first stage yesterday of Desafío Ruta 40 2013, fourth round of the FIM World Rally Cross Country Championship and with points for the Argentine Rally Cross Country Championship, today it was possible to carry out the second, which was from San Miguel de Tucumán to San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca with a Link section of 312.60 km, a race of 346.51 km and a total of 668.11 km. The Off Racing Uruguay team has arrived in full form since the four Uruguayans they are at the end where Laurent Lazard (Yamaha) is in 29th position, Marcos Ruffinatti (KTM 450 XCW) is 31st, Alejo Maissonave (KTM XCW-R) 36th and Fernando Vidiella (KTM 690 Rally) in 40th.
It was a tough stage for everyone, with a first part of many rocks, curves and counter-curves, to later become a little faster where in some sectors you could travel at 150-160 km/h.
DECLARATIONS
Laurent Lazard.- “Today's stage was the same one used this year in the Dakar. I did it quite calmly since I quickly realized that I was not in my rhythm due to lack of training, without risking it. It was a very long stage and at the end of the day the weight was felt in the legs. I did it with a cool head, calm, adding hours. I worried about making a good navigation and waiting for the desert to arrive, which is where I feel better. The bike did not have any kind of inconvenience.
Marcos Ruffinatti.- “For me it was quite a hard stage, many stones, many curves, descents and ascents, all through mountains that became quite slow. I was unlucky enough to break the automatic part of the road-book, so I had to move it by hand, which pushed me back a bit. I still think that I am not in a very bad position since I was able to pass many bikes. I had a penalty as I entered a controlled speed zone faster than allowed, so I'm going 5 minutes behind. The bike without problem.
Alejo Maissonave.- “I had an impeccable stage, I didn't crash. The bike is behaving perfectly. The stage was very hard, I'm not used to so many kilometers and with this hardness, but if I want to run the Dakar on these types of roads it's 14 days, it's better that I start to like it. It was a very complicated stage, with many restarts, towards the end there was a little more dirt, sand, where it was possible to accelerate much more and it was more beautiful. Now to eat something, sleep since tomorrow we leave at five”.
Fernando Vidiella.- “For me it was very hard, with many turns, many stones, very difficult, so having a heavier bike made it quite difficult for me. I took it easy so as not to make mistakes. Then when the part of straights on sand and dirt roads came, then I was able to use the power of the bike and make a little difference there. There were sections that you could go between 150-160 km/h. I never put the bike to the limit in order not to punish it. First stage finished, no crash, no injury and the bike is impeccable”.