• Stephan Schott secures fifth place in the overall rankings
Russian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstantin Zhiltsov secured the win in the third FIA Cross County Rally World Cup, with their MINI ALL4 Racing. Furthermore, all the stage wins also were secured by the Trebur based team and four of its five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles made it to the top 10. Nani Roma and Michel Périn had to retire early as the Spaniard couldn’t continue due to stomach problems.
Vasilyev delivered in extremely competitive and consistent style, over the course of the past days. The Russian made it to the top four in every single stage and celebrated three stage wins. At the end of the day, he won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with a 47-minute lead over Poland’s Adam Malysz in a Toyota. With this success, Vasilyev also leaped to the lead in the FIA World Cup. With 60 points on his tally, he now is tied for the first position in the World Cup standings with Al Rahji.
German pairing Stephan Schott / Andreas Schulz also were delighted with their achievements. They took their MINI ALL4 Racing to fifth position in the overall rankings. The Germans made it to the top 10 on every day and contested the event in Abu Dhabi’s desert without encountering any major problems. Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar, also delivered in fine style to finish sixth, in their first rally with the MINI ALL4 Racing. Only on day two, the pairing that made it to the top 10 in every other stage, was temporarily stopped by a broken accelerator cable. Kazakhstan’s Aidyn Rakhimbayev, also succeeded in convincing, with his MINI ALL4 Racing. Together with his Russian navigator, Anton Nikolaev, he came tenth in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – and even won the second last stage.
“We may be really delighted with our achievements in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge,” said Team Manager Sven Quandt. “Vladimir delivered in great style and raced the entire event without making a single mistake. And I’m particularly happy about the fact that "Schotti" succeeded in finishing fifth. He and Andi proved to be extremely competitive. It’s a pity that Nani was that sick so early. He certainly would have been a factor in the battle for the win.”
In just about a week, X-raid will be back racing. On 20th April, in the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar.
Overall Results after 5th Stage:
1. V. Vasilyev (RUS) / K. Zhiltsov (RUS) MINI ALL4 Racing – 17h 10m 19s
2. A. Malysz (POL) / R. Marton (POL) Toyota – 17h 58m 14s
3. M. Zapletal (CZE) / M. Marton (POL) H3 – 18h 29m 58s ...
5. S. Schott (GER) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing – 18h 43m 56s
6. E. Van Loon (NDL) / W. Rosegaar (NDL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 19h 07m 51s ...
10. A. Rakhimbayev (KAZ) / A. Nikolaev (RUS) MINI ALL4 Racing - 21h 05m 42s
