Copiapo (Chile), Aug 18 (PTI) After enduring some tough moments in the previous phase, fourth stage of the 2018 Atacama Rally proved to be full of positives for Hero MotoSports Team Rally with both riders making it to the finish line safely.

The penultimate stage of the Atacama Rally saw Oriol Mena finish at the 11th place, while Joaquim Rodrigues ending at the 13th position here.

Mena rode well avoiding mistakes and ensured that he enters the last stage of the Rally in a good position.

A huge extra for the Team was that Rodrigues was able to start today, although with heavy penalty for not finishing the stage yesterday.

He started right at the back and had to tackle poor visibility throughout because of the dust raked up by the riders ahead of him.

It was a difficult and risky situation but he rode with his trademark calm and confidence to finish the stage.

Rodrigues was happy that despite some odd circumstances, he was successfully completed the race.

"After the technical issue yesterday I was happy to make a start today. It was a very difficult stage for me as I started behind all the bikes, especially a couple of quads.

"The stage was really fast and with all the dust in front of me, it was very risky to ride. It was anyways difficult to pass the riders in front so I decided to take it steady and safe. The bike was working really well today so I am happy to ride again and arrive at the finish line safely," said Rodrigues.

At the end of the penultimate stage, Mena stands at 12th place and Rodrigues at 17th place in the overall rankings.

"Today was really fast, with mix of soft piste and sand. I decided to not push too much today and focus on arriving at the finish line safely," Mena said after the fourth stage.

"One day more done and now it's one day less to bring another rally in the books. There has been a lot of learning for me throughout and I am happy with the way I am riding, the bike and the team."

This Stage turned out to be very fast with a mix of soft piste and dunes in the 253 km timed special today. With the liaison included, the competitors had to cover a total of 371 km during the day.

The Rally will move to its final day tomorrow with a relatively shorter stage 5 to be done entirely in the region of Copiapo, after which the winner of the 2018 Atacama Rally will emerge.

In the fourth stage, Mathias Walkner of KTM Factory Racing secured first place with the timing two hours 50 minutes and 56 seconds.

Kevin Benavides of Honda Racing has again reached the top but in order to become the winner, he will have to perform well in the final stage as Toby Price of KTM Racing is only three minutes and seven seconds and Pablo Quintanilla of Husqvarna Racing is four minutes and 27 seconds behind him.

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