Pablo Quintanilla starts for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second race of the World Rally-Raid Championship this year, in fourth place after having been close to the podium in the Dakar Rally. With the first race of the season concluded, the chilean traveled home to rest and continue with his training.

However, a flu disrupted Quintanilla’s plans and that ended up conditioning the rider who starts this weekend for one more race in the desert.

– Excluding the travel days, there was not much time to rest and prepare for the Abu Dhabi Desert after the Dakar Rally. When I got home in Chile I had the flu, so this was quite a setback. I did my best to get back on training but I don’t feel so strong now. But this is part of the job, we have to manage it the best way. I know this race is very demanding and even dangerous, so we need to focus right from the moment we do the shake down.