Team HRC, partnered technically by Motul in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, finished the Atacama Rally well placed. On 5 September, Paulo Goncalves indeed won the fifth and last stage. The 36-year old Portuguese man had unfortunately lost, on the very first day, most of his luck to win the event.
This year, the Atacama replaced the Rallye dos Sertões as the South-American round of the World Championship. For Goncalves, everything began with a big hour lost due to a major electrical problem. But this former Motocross, Supercross and Enduro champion took it in his stride. He pushed forward vigorously to rank 6th at the arrival. In the World Championship, he is 5th-placed and will be aiming for the final podium at the Rallye of Morocco which closes the season. As for the other rider of Team HRC Jeremias Israel, he took the 8th final place.
Team manager, Wolfgang Fischer draws the lessons of the Chilean round by his riders: 'We can draw positive factors from these six days in the Atacama desert. Following his problem in the first leg, Paulo managed to push forward superbly without making the slightest mistake. On the other hand, Jeremias didn't have an easy time, he found it hard to find the right pace for his return after his injury. The main point for him is to prepare well to be in top shape for the next Dakar Rally.'
