• Securing World Cup points is the goal
With two days of the event being over, you can take one thing for granted: the Sealine Cross Country Rally held in Qatar represents a massive challenge. Due to the difficult navigation and the treacherous terrain, the competitors have to be focused to the max. The Monster Energy X-raid Team and its Polish-German pairing Krzysztof Holowczyc / Andreas Schulz currently hold second position behind the buggy of Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser, with their MINI ALL4 Racing.
Day one was particularly challenging for the navigators. Many competitors lost their way in Qatar’s desert, with Holowczyc und Schulz completing the stage without encountering any major problems. In the second special stage, however, they were hit by a massive dose of bad luck. In the early stages, Holowczyc and Schulz succeeded in passing Schlesser’s buggy but then, a tyre puncture cost him some time. Afterwards, things looked promising again – until the pairing was stopped by a broken wheel. Fortunately, there weren’t any further damages on the MINI ALL4 Racing and they worked hard to fit a new tyre as fast as possible but lost several minutes, nevertheless, and had to settle for finishing sixth.
“This was anything but a lucky day,” Holowczyc said in the bivouac. “At first the puncture and then the broken wheel. The repair proved to be anything but easy and afterwards, we had to drive extremely carefully as it had been our last spare tyre. On the other hand, we still hold second position in the overall standings. Now we have to focus on defending these points until the event is over. In the fast sections, we haven’t got a chance to beat the buggies. Other than us, they haven’t to worry about pot-holes and rocks, with their suspensions.”
Result 2nd stage Qatar Sealine Rally:
1st J.-L. Schlesser (FRA)/K. Zhiltsov (RUS) Buggy - 4h 28m 12s
2nd M. Kaczmarski (POL)/B. Bartlomiej (POL) Toyota – 4h 37m 04s
3rd N. Coffaro (VEN)/D. Meneses (VEN) Toyota – 4h 39m 02s
…
6th K. Holowczyc (POL) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing - 4h 47m 02s ...
Overall standings after two stages:
1. J.-L. Schlesser (FRA)/K. Zhiltsov (RUS) Buggy - 8h 48m 35s
2. K. Holowczyc(POL) /A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing - 9h 24m 09s
3. M. Kaczmarski (POL)/B. Bartlomiej (POL) Toyota – 9h 57m 37s
