Held over a total of 432Km, the fifth round of the Spain Cup put the teams through some very tough road sections of 102, 113 and 217Km. The rally began on Friday with a 6Km prologue to determine the starting positions for the first of three special stages taking place on Saturday. García and Moreno, champion-elects of the Open class for modified vehicles, finished fifth and first in the first two special stages, giving them second place in the provisional Buggies Nacionales standings before a technical issue in the third stage took them out of the fight for the overall rally win. However, their efforts in the first two stages would prove enough to seal the title for them, creating an unbeatable lead and winning the championship with a round still to go.
The Open category was ultimately won by Juan López and José Antonio Álvarez, who managed a consistent pace throughout the rally to win the class and finish ninth in the Buggies Nacionales. Despite some issues in the third stage, Yago de Prado and Álvaro Moya finished the race to take second in the Open class, leaving them tied with López and Álvarez 147 points in the fight for runner-up to the title second position in the overall standing in the last race of the season.
In the Stock category for standard YXZ1000Rs, a surprise maiden win came for Edesio Caamaño and David Conde’s, after finishing second in the previous two rallies. With their 50 points from the Rally TT de Guadalajara the duo secured second place in the category behind champion Pedro Delgado.
As in previous rounds, winners of the Stock and Open categories were rewarded with a free registration for the next race of the Spain Cup, the Rally TT de Zuera, which will take place on 4-5 October.
García and Moreno’s cup title victory also means that they are automatically entered into the YXZ1000R European Cup Superfinale in Portalegre, Portugal on 24-26 October, which brings together all Stock and Open champions from the seven nations taking part in the Cup. Racing against the best YXZ1000R teams in Europe, the racers will have the opportunity to compete for prizes including entry to the 2020 Merzouga Rally and a brand new YXZ1000R.
Drivers competing in the 2019 Spanish, German, Italian, French, Portugese, UK or Israeli national cups can register their own entry for the Superfinale online, by visiting www.yamaha-racing.com/yxz1000r-cup/register.
