Mohammed Balooshi bounced back on the third day of the Atacama Rally to climb one position to eighth place in the overall classification.
After suffering from mechanical problems that cost him valuable time in the previous leg in Chile, the KTM-UAE rider had a mistake-free trek on day three to cross eighth in 3:26.24.
Had a great ride !! It was a fabulous stage and didn’t make any mistakes so we managed to stay within the factory… http://t.co/TnCEqXAmUn
— Mohammed Balooshi (@balooshi_7) September 4, 2015
“It was a great enjoyable ride” Balooshi said.
“The stage was amazing and I know I said yesterday [Thursday] it was the most beautiful stage of my life, but today’s was even better.
“On top of that, navigation was difficult and the terrain tricky at some points and super-fast in other large areas, but I didn’t make any mistakes and feel happy with the results and my team’s work”.
Leg 3 started with a two-hour delay as officials waited until the heavy fog covering part of the region cleared up.
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Riders began in the heart of the Atacama Desert and Balooshi had his own challenges to deal with after suffering bent rims on his bike, a leaking suspension and broken head lights.
“The factory bikes can reach 183km per hour, while the 2014 model I am riding barely touches 160km/h,” the Emirati said.
“It’s difficult to be competitive when the top riders can go 20kmh faster than you on the flat fast areas, but we keep pushing and me and my team put our heart and soul into what we do to try to stay at the top regardless of whatever disadvantage we may have”.
The fourth leg sees riders go from Atacama to Huasco.
