It’s once again under a bad weather that Han Wei and Jean-Pierre Garcin on their HanWei Motorsport buggy win their second stage victory in Turpan, at the east of Xinjiang Province. Armand Monleón made a good impression. The Spanish finishes first in bike category.  
Since opening ceremony, weather is the main enemy of the 103 cars and 13 bikes which are still in the race. The rains falling down in the area are very heavy, making the track a real trap. Stage 3 of today from Karamay to Turpan was no exception. 
Philippe Gache and Stéphane Prévot, on their two-wheels drive buggy, could talk about it better than anyone else after they broke their windspreen wiper system 80 kilometers before the finish line. Even with a very poor visibility and a few minutes stop to try to repair, the yellow buggy number 129 finishes third of the stage. Kun Liu and Pan Hongyu, first to go this morning, had trouble with their engine which was suffering of the cold air. They finish the stage second right behind Han Wei and Jean-Pierre Garcin, second HanWei Motorsport team. The franco-chinese team wins their second stage in 2016 Taklimakan Rally. 
The day after Kun Liu on Mitsubishi Pajero, winner the day of his birthday, it’s now the turn of Han Wei to celebrate his birthday with a victory! In the overall classification, the number 101 team increases the gap with the competitors behind.
In bike category, Armand Monleón got a penalty of one hour yesterday because he lost his time card. He has pushed hard all the day to reduce the gap. Thanks to a perfect navigation as well, the Spanish come closer of his main rival, Min Ji Fang on KTM, third of the stage.  Wen Min Su, second of the selective section, inserts himself between the two favorite of the final victory.
The gaps between the riders have not yet been revealed by the organization.
On Thursday May 29th, competitors will take advantage of a rest day in Turpan, before to go in the sandy part of Xinjiang Province in the following days. They should also enjoy the sunshine which should be back in the area.

Press: Taklimakan Rally