Although it was only the prologue stage for the Andalucia Rally, the world’s best Rally racers were anxious to ride again. Although he had won the Sonora Rally and Best In The Desert’s Vegas to Reno races, this was Ricky Brabec’s first international race since finishing Top American at the Dakar Rally so he started first with a #1 plate and a big target on his back! COVID cancellations mean this is the only event on the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship calendar prior to the 2021 Dakar. Andalucia also marked fellow American Andrew Short’s debut on his new Yamaha Rally bike.
Brabec blazed a trail in the dusty opening kilometres of the Andalucia Rally prologue, eventually finishing 11th for the stage, just 12 seconds off the day’s fastest time. Very narrow gaps separated the frontrunners with several riders finishing within the same second. Joan Barreda finished just one second behind his American team-mate. But is was Short’s spirited ride that saw him 5th, just 6 seconds behind the co-leaders, KTMs Toby Price and Daniel Sanders who finished in a dead heat.
“The prologue went well,” said Brabec. “I started first and after today’s finish, I’ll be starting from 11th position… So, I think that this sets us up quite well for stage one and we are going to see how it pans out after that.”
Today’s first full stage of the Andalucia Rally features 240 kilometres of timed specials (two specials made up of 130 and 110 kilometres respectively) and a 70 kilometre liaison connecting the start and finish in Villamartín. The event takes place over five days: one Super Special on October 6, plus four special stages, with a total route of 1,354 kilometres — 1000 of which will be against the clock. The various special stages will take place across the provinces of Cádiz and Seville. The race will not be open to the public and participants will have to comply with strict anti-COVID-19 regulations.
