Hero’s Mena walks to finishing line in Atacama Rally
COPIAPO: Crossing the finish line is of utmost important in sports no matter in which position. No one likes a DNF (Did not Finish) in front of their name. Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider Oriol Mena is one of those who hate that.
On the final stage of the Atacama Rally on Saturday, Mena suffered a technical problem which almost curtailed his race. But instead of sitting in the dunes of the Atacama Desert waiting for assistance, Mena decided to push his bike to the finish line.
Though assistance did reach him soon, the Spaniard refused it, continuing towards the finish line. He did face trouble, finding it difficult to push through the sand but he didn’t let that bother his quest. As he approached the finish line, the crowd gathered egged him on, applauding his effort all the way to the end.
Mena finished the race in 17th position and was 12th in the overall standings. His teammate Joaquim Rodrigues finished 14th on fifth stage and 17th overall.
“I was having a good stage today until the very end. Just a few kilometers short of the finish line, there was some problem with my bike and I had to stop. Somehow I managed to push and get the bike over the finish line,” said the 30-year-old Mena.
Kevin Benavides of Honda Racing won the rally with a total time of 1 hour 40 minutes and 20 seconds.