Pablo Quintanilla Wins Stage Three Of The Atacama Rally 2017

Putting in another solid performance, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla posted the fastest time in today’s timed special to claim a hard-fought stage three victory at the Atacama Rally 2017. Further increasing his advantage at the top of the provisional overall standings, the FR 450 Rally mounted rider now enjoys a four-minute and 58 second lead with two stages to go.

Things couldn’t have gone any better for Pablo at this year’s Atacama Rally. Kicking off the event posting the fastest time in the short opening Prologue, he has now won two out of three stages so far contested in the Chilean countryside.

Demonstrating he is back up to full speed following his recent injury in Qatar, Pablo now has his eyes set on Atacama Rally victory. Tomorrow’s penultimate stage at this year’s event will take competitors from Mejillones to Iquique. Including a 375km-long timed special, stage four will be the longest of the Atacama Rally 2017.

Pablo Quintanilla: “I feel great at the moment, not just with my performance today but also with my bike and my pace in the race. We started a little bit late this morning, so we arrived late at the bivouac in Mejillones. The special stage was so fast today, and the course cut through some really bumpy areas. I tried to stay quick but also safe as some of the sections were quite dangerous. I am so happy with how the race is going, but also with my team because they have been great and working really hard. I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work. I can’t wait for the coming two stages.”

2017 Atacama Rally – Stage 3 Provisional Classification
1. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 3:16:43
2. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) 3:20:17
3. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 3:20:20
4. Kevin Benavides (Honda) 3:21:34
5. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 3:22:51
6. Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) 3:24:48

2017 Atacama Rally – Provisional Overall Classification [After Stage 3]
1. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 7:20:23
2. Kevin Benavides (Honda) 7:25:21
3. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 7:30:15
4. Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) 7:32:22
5. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) 7:32:40
6. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 7:38:07