Yamaha Despres and on the run for the win. Marc Coma problem to a wheel.

Bikes turnaround. Després wins and is the new leader. Coma has problems, and Jean finishes second

Marathon Stage makes damages. Coma, who was on the lead until now, has a wheel problem and drops to 7th overall. Brazilian Jean Azevedo overcomes his injured shoulder and finishes second, 59 seconds behind the Frenchman. Tomorrow is a day to face the infamous Jalapão desert, and the largest Special 

Today stage
6th Stage - July 30th - Tuesday
NATIVIDADE (TO) - PALMAS (TO)
Initial Liaison: 27 km
Special Test: 355 KM
Final Liaison: 43 km
TOTAL: 424 km                             

Today’s Marathon Stage has seen a turnaround on the 21st edition of Rally dos Sertões. Competitors finished yesterday, had no mechanical assistance, and today they had to start with what they had, totaling 650 km in two days of special. A true test of endurance. The hitherto leader, Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM), faced problems and lost the lead, which was taken by Frenchman Cyril Despres (Yamaha), who won the second Special, tops the list for the first time. The highlight of the day was the five-time champion of the Rally, Brazilian Jean Azevedo (Honda Rally Mobil), who is now in the middle of the international dispute between the stars and made the second best time, behind Després, with a 59-second gap. Polish Jakub Przygonski (KTM) placed third today.

In the overall results, the differences are very small and the dispute is still on: Portuguese Paulo Goncalves (Speedbrain Rally 450), sixth in the day, is second overall 5min15 behind Després, followed by Polish Jakub, 22min08 behind the leader.
There will be another great endurance test tomorrow. It’s a day to enter the dreaded Jalapão desert, covering the largest Special of all times - with 514 Km - and the largest total distance so far: 746 Km. A very complete Special, with all kinds of terrains. Competitors will make a loop, leaving Palmas and returning to Palmas.

Happy with the result, Despres went diving on the Tocantins River as soon as he arrived at the finish line. "It’s so cool to get to Palmas and have the beach waiting for us. I feel renovated after spending so much time under the sun with all the protective garment, helmet and boots, and diving in this river. As for the competition, the Marathon is a little different because you have to take care of the bike, the tires and focus, in order not to make any mistakes. It was a fast day, nice special, but you can not speed up too much, since it’s the final part of the Marathon. It takes speed to win Sertões, but not everyday. The bike impressed me, it went very well, as well as the tires", said the Frenchman.

Coma, who dropped from the top to the 7th place overall, 38 minutes behind the leader, described the problem he faced. "I had a problem on the rim of the rear wheel. So I had to come slowly to the end, because there was no way to push too hard. Unfortunately, this happens" he lamented. Azevedo talked about overcoming obstacles to conquer his result. "I had a right shoulder injury before the competition and I'm not racing as I would like. Today, the ground was less bumpy and faster, and it favors me, I did not feel my shoulder and I could get a good result. With the injury, when I take uneven roads I can’t push too hard. Now is the time to try to climb even more", says the rider, who is 8th overall.

In the overall results among Brazilians, Dario Julio (Honda Rally Mobil) is the best. He finished fourth today and moved up one position overall, now in fifth, followed by his Team in Rally Mobil Honda mate, Ike Klaumann (eighth today) and sixth overall.

Quads
On Quads, Polish Rafal Sonik (Honda TRX 700) wins his fifth stage in a row, but the gap to the first runner-up - Marcelo Medeiros, present champion - drops from 23 to 21 minutes. The duel between Medeiros (Yamaha Raptor 700) and Robert Nahas (Honda TRX 700) is exciting, and Nahas was third today. Their difference was 7 minutes yesterday, and now has dropped to mere 3min40.

Nahas highlighted the problems he overcame today, and his main concern for tomorrow is hydration. "Yesterday I faced come problems with my exhaust and with the radiator cover, so I got to the Parc Férmé in the last minute. The day was better and faster today, but it’s risky to accelerate so much, for a Marathon Stage does not allow you to exchange some items that we use to replace every day, such as filters and oil. It is a matter to find balance. The day is going to be hard tomorrow, riding such a long special in Jalapão, so hot and with so much sand. I will have to take twice as much water as I use to take, because hydration is going to be key.

For Sertões, everything is perfect, and the Polish highlighted that this was his favorite Special in Sertões so far. "I think I passed 15 riders today. My tires have endured well, and I was able to push a hard pace. I loved the special, it is really fast, and there is no question that it was my favorite so far. There were stretches at the same time technical and fast, with some curves, mixing sand and other kinds of terrains. It was a perfect special for me".

UTVs
Among UTVs, Carlo Collet and Marcos Gouvea (Can Am Maverick) won their third special in a row, followed by Bruno Sperancini/Lourival Roldan (Polaris RZR XP 900), who are still the isolated leaders overall, 58 minutes ahead of the rookies Rodrigo Varela/João Arena (Can Am Maverick), who finished third today.

"I could speed up today, but we did not have any service to the UTV because of the Marathon. So we have to be careful, and cannot speed as much as we wished. Our idea now is to win the specials and get closer to the top competitors, but we need to be careful for that, because finishing is the most important", said Collet.

For Sperancini, it is time to manage time now. "It was a hard day, very fast and very hot, with one fast section, that was very pleasant to accelerate. We had a little problem with the oil pressure, we stopped and Lourival fixed everything very fast, so that we could go on. Now it is a matter of managing the lead and not making any mistakes".

Unofficial results for Bikes - 6th stage
1. CYRIL DESPRES 03:52:50
2. JEAN AZEVEDO 03:53:50
3. JAKUB PRZYGONSKI 03:54:57
4. DARIO JULIO 03:55:44
5. FAUSTO MOTA 03:58:10
6. PAULO GONCALVES 03:58:56
7. MICHAEL METGE 04:00:11
8. IKE KLAUMANN 04:01:27
9. RICARDO MARTINS 04:03:43
10. RAMON SACILOTTI 04:10:41

Unofficial overall results for Bikes
1. CYRIL DESPRES 15:35:05 -
2. PAULO GONCALVES 15:40:20 +00:05:15.1
3. JAKUB PRZYGONSKI 15:57:13 +00:22:08.2
4. MICHAEL METGE 16:02:51 +00:27:45.9
5. DARIO JULIO 16:07:57 +00:32:51.1
6. IKE KLAUMANN 16:10:58 +00:35:53.4
7. MARC COMA 16:14:01 +00:38:56.5
8. JEAN AZEVEDO 16:17:53 +00:42:48.3
9. RICARDO MARTINS 16:49:03 +01:13:57.8
10. FAUSTO MOTA 16:59:27 +01:24:21.9

Unofficial results for Quads - 6th stage
1. RAFAL SONIK 04:11:42
2. MARCELO MEDEIROS 04:21:48
3. ROBERT NAHAS 04:22:43
4. MAURO ALMEIDA 04:27:18
5. TOM ROSA 04:32:08
6. ERNESTO WATASHI 04:42:53
7. MOHAMED ABU-ISSA 04:49:13
8. DANIEL MAZZUCCO 04:56:19

Unofficial overall results for Quads
1. RAFAL SONIK 17:48:40 -
2. MARCELO MEDEIROS 18:10:21 +00:21:40.9
3. ROBERT NAHAS 18:14:03 +00:25:23.2
4. MAURO ALMEIDA 19:23:28 +01:34:47.9
5. DANIEL MAZZUCCO 20:19:50 +02:31:09.9
6. MOHAMED ABU-ISSA 22:02:38 +04:13:58.3
7. EDNARG MARQUES 22:44:13 +04:55:32.8
8. TOM ROSA 25:38:05 +07:49:25.3

Unofficial results for UTVs - 6th stage
1. CARLO COLLET/MARCOS GOUVEA 04:36:25
2. BRUNO SPERANCINI /LOURIVAL ROLDAN 04:44:31
3. RODRIGO VARELA/JOAO ARENA 04:48:09
4. CARLOS AMBROSIO/DIONIZIO SILVA NETO 05:01:04
5. MARCOS REGADAS FILHO/ANDREWS COSTA 05:32:32

Unofficial overall results for UTVs
1. BRUNO SPERANCINI /LOURIVAL ROLDAN 19:26:26 -
2. RODRIGO VARELA/JOAO ARENA 20:24:56 +00:58:29.8
3. CARLO COLLET/MARCOS GOUVEA 29:38:15 +10:11:49.1
4. CARLOS AMBROSIO/DIONIZIO SILVA NETO 31:50:57 +12:24:31.5
5. MARCOS REGADAS FILHO/ANDREWS COSTA 47:43:33 + 1D 04:17:0