Following a well calculated plan of attack, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla has won the second timed special of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to place himself at the top of the event’s provisional overall standings. The Chilean rider is a little over one minute ahead in the overall with three stages still to be contested in the dunes of UAE. 

The fifth rider to take the start of Monday’s 287km long timed special, FR 450 Rally mounted Quintanilla made the most of his good starting position. Avoiding any mistakes, the reigning FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion enjoyed a great pace throughout the stage to eventually put in the best time for the day. 

With two of the five special stages out of the way, Pablo is currently leading the rally’s overall standings by one minute and eight seconds from his closest rival Sam Sunderland. 

Featuring a total of 372km, tomorrow’s stage includes a 281km long timed special in the big dunes of the United Arab Emirates. 

Pablo Quintanilla: “It wasn’t an easy stage today but I’m satisfied with the final result. There were many dunes and temperatures were quite high in that area. Most of the timed special was in an off-piste section and that made navigation a lot more difficult. I had a good starting position in the morning and took full advantage of it to make up the time lost yesterday. I felt really good in the dunes today, I was fast and had a good race pace from start to finish of the timed special. It was a good stage for me. The plan for tomorrow is to do exactly what I did in stage one. As the first rider to take the start, I want to avoid any navigational mistakes and remain fast throughout the timed special. I feel good at the moment on my bike and I’m looking forward to one more good stage tomorrow.” 

2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Stage 2 Provisional Classification 
1. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 03:40:37 
2. Kevin Benavides (Honda) 03:43:38 
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 03:46:38 
4. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) 03:47:35 
5. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 03:49:36 
6. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 03:53:34 

2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Provisional Overall Standings After Stage 2 
1. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 07:04:19 
2. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 07:05:27 
3. Kevin Benavides (Honda) 07:06:14 
4. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 07:06:58 
5. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) 07:17:44 
6. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 07:18:29