Off Road: Sunderland takes control of world championship with Qatar win

Sam Sunderland has wrapped up victory in the second round of the FIM Cross Country Championship in Qatar. The 27 year old Brit combined his undisputed pace along with strong strategy to secure victory in the five day race. The win means that he extends his lead in the world championship standings having won the opening round of the series in Abu Dhabi two weeks earlier.

The factory KTM riding Brit and 2017 Dakar winner spoke to MCN after the race. He said: “It was cool to follow up the win in Abu Dhabi with another win. It wasn’t an easy race with a lot of navigation, but I felt really good and the bike was working well. I started the final day in first and expected to lose a lot of time, but in the end I didn’t lose as much as I expected. At the fuel stop I was still in second on the times on the stage and no one actually physically passed me. It was another tough day and now we’ve got a bit of a break before the two races in South America in Chile and Argentina. Its nice to have a couple of months off after these two races pretty much back to back.”

Sunderland now enjoys an 8 point lead in the world championship standings ahead of last years winner Pablo Quintanilla with Matthias Walkner a further four points back in third.

 

Qatar Cross Country Rally result

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR) KTM 450 Rally 4hr 02min 39sec
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2. Kevin Benavides (ARG) Honda 450 CRF Rally 4hr 06min 37sec
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3. Matthias Walkner (AUT) KTM 450 Rally 4hr 08min 11sec
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4. Paolo Gonçalves (PRT) Honda 450 CRF Rally 4hr 08min 44sec

.5. Pierre Alexander Renet (FRA) Husqvarna 450 Rally 4hr 09min 39sec

 

Standings
1. Sam Sunderland 31
2. Pablo Quintanilla 23
3. Matthias Walkner 19
4. Paolo Goncalves 16
5. Pierre Alexandre Renet  15