quarta-feira, 27 de julho de 2016

Cesar Sequeira com "adaptação" condicionada na baja Espanha

Os 650 km da Baja Aragon fizeram circundar a cidade de Teruel os melhores do mundo da modalidade, entre eles César Sequeira e Tânia Sequeira.

 No primeiro dia de prova a equipa apanhou, ao final de 3 km, o concorrente que partiu à sua frente mas o imenso pó tornava uma ultrapassagem um risco demasiado grande e tendo César Sequeira optado pelo factor segurança e protelar um ataque no prólogo que até era ao jeito da equipa.

 Após este pequena contingência das corridas, definia-se uma entrada ao ataque para o sector selectivo seguinte, mas a Isuzo D-Max não colaborou tendo obrigado a equipa a fazer os 162 km em modo "passeio".

 Foi preciso usar a meia hora e os 3 técnicos de assistência até ao último segundo para a StyleAuto Motorsport voltar a "acordar" a Isuzo D-Max. Para que isto acontecesse foi notória a união das equipas portuguesas "fora de portas" com uma equipa da "concorrência", a Prolama, a disponibilizar uma peça, necessária a reparação.

 Com uma Isuzo D-Max cooperante e com os pilotos com vontade de mostrar o que valem, partiram para os dois últimos sectores selectivos com a garra que lhes é característica e venceram os dois na sua categoria.

 De um início de prova atribulado até a vitória nos dois últimos sectores resultou um 3º lugar na categoria T2 e uma impressionante recuperação que se comentava por entre os espectadores e equipas.

 Foi uma estreia para César Sequeira e Tânia Sequeira e, apesar de condicionados, não deixaram os créditos por mãos alheias e mostraram o quão competitivos são.

terça-feira, 26 de julho de 2016

João Ramos e Victor Jesus em 6º lugar na Baja de Aragón, reforçando a liderança na Taça Ibérica de todo-o-terreno

João Ramos e Victor Jesus terminam no 6º lugar da geral na Baja de Espanha “Aragón” 2016, prova da Taça do Mundo FIA e Taça Ibérica de todo-o-terreno. Aos comandos da Toyota Hilux obtiveram a melhor posição enquanto equipa portuguesa e um excelente resultado entre as equipas oficias.

 A cidade de Teruel foi palco da partida e chegada de prova da Taça do Mundo FIA e Taça Ibérica de todo-o-terreno dominada por um traçado de diferentes contrastes em que a Toyota Hilux da dupla portuguesa João Ramos e Victor Jesus, conquistou o 6º lugar da prova.

 Após o oitavo lugar obtido no prólogo, João Ramos e Victor Jesus tiveram no dia seguinte, 3 furos na SS2 e fortes problemas nos travões na SS3, que complicaram a prova da dupla em Hilux - Team Caetano Racing, no entanto, no domingo conseguiram terminar o terceiro e ultimo dia de prova na 6ª posição numa lista de inscritos altamente competitiva entre as equipas oficias e como melhor representante entre as equipas portuguesas. O vencedor foi o qatari, Nasser Al Attiyah também em Toyota Hilux, sendo a classificação final composta por: 2º Carlos Sainz, 3º Mikko Hirvonen, 4º Orlando Terranova, 5º Xavier Pons, com João Ramos em 6º.

 João Ramos comentou: “Estamos muito orgulhosos, enquanto equipa portuguesa, por representar bem o nosso país perante as melhores equipas do mundo desta modalidade. Com 3 furos e problemas nos travões na SS2 e SS3, ficamos impedidos de alcançar o Top 5. Após o duplo furo por ter batido numa vala, fui novamente vítima de mais um furo no final da mesma classificativa, o que me obrigou a percorrer cerca de 15 km com a roda traseira furada. Nos últimos 50 km da prova da SS2 tivemos problemas de travões, o que nos limitou o andamento, e que nos levou a gerir o 6º lugar na ultima classificativa. Com este resultado aumentamos a liderança na Taça Ibérica e cumprimos o nosso objetivo!”

Rui Sousa em excelente nível

• Rui Sousa foi 2º português; 4º Taça Ibérica 

• Transmissão condiciona Edgar Condenso

 Foi ao melhor nível que Rui Sousa / Rui Franco defenderam as côres da ISUZU neste regresso à Taça do Mundo de Todo-o-Terreno, na mítica Baja de Aragon em Espanha.

 Menos feliz foi a participação da dupla, Edgar Condenso / Nuno Silva, do Team Consilcar que no BMW série 1 Proto, acabaram por desistir a pouco mais de 20 quilómetros do final do 2º sector selectivo a contas com problemas de transmissão.

 Rui Sousa foi a Espanha com o objectivo de amealhar pontos para o Taça Ibérica, e essa missão foi cumprida com distinção. Ajudado por Rui Franco e pela Equipa técnica da Prolama, Rui Sousa apoiado pela Cepsa rodou sempre com esta intensão, defendendo onde era necessário e aumentando o ritmo na parte final para subir alguns lugares na geral, conforme referiu no final de dois intensos dias de competição; “…foi uma verdadeira prova da Taça do Mundo, muito dura e difícil, com muitas armadilhas e bastante diferente das ultimas edições que aqui disputei. De qualquer forma o nosso principal objectivo foi cumprido, com a conquista do 4º posto reservado à Taça Ibérica, e 2º entre todos os portugueses que se deslocaram até à Baja de Espanha. A Isuzu D-Max não deu qualquer problema, passando com distinção este duro teste. Apenas sentimos alguns problemas de travões no final do primeiro dia, que acabou por condicionar um pouco o desempenho á geral, mas estou contente com o trabalho desenvolvido e aproveito para agradecer a excelente colaboração do Rui Franco que aceitou o meu desafio, e também de toda a Equipa da Prolama que esteve no terreno a trabalhar para que esta participação fosse um sucesso. Obrigado também a todos os nossos Patrocinadores e Amigos que nos apoiam incondicionalmente…” conclui Rui Sousa.

 Edgar Condenso e Nuno Silva fizeram um inicio de corrida muito bom, e preparavam-se para entrar na luta pelo Top Tem, mas a mecânica não colaborou e a dupla foi forçada a desistir, de uma corrida que consideram muito interessante e de grande mediatismo …” não foi este o regresso que desejava, mas adorei as pistas e fica já agendado que temos de voltar no próximo ano. Adoro este tipo de traçado e o próprio ambiente da prova…” declarou Edgar Condenso no final.

 A próxima prova da Taça Ibérica de Todo-o-Terreno, será a Baja de Portalegre que decorre de 27 a 29 de outubro, e volta a ter os principais pilotos que disputam a Taça do Mundo e Ibérica.

domingo, 24 de julho de 2016

Baja Aragon: Two MINI ALL4 Racing pairings secure top-five positions

• Hirvonen makes it to the podium 

• Jutta Kleinschmidt takes the buggy to 12th place

 While a part of the X-raid team celebrated on the Silk Way Rally finish podium in China’s capital Beijing, today, another part battled it out for the podium positions in Spain’s Baja Aragon. At the end of three days and four special stages, Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Michel Périn (FRA) finished third behind Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz, with Orlando Terranova (ARG) / Tom Colsoul (BEL) coming fifth. The buggy pairing Jutta Kleinschmidt / Philipp Beier (both GER) secured 12th place. Meanwhile, Ricardo Porém und Paulo Fiuza withdrew after an accident on the second day.

 In the prologue on Friday afternoon, Hirvonen, Porém and Terranova secured the positions five to seven. In the starting-order determination procedure for the top 10, where the drivers could chose their position in the starting order, Porém selected the first starting positionn, followed by Terranova and Hirvonen.

 In the second special stage on Saturday morning, Hirvonen was able to match the pace of the quickest to finish just eight seconds behind Sainz. Terranova secured the fine fifth place but Porém had bad luck: he crashed into a ditch and the result: a irreparably damaged MINI ALL4 Racing. In the afternoon, Hirvonen and Terranova once again were among the quickest. Hirvonen defended his second position in the overall standings and Terranova worked his way up to fourth

 On Sunday, however, things didn’t run that well, for the Fin, the Argentinean and their MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles. Both suffered a tyre damage and lost several minutes while changing the tyres. The lost time meant for Hirvonen that he dropped from second to third position. “We had a good weekend,” said the Fin. “I wanted to pressurise Carlos on Sunday as he was just two minutes ahead and indeed: we made good progress until we had the puncture. Unfortunately, this offered Nasser the opportunity to also pass us. But we nonetheless made it to the podium.”

 In addition to the time he lost because of the tyre damage, Terranova also received a time penalty for speeding in a speed zone and consequently dropped back to fifth. “Altogether, contesting this rally was fun,” revealed Terranova. “Unfortunately Mikko and I had to assume the pathfinder role on Saturday and this didn’t make things easier. And then the puncture and the time penalty on Sunday."

 Kleinschmidt contested her buggy debut in a Baja and secured the solid 12th place. Having finished 19th in the prologue, the German really went for it on Saturday to come 12th and ninth, in the two special stages. On Sunday, however, she also suffered a puncture. Due to the lost time she had to settle for finishing 24th and dropped back from 8th to 12th in the overall standings.

 Overall standings after stage 4:

1st N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) Toyota - 6h 59m 59s
2nd C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Crusz (ESP) Peugeot - 7h 00m 18s
3rd M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing - 7h 03m 29s
4th X. Pons(ESP) / S. Lafuente (URU) Ford - 7h 09m 56s
5th O. Terranova (ARG) / T. Colsoul (BEL) MINI ALL4 Racing - 7h 15m 21s
... 12th J. Kleinschmidt (GER) / P. Beier (GER) Buggy - 7h 58m 21s

Victory for Barreda in the Baja Aragón 2016

Joan Barreda has taken top honours in the Baja Aragón 2016. The Spaniard from Team HRC ruled the roost from start to finish throughout the entire rally. This is his third overall triumph in the event. Teammate Michael Metge, from France, likewise rode a storming final race to land a podium spot.

 In spite of starting the day with almost a seven-minute surplus over second place Joan Pedrero, today Barreda was not resting on his laurels. Setting an imposing pace over the 184 kilometre stage against the clock, the rider scorched to victory adding a further minute to his overall advantage. The Baja Aragón is one of the flagship races of the discipline in which points count towards the FIM Bajas World Cup. Barreda took a full house of victories in the special stages of 2016 – the 33rd edition of the event. The final tally sees the Team HRC star accumulate an 8’17” difference over runner-up Gerard Farrés to make it a hat-trick of Baja Aragón victories.

 Team HRC brother-in-arms, Frenchman Michael Metge, took everyone by surprise to produce the third fastest time in the final special stage. Metge, on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, showed that, although not being armed with the most appropriate bike for this kind of Baja terrain, he was still able to blaze a trail around the sinuous, dusty tracks around Teruel. Metge moves up a place on the overall leader board to grab a podium place alongside Barreda as third place finisher of this Baja Aragón 2016.

 Two other Honda riders – Oriol Mena and David Adrià – rounded out the top spots to finish an excellent weekend for the marque. The two, who are supported by Honda España on behalf of Impala and RedMoto, took fourth and fifth final positions respectively.

 Joan Barreda: I’m really happy, particularly because we were able to race without making any mistakes, which was our original aim. We set out looking for a very fast pace. There were some stretches where we were really able to push hard. I had to really get to grips with the smaller, more aggressive bike, which will be good for us when we move back to the bigger bike. Congratulations to Metge for the great results, he surprised me with his speed. These are very positive results for the team that will give us valuable information.

Ricardo Leal dos Santos termina Baja Aragón depois de ter problemas técnicos

Piloto da Nissan Navara chegou a ser o mais rápido logo atrás dos carros das equipas oficiais

Ricardo Leal dos Santos, acompanhado por Maykel Justo, concluiu hoje mais uma participação na Baja Aragón. O problema mecânico com uma bomba de direção defeituosa que ontem afetou a Nissan Navara da equipa condicionou bastante a sua corrida, com a partida para a derradeira etapa da prova a ser feita na 23ª posição da tabela. Houve assim dificuldades acrescidas pelas muitas ultrapassagens que tiveram que ser realizadas o que prejudicou bastante o andamento da equipa. 

Apesar dos contratempos, e sempre que possível, Ricardo Leal dos Santos conseguiu imprimir um ritmo eficaz chegando a ser até Inter 1 (km 34) o mais rápido em pista atrás dos carros das equipas oficiais “Estava muito pó e fazer ultrapassagens nestas circunstâncias não é fácil. Ainda assim passámos sete carros com péssimas condições de visibilidade, fomos bastante rápidos e fizemos bons tempos. Enquanto apanhámos pista limpa andámos bem e conseguimos divertir-nos muito com a condução”, contou Ricardo Leal dos Santos.

SOUTH RACING LEARNS FROM SILK WAY RALLY WITH CHILE’S GARCES AND GERMANY’S SCHRÖDER REACHING BEIJING FINISH

· South Racing’s Garces and Schröder finish 46th and 49th in Silk Way Rally 

South Racing took part in one of its greatest ever challenges, when it entered two cars in the daunting 15-day Silk Way Rally across Russia, Kazakhstan and China and brought both its cars to the finish ramp in Beijing on Sunday.

 Despite their own fair share of problems on one of the most demanding off-road rallies in the world calendar, the Chilean duo of Hernan Garces and Luis Eguigeran guided their South Racing-run Ford Ranger to the finish ramp in 46th position.

 The German pairing of Jürgen and Maximilian Schröder gave South Racing a 100% finishing record on the new event, despite severe battery issues on the unlucky 13th 367.44km special stage between Alahan and Wuhai in China. That knocked them further down the leader board to an eventual 49th overall in a Nissan Navara.

 Both drivers worked tirelessly to maintain their place in the rally and that was achieved with sterling effort from the South Racing mechanics.

  “The Silk Way was a great adventure for the entire team,” said South Racing’s managing director Scott Abraham. “It has been demanding and has tested everyone. Both crews were unfortunately delayed on some stages and then came back fighting. A huge thanks goes out to everyone connected with our operation, who worked tirelessly.”

 After a ceremonial send-off in Moscow, the South Racing-run pair had started conservatively on the first two-kilometre special stage in Kazan and were classified in 29th and 86th positions.

 The rally then passed through Ufa en route to the longer and more demanding selective sections, starting with a stage between Ufa in Russia and Kostanay in Kazakhstan. Schröder was an impressive 22nd in his Navara and Garces settled well into the pace with 38th overall.

 Punishing heat welcomed teams into the Kazakh capital of Astana, but the next special stage of 293.48km took place in mud after recent heavy rains and was shortened to 223km because of an impassable bridge on the route. Schröder revelled in the conditions to hold 15th, while Garces was 37th.

 The fifth section between Astana and Balkash was demanding and 568.24km in length. It ruined multiple Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel’s chance of winning the event, but Schröder and Garces set the 17th and 23rd quickest times and were classified in 16th and 25th overall.

 The sixth stage into Almaty on July 14th was shortened because of storm warnings in the area and the South Racing cars reached the night halt and the subsequent rest day in Almaty in 16th and 23rd overall.

 Stage seven took teams out of Almaty towards Bortala and Schröder and Garces found an impressive pace and stayed clear of trouble to record the 14th and 22nd quickest times and hold 14th and 22nd in the overall standings.

 But rallies of this nature and stature have a way of biting back when the going is good and serious transmission issues hampered Schröder on the 256.93km special between Bortala and Urumqi on July 17th and cost the German several hours on the stage and a fistful of time penalties. The delay pushed him down to 53rd overall. Garces recorded the 19th quickest time and broke into the top 20 for the first time.

 Punishing heat and temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Centigrade in the Turpan-Hami depression and the area around the dry Lake Ayding – one of the lowest places on earth – tested man and machine to the limit, as the ninth stage of 384.40km passed between Urumqi and Hami and the first major dunes on the event. Schröder lost further time in the sand and Garces rolled his Ford Ranger and the car sustained substantial damage. It was a fraught day for South Racing.

 There was no respite on the 10th stage of 340km in China between Hami and Dunhuang, but Schröder recovered from his earlier delays to record the 19th fastest time and move back up to 40th overall.

 A violent sandstorm forced race officials to abandon the special stage and the day’s action between Dunhuang and Jiayuguan and that enabled South Racing to get back on track after several long days. 

Garces had rejoined the rally, after his car was repaired, and the Chilean recorded the 31st quickest time to hold 54th overall. Schröder was delayed again in 65th place and reached the end of the stage in 43rd, but battery issues cost him a lot of time in the subsequent 13th stage.

 The final stage on July 23rd ran between Wuhai and Hohhot, before the non-competitive run in to Beijing the following day.

 Garces survived unscathed in his Ranger to card the 45th quickest time and ensure that he headed for Beijing in 46th overall. Schröder was also able to tackle the final stage and was given a finishing position of 49th overall after his additional time penalties had been added.

 South Racing was founded in 2013. Based near Frankfurt in Germany, the young, customer-driven team also has workshops in Portugal and has extensive experience of the Dakar Rally and rallying in South America.

Sebastian Bühler termina Baja Aragón em 15º

Sebastian Bühler concluiu hoje a Baja de Aragón 2016 no 15º posto da classificação geral da competição destinada às motas. Na sequência da forte queda que sofreu durante a etapa de ontem, o piloto viu-se obrigado a condicionar o seu andamento devido às dores que sentiu no pulso. Por esse motivo, e de modo a não comprometer a corrida, acabou por imprimir um ritmo mais cauteloso. Ainda assim conseguiu realizar os 184.8 quilómetros que compunham a derradeira especial cronometrada da Baja Aragón em 2h42m54s.

 Para o piloto da Yamaha o mais importante foi terminar a corrida sem mais quedas: “hoje, mal arranquei, comecei logo a sentir muitas dores no pulso. Como não tinha força na mão decidi não arriscar para poder terminar a corrida sem mais quedas. Esta situação acabou por não permitir que eu evoluísse mais na corrida. Agora a minha intenção é recuperar e começar a treinar mais a navegação para estar em forma para competição que se realiza brevemente na Grécia e para o Rali de Marrocos”, contou Sebastian Bühler.

 Sebastian Bühler regressa às competições já no final do mês de Agosto altura em que se realiza o Serres Rally que se disputa na Grécia entre 28 de Agosto e 3 de Setembro.

XAVIER PONS RETURNS TO GUIDE HIS DMAS SOUTH RACING FORD RANGER TO A FINE FOURTH PLACE IN BAJA SPAIN ARAGÓN

· Fernando Alvarez and Pablo Monasterolo finish eighth overall 

· Czech duo of Ourednicek and Vaculik take 11th in third South Racing car 

Spaniard Xavier Pons stormed back into the rallying limelight with an impressive performance at the wheel of a DMAS South Racing-run Ford Ranger in Baja Spain Aragón, round five of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

 Absent from the cross-country scene since steering his Air Europa-backed Ford Ranger to the finish of his first ever Dakar Rally in January, Pons teamed up with new Uruguayan co-driver Sergio Lafuente for the first time in the baking heat and dust of a Spanish summer and the bonded well from the outset.

 Pons set several impressive stage times to eventually reach the finish of the three-day event in Teruel in fourth overall behind Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz and Mikko Hirvonen – three of the fastest WRC drivers in the world.

 Spaniard Fernando Alvarez and Argentinean Pablo Monasterolo were also in good form in their Conarpesa-backed South Racing Toyota Hilux and finished in eighth position.

 The Czech pairing of Tomas Ourednicek and Pavel Vaculik drove a third Ford Ranger with support from South Racing. They reached Teruel in 11th.

  “Once again it was a good race for South Racing and for Xavier in particular with fourth place,” said South Racing’s managing director Scott Abraham. “He had a slight roll yesterday and also a puncture that cost him some time, but the plan today was to push on and try and catch Orlando Terranova and either sit in the dust or try and get passed. Then Orly got a puncture and ‘Xevi’ was able to get passed and take fourth place. 

 “It was a solid rally for Fernando. He got stuck behind another car on both stages on Saturday, but his experience of racing in Argentina has been very positive and he set some good times with no problems to finish eighth. It was the first time in the car for Tomas. He also got stuck in the dust for a time, but he had a good pace, especially as this was the first time for him in the car. 

 “I say a big thanks to all my team and everyone at Neil Woolridge Motorsport in South Africa for supplying this car and for all their work. It is clear to see that the ongoing development work is clearly paying off.” 

“We now have around a week to regroup after the hard work everyone has put in over the recent weeks and then we have three rallies in Hungary, Poland and Atacama in August.” Xavier

Pons was delighted with his result: “We are very happy. This was a great step and to finish fourth was the best we could have hoped for. We have set some very good times and matched the very best drivers on these difficult stages. I want to thank Raul Antonio, my sponsors and all the people at DMAS South Racing and Ford for supporting me in achieving this result.”

 Pons made a superb start on his return to the South Racing line-up by clocking the second fastest time behind Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah in the opening 9.2km super special stage, near Teruel, on Friday evening. The DMAS South Racing Ford Ranger driver recorded a time of 6min 03.1sec. Alvarez was 20th fastest in his Toyota Hilux with a time of 7min 01.7sec and Ourednicek was 23rd. 

Two selection sections of 162km and 184.80km were on the agenda for Saturday, winding their way along remote tracks and through farmland in the Jiloca and Comarca de Teruel regions.

 Carlos Sainz recorded the quickest time to snatch the lead, but Pons was also in superb form with the Ford Ranger and netted the fifth fastest time to hold a top five position heading back to the midday service in Teruel. Alvarez and Ourednicek finished the special in 12th and 24th overall.

 Pons continued his impressive pace through the second Alfambra stage and the fifth quickest time ensured that he reached Teruel and the overnight halt in a similar position in the overall standings. Alvarez climbed to an impressive ninth and Ourednicek moved up to 12th overall.

 The Alfambra stage was repeated on Sunday morning and Sainz posted the target time of 2hr 23min 55sec. Pons pressed hard over the closing kilometres and his persistence was rewarded with the fourth quickest time behind eventual winner Al-Attiyah Sainz and Hirvonen. His reward was fourth place after the Argentinean Orlando Terranova was handed an additional seven minutes of time penalties at the finish.

 Alvarez gained a place at the expense of former Dakar winner Jutta Kleinschmidt to finish eighth overall and Ourednicek reached Teruel in 11th overall after carding the 11th quickest time in the final stage.

 South Racing was founded in 2013. Based near Frankfurt in Germany, the young, customer-driven team also has workshops in Portugal and has extensive experience of the Dakar Rally and rallying in South America.

SENSATIONAL AL-ATTIYAH GIVES OVERDRIVE RACING AND TOYOTA A FIRST EVER VICTORY IN BAJA SPAIN ARAGÓN

· Joan Roma crashes out of top six position on third special stage 

· Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Stéphane Prévot finish 13th in third Toyota 

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French navigator Matthieu Baumel delivered a sensational last stage performance to earn Overdrive Racing and Toyota a first ever victory in Baja Spain Aragón, round five of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, on Sunday afternoon.

 Al-Attiyah, driving a Toyota Hilux, won the opening stage on Friday and went on to finish 19 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz after trailing the Spaniard at the start of the day. The result enabled the Doha-based driver to extend his lead in the FIA World Cup drivers’ championship standings before he leaves for South America to represent the State of Qatar in skeet shooting at the Rio Olympics. 

Joan ‘Nani’ Roma’s competitive debut with his new team ended prematurely when the Spaniard left the road on a right-hand corner and he and navigator Alex Haro were forced to retire the second of the Hiluxes.

 Qatar’s Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Belgian navigator Stéphane Prévot completed the four special stages in 13th overall in the third Overdrive Racing car.

  “This is a truly fantastic result for Nasser and everyone at Overdrive Racing,” said Overdrive Racing’s CEO Jean-Marc Fortin. “It gives Nasser another 30 points in the FIA World Cup and puts him in a very strong position going forward. Yesterday was a bit frustrating, because he lost a lot of time in the dust behind another car and this result was pay back. 

 “I looked at the time at the first checkpoint this morning and knew that Nasser was going for it. I was confident he could do it. That’s four wins in four races now for Nasser and the team. 

 “‘Nani’ was unfortunate yesterday to leave the road. We had intended to restart him this morning, but there was some slight damage on the chassis and we didn’t want to risk further damage to the car with some testing coming up.”

 Al-Attiyah made the perfect start on the 9.2km super special stage, near Teruel, on Friday evening and posted the fastest time of 5min 50.2sec to snatch a 12.9-second lead from Spaniard Xavier Pons. Roma was third in the second of the Overdrive Racing Toyotas on his team debut, a mere half a second behind Pons. Khalifa Al-Attiyah was 14th in a time of 6min 46.6sec.

 The bulk of the action took place over two selective sections of 162km and 184.80km through the Jiloca and Comarca de Teruel regions on Saturday. Sainz set the fastest time of 2hr 03min 24sec through the opening special and edged in front of Al-Attiyah by just 49 seconds in the overall standings, with the Qatari slipping to third place. Roma was sixth and held a similar position in the general classification, while Khalifa Al-Attiyah was ninth.

 Al-Attiyah completed the second of the day’s stages – the 184.80km of Alfambra – in second position behind Sainz and reached the overnight halt in third place, a mere seven seconds behind second-placed Mikko Hirvonen of Finland.

 Roma was not so fortunate, however, and the Spaniard’s first appearance with Overdrive Racing was cut short on a right-hand corner when he left the road and was forced to prematurely retire from the race. Al-Attiyah’s brother Khalifa carded the 28th quickest time after his own delay and reached Teruel in 17th overall.

 Action concluded with a second run through the 184.80km Alfambra stage on Sunday morning. Al-Attiyah began the special from third on the road behind Sainz and Hirvonen and it was the Madrid driver who set the target time of 2hr 23min 55sec.

 But Al-Attiyah was in inspired form and a stunning time of 2hr 22min 29sec enabled the Qatari to overhaul the two-time WRC champion by just 19 seconds to secure a stunning victory and a first ever for Toyota in Spain’s premier off-road rally. His brother Khalifa capped a superb weekend for the Doha duo with the 12th quickest time to confirm 13th place.

 2016 Baja Spain Aragón – positions after SS4 (unofficial @ 14.40hrs):

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 6hr 59min 59sec
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP)/Lucas Cruz (ESP) Peugeot 2008 DXR 7hr 00min 18sec
3. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)/Michel Périn (FRA) Mini All4 Racing 7hr 02min 29sec
4. Xavier Pons (ESP)/Sergio Lafuente (URY) DMAS South Racing Ford Ranger 7hr 09min 56sec
5. Orlando Terranova (ARG)/Tom Colsoul (BEL) Mini All4 Racing 7hr 15min 21sec
6. Joao Ramos (PRT)/Vitor Jesus (PRT) Toyota Hilux 7hr 37min 08sec
7. Marcin Lukaszewski (POL)/Magdalena Duhanik-Persson (POL) BMW GPR 1 7hr 46min 03sec
8. Fernando Alvarez (ESP)/Pablo Monasterolo (ARG) Toyota Hilux 7hr 50min 10sec
13. Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Stéphane Prevot (BEL) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 8hr 03min 04sec

PELICHET, DMITRIEV, SHIKHOTOROV AND YONG CLAIM TOP 20 FINISHES FOR OVERDRIVE RACING IN PUNISHING SILK WAY RALLY

· Kazakh Sazonov and Russian Firsov reach Beijing finish in customer cars 

· Visa issues sideline Dane Jes Munk; Frenchman Besson crashes out 

One of the busiest ever periods for Overdrive Racing drew to a close in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Sunday, when the Belgian car preparations company steered all but one of its official Toyota Hiluxes and all but one of its customer cars to the finish of the punishing 15-day Silk Way Rally. 

With the team running several cars and supporting other international customer teams, the results proved the importance of excellent team organisation and precise logistics for an event that started in Moscow’s Red Square and passed through the remotest parts of Eastern Russia and Kazakhstan en route to China and the mighty dunes that faced teams on the trail to Beijing.

 Jerôme Pelichet and Eugenie Decre topped the classification for the official Overdrive Racing team and steered their Toyota Hilux to the finish in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in a fine eighth overall, on an event won by fellow Frenchman Cyril Despres.

 The Russian duo of Andrey Dmitriev and Dmitry Pavlov also represented the Overdrive Racing team and finished an excellent 11th in their Toyota Hilux. Fellow Russians, Ivan Shikhotarov and Oleg Uperenko, were 13th.

 The first of two Chinese Boundless Young Team Toyotas, crewed by Zhou Yong and French navigator Xavier Panseri, reached the finish in 17th position.

 Overdrive Racing supported the Mobilex Racing Team in running the Kazakh duo of Yuriy Sazonov and Dmytro Tsyro and they set several top-10 stage times before finishing in 35th position after late delays. The Russian pairing of Evgeny Firsov and Vadim Filatov were 36th in another Toyota receiving Overdrive support.

 Visa issues dictated that Jes Munk’s rally adventure ended before the event crossed into Kazakhstan and a high speed crash damaged Jean-Pascal Besson’s customer Toyota Hilux and he was not able to continue after the rest day in Almaty. Zhitao He and Kai Zhao were running well in the second of the Boundless Young Team cars run by Overdrive Racing until they met late problems and eventually finished in 57th position.

  “This was a long and difficult rally with beautiful landscapes and some long road sections in between the special stages,” said Overdrive Racing’s CEO Jean-Marc Fortin. “For us, we are delighted to have brought all but one of the Overdrive cars to the finish and overseen our customer cars reach the finish in Beijing. 

 “The rally was a learning experience for everyone concerned and I am sure that, when people look back and digest everything, it will become a major event in the future.”

 After a ceremonial send-off in Moscow and a long liaison section, the event got underway with a 2km super special stage in the city of Kazan. The route then passed through Ufa en route to the longer and more demanding selective sections, starting with a stage between Ufa in eastern Russia and Kostanay in Kazakhstan.

 Sazonov was 14th, Besson was a solid 21st and Shikhotorov held 27th, but a niggling issue with his visa meant that Denmark’s Jes Munk was not able to continue into Kazakhstan.

 Punishing heat welcomed teams into the Kazakh capital of Astana, but the next special stage of 293.48km took place in muddy conditions after recent heavy rains and the action was shortened to 223km because of an impassable bridge on the route. Besson set the 19th quickest time in his Toyota Hilux and held a similar position in the overall standings. Sazonov finished the special a place behind the Frenchman and held 13th overall.

 The fifth section between Astana and Balkash was even more demanding and ran for 568.24km. It ruined multiple Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel’s chance of winning the event, but Sazonov was in impressive form and the Kazakh revelled in racing on home ground to record the eighth quickest time and move up to a similar position in the general classification. Besson crashed heavily, but Shikhotorov was 22nd quickest and moved up to 18th.

 The sixth stage into Almaty on July 14th was shortened, because of storm warnings in the area, but Sazonov retained eighth position and Shikhotorov stayed in 18th at the rest day halt.

 Stage seven took teams out of Almaty towards Bortala, but the damage sustained to Besson’s car was too much and the Frenchman did not restart. Sazonov dropped a little time on the special and maintained eighth position, while Shikhotorov climbed to 17th.

 The 256.93km special between Bortala and Urumqi on July 17th was another strong one for Overdrive Racing. Sazonov retained eighth in the Mobilex Racing Team car, Shikhotorov climbed another two places to 15th and Yong’s 19th fastest time catapulted the Chinese into 13th overall. Dmitriev was 14th and held 12th and Zhitao He was 44th.

 Punishing heat and temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Centigrade in the Turpan-Hami depression and the area around the dry Lake Ayding – one of the lowest places on earth – tested man and machine to the limit, as the ninth stage of 384.40km passed between Urumqi and Hami and the first major dunes on the event.

 Dmitriev moved into the top 10 with an impressive dune passage, Shikhotorov continued his rise up the leader board to 13th, but Yong got stuck in the dunes and the 30th fastest time dropped the Chinese back to 16th. Zhitao He was also badly delayed in the second of the Boundless Young Team cars overseen by Overdrive Racing.

 There was no respite on the 10th stage of 340km between Hami and Dunhuang, although Yong was ninth fastest and climbed back up to 14th, Firsov held 11th in the customer car, Dmitriev was 10th and Sazonov set the 15th quickest time and moved back up to 39th after delays earlier in the week.

 A violent sandstorm forced race officials to abandon the special stage between Dunhuang and Jiayuguan and that enabled everyone connected with Overdrive Racing to regroup and prepare for the final few days and the run across China and into Beijing.

 The 425km section between Jiayuguan and Alashan was another strong one for Overdrive cars. Sazonov, Dmitriev, Shikhotorov and Yong were eighth, 12th, 18th and 71st on the special and held 37th, ninth, 14th and 39th in the overall classification. Firsov and Zhitao He were 38th and 53rd. 

Stage 13 between Alashan and Wuhai proved unlucky for some competitors, but Sazonov recorded the 10th fastest time across the 367.44km and Yong, Shikhotorov, Firsov and Zhitao He were 12th, 22nd, 28th and 38th.

 The final stage on July 23rd ran between Wuhai and Hohhot, before the non-competitive run in to Beijing and on to the ceremonial finish the following day. Yong, Sazonov, Shikhotorov and Dmitriev completed the special stage in 11th, 12th, 15th and 17th overall to ensure they would make the final road section into the Chinese capital. Firsov was 22nd on the special.

 The result meant that in the official results, Pelichet, Dmitriev, Shikhotorov, Yong, Sazonov and Firsov finished the event in eighth, 11th, 13th, 17th, 35th and 36th overall. Zhitao He was classified in 57th.

Ricardo Porém retira-se da Baja Aragón

Ricardo Porém, aos comandos de um Mini All 4 Racing da X-Raid, terminou hoje, ao segundo dia de prova, a sua participação na Baja Aragón. O piloto português, acompanhado por Paulo Fiuza, teve uma saída de estrada na especial cronometrada composta por 184.8 quilómetros que se realizou esta manhã em Teruel.

 O piloto oficial da X-Raid foi o primeiro a partir para a pista depois de na véspera ter sido o 6º mais rápido no prólogo. O piso muito escorregadio que foi encontrando pelo facto de lhe caber a ingrata missão de abrir a pista este na origem do abandono de Ricardo Porém: “no final da segunda especial do dia de hoje, a mais longa, quando faltavam apenas 10 quilómetros para o final da etapa entramos numa zona de serra onde tivemos uma saída de pista que condicionou a nossa corrida. Tivemos que terminar por ali pois não havia condições para continuar. Não era este o desfecho que eu desejava porque estávamos a imprimir um bom ritmo e o objetivo de terminar nos cinco primeiros era exequível. No entanto, o piso era extremamente escorregadio e a navegação também não era fácil e acabámos por desistir. Mas, agora vamos pensar na próxima prova e acredito que esta experiência será enriquecedora para o meu futuro enquanto piloto”, contou o piloto da X-Raid.

Joan Barreda and Honda dominate the Baja Aragón

Joan Barreda made short work of two complicated stages against the clock and opens up a considerable advantage over the rest of the field with one day to run. Michael Metge moves up a position in the overall standings after posting second fastest time in the second special.

 Two timed stages over some 170 kilometres put the Team HRC riders through their paces on a high-speed dust and rock-filled track near Teruel. It was Joan Barreda who stood out on the day, finishing both specials with the quickest time of the day. The Spaniard clocked up a commanding four minute advantage in the first section and then stretched his advantage by another three minutes in the second special. The rider on the Honda CRF450 Enduro thus sports a total lead of 6’50” over second place Gerard Farrés in the overall standings. Tomorrow there will be only one lap for the last stage of the Baja Aragon.

 Frenchman Michael Metge astride the Honda CRF450 RALLY was also flying today. His second place finish in the second special was enough for him to climb the general rankings. 

Honda come away more than content, dominating the whole event with four out of the top five machines belonging to the marque. The third and fifth positions were for Oriol Mena and David Adrià supported by Honda Spain.

Sebastian Bühler em 12º na Baja Aragón

O jovem piloto Sebastian Bühler concluiu hoje a segunda etapa da Baja de Aragón no 12º posto da classificação geral da competição destinada às motas.

 O piloto da Yamaha acabou por ser melhor no troço da tarde, onde terminou em nono da classificação geral, tendo colmatado as dificuldades sentidas na especial de 162 quilómetros que se realizou esta manhã : “foi um dia difícil. Logo na especial da manhã tive duas quedas complicadas e numa deles magoei-me um pouco. No entanto consegui recuperar e conclui a especial sem mais nenhum susto. No troço da tarde já estava mais adaptado ao percurso e ao tipo de terreno. Apenas tive um percalço mecânico a 10 quilómetros do fim mas não perdi muito tempo e acabou por correr bem. O percurso é muito complicado e não estou muito habituado a este tipo de terreno, no entanto, amanhã vou partir mais seguro e vou dar o meu melhor”, contou Sebastian Bühler.

 Cumpre-se amanhã o último dia desta Baja Aragón 2016. A derradeira especial cronometrada desta mítica prova espanhola terá uma extensão de 184.8 quilómetros.

Silk Way Rally: Four MINI ALL4 Racing pairings secure top-five positions!

• Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk the fastest MINI ALL4 Racing crew 

• All five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles make it to the top 10 

Today, the 2016 Silk Way Rally ended with the second stage win for Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) and his German navigator Timo Gottschalk. Tomorrow, the competitors will drive in a convoy to the winners’ podium in Beijing. At the end of the 14-stage marathon with a total distance of more than 10,000 kilometres, Al-Rajhi finished second behind Peugeot’s Cyril Despres. Right behind the Saudi, three other MINI ALL4 Racing pairings also secured top-five positions: third place was clinched by the Russians Vladimir Vasilyev and Konstantin Zhiltsov who raced for Team VRT and were followed by Harry Hunt (GBR) / Andreas Schulz (GER) and Aidyn Rakhimbayev (KAZ) /Anton Nikolayev (RUS) in fourth and fifth positions respectively. And Bauyrzhan Issabayev (KAZ) and Vladimir Demanyenko (RUS) took their MINI ALL4 Racing to 10th place.

 As the Dakar, the Silk Way Rally is one of the longest events on the calendar. Altogether, the schedule featured 14 more or less gruelling stages but two of them had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions: the second from Kazan to Ufa because of torrential rain and the 11th, from Dunhuang to Jiayuguan, due to a sandstorm.

 One of the factors making the days in Russia and Kazakhstan so gruelling were the long ride times. Not only the competitors but also the service teams had to complete long on-road liaison stages. In China, the teams still had to cope with long special stages but the overall ride times were shorter. In the three countries, the competitors had to cope with the most different track and weather conditions. From normal, hard track surfaces to dunes and sand and from rain to sunshine with temperatures of more than 40° C.

 Al-Rajhi is happy about having finished runner-up. “We learned a lot and gathered a lot of experience. The MINI was very good and our performance, too,” said the Saudi who succeeded in winning two stages. “It was a tough rally and driving from Moscow to Beijing was a true adventure.”

 Meanwhile, the Russians Vasilyev and Zhiltsov impressed with extreme consistency. On every single day of the event they made it to the top six. “It was a good rally and a good fight,” said Vasilyev. “Unfortunately, the first special stage had to be cancelled. I think it would have suited our MINI well. In China, however, the buggies had an advantage."

 At the same time, Hunt who lost a lot of time in the opening stages of the rally when he got stuck in a mud hole for more than 30 minutes impressed by working his way back up with great fighting spirit. “I’m really delighted,” beamed the young Briton. “I never would have expected that we could be able to finish fourth, after this incident. The Silk Way was a really tough rally and as I see it, it’s even more demanding than the Dakar. Both the special stages and the liaison sections were longer and more often than not the going got really tough. In China, the rally made another step up, the temperatures rose and the landscape was more beautiful.”

 Despite a break of more than a year, Rakhimbayev also delivered in fine style. “I’m happy and pleased with my achievements,” the Kazakh said in Hohhot. “I enjoyed contesting the Silk Way Rally, it was an interesting challenge. Ride times of less than two or three hours just aren’t my scene.” For his co-driver, Nikolaev, this year’s edition already was the fourth Silk Way Rally. “But it was my first time to have made it to the finish,” the Russian beamed.

 Unfortunately, Issabayev had to cope with a major dose of bad luck, on the final day: due to a technical problem he lost a lot of time and dropped back from seventh to tenth position in the overall ranking. ”A top-10 position is okay but nonetheless, it is a pity that we didn’t secure a better result,” said the Kazakh. “It was a tough rally for me. You really could say that it was tougher than this year’s Dakar.”

 Today, the cars have to be taken to the Parc Fermé following a 90-minute service. Tomorrow, the Silk Way Rally will end with the ride to Beijing. It will be a pure liaison stage for the racing cars that will take them to Beijing’s famous Olympic Stadium – the Bird’s Nest. To make sure that the entire rally baggage – racing car as well as service cars and trucks – make it to Beijing in time, they all will cover the distance to Beijing in a convoy. And in the following weeks, X-raid team members will drive all the vehicles back to Trebur. This long haul also will be completed in a convoy, together with other European competitors. Until the three service trucks, three support cars and four MINI ALL four Racing vehicles will be back at home at X-raid some 21 days later.

MOSCOW-BEIJING TRIUMPH FOR THE PEUGEOT 2008 DKR

Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA and the #104 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR have won the 2016 Silk Way Rally! Their victory comes in the wake of the success of Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean-Paul COTTRET on January’s Dakar and on last September’s China Grand Rally, and provides further evidence of the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR’s performance and reliability. It also rewards the hard work put it by everyone at Peugeot Sport over the past two years. The team’s solidarity and team sprit are hallmarks of both the team and the crews, as they showed once again over the 10, 000km between Moscow and Beijing.

 - From start to finish, PEUGEOT 2008 DKR delivered a combination of performance and impeccable reliability. None of the three cars suffered any technical problems of note in the course of the punishing 10, 000km marathon.

 - This morning, as they lined up for the start of the Silk Way Rally’s 14th leg, Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA guessed it would be one of the longest days they have ever experienced in the course of their competitive careers on four wheels. The day’s menu included a 261km stage which they needed to complete without making any mistakes, but at a good pace without pushing their mechanicals too hard. Despite a scare towards the end, and a minor alert which Jean Paul COTTRET (#100 co-driver) soon cured, they posted the day’s sixth-fastest time to seal the win on only their fourth outing on four wheels.

 - Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA concluded the Silk Way Rally with their 10th top-three stage time of the fortnight. Their consistency and ability to learn as the event progressed allowed the nine-time world rally champions to demonstrate that their new cross-country rally career is going from strength to strength, despite a navigational error three days from the end which relegated them to seventh overall.

 - After seeing their bid for victory end when they rolled on Leg 5, Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean Paul COTTRET provided invaluable rear-guard assistance and flawless solidarity to the finish, helping the #102 and #104 Peugeots on several occasions. They felt comfortable in their role and admitted that the fortnight had been tremendous fun and given them a completely fresh take on the sport.

 Bruno FAMIN (Team Manager, Team Peugeot Total / Director, Peugeot Sport) “This team exudes team spirit, in every area. The most visible examples on this event were the way the three crews helped each other out, and then when everyone in the team pitched in to rebuild Stéphane and Jean-Paul’s car. We are naturally very pleased to have won this extremely difficult rally which enabled us to showcase the quality of the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR. As the small number of incidents we had to report suggests, it now forms a matured package. Our objective was to gain more experience with the car and the crews, to reach Beijing with all three cars and win. We succeeded in ticking all those boxes!”

 Cyril DESPRES (Leg: 6th / Overall: 1st) “Winning is an incredible, fantastic feeling and it still hasn’t really sunk in. It’s the first time I’ve won a rally with David. We have learnt so much since the start in Moscow! We were fastest on almost one stage in two, we have grown in confidence and we had tremendous fun. Peugeot Sport did a super job and I would like the them all for that. The car was brilliant. I really like competing on four wheels now!” 

Stéphane PETERHANSEL (Leg: 9th / Overall: 15th) “The PEUGEOT 2008 DKR is really an incredible car. It ran like clockwork and was competitive every day of the event. A big thanks for that to everyone at Peugeot Sport. It was a very interesting rally for us. The terrain was extremely varied and the conditions were very hard at times, include some blistering heat. We are disappointed that we weren’t able to challenge for the win but we are delighted for Cyril and David. Cyril stopped competing on motorcycles just two years ago and here he is already winning on four wheels. A great job!” 

Sébastien LOEB (Leg: 2nd / Overall: 7th) “We’ve calmed down and worked a great deal since the Dakar. Now, after the Silk Way Rally, we feel even more positive. We completed a high number of kilometres, which means we spent a great deal of time in the car, driving, coping with problems and working together. Along with Daniel, our reflexes and the way we communicate together, the way we cope with the pressure, take care of the car and find our pace have improved no end. On an event like this it’s a two-man job, whereas in the WRC only Daniel has to look after where we are going. Here, we sought the right headings together, discussed the wheel tracks we could see ahead of us and helped each other. We listened to each other and that’s obviously great for our confidence in one another. We know what it is to drive at speed. I also think we have digested the mistakes we made in the dunes and our navigational errors so that we won’t make them again. Next up for me is the Canadian round of the World Rallycross Championship, then some holiday.”

  CLASSIFICATIONS

 Provisional classification – Leg 14 (Wuhai-Hohhot)

1. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (DEU), Mini, 3h44min01s
2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (MC), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +2min42s
3. Harry Hunt (GBR) / Andreas Schulz (DEU) , Mini, +3min21s
4. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) / Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS), Mini, +3min31s
5. Cornelis Koolen (NDL) / Pascal Larroque (FRA), MD Rallye Sport, +4min15s
6. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +5min36s
9. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, 11min42s 

Provisional leaderboard after Leg 14

1. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, 36h15min18s
2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (DEU), Mini, +25min51s
3. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) / Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS), Mini, +49min46s
4. Harry Hunt (GBR) / Andreas Schulz (DEU) , Mini, +1h54min47s
5. Aidyn Rakhimbayev (KAZ) / Anton Nikolaev (RUS), Mini, +2h12min45s
7. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (MC), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +4h02min01s
15. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +9h27min03s

sábado, 23 de julho de 2016

Joan Barreda takes command in the Baja Aragón prologue

Team HRC’s Spanish rider Joan Barreda proved to be the quickest today in the Super Special as the Baja Aragón got underway on the outskirts of Teruel.

 The rider, aboard the Honda CRF450 E, threw down the gauntlet in the short nine-kilometre special with a two-and-a-half second margin over the runner-up.

 Frenchman Michael Metge, competing on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, took fourth place some ten seconds adrift of teammate Barreda.

 Tomorrow sees the SS2, which will be divided into two special stages against the clock over some 170 kilometres.

Ricardo Porém em sexto no prólogo da Baja Aragón


Piloto da X-Raid foi o melhor português 

Ricardo Porém, aos comandos de um Mini All 4 Racing da X-Raid, alcançou hoje o sexto posto da classificação geral dos automóveis no prólogo da Baja Aragón que se disputou esta tarde em Teruel, Espanha. O piloto português, inscrito pela equipa oficial Mini X-Raid, terminou os 9.2 quilómetros que compunham o troço desta primeira especial em 6m13s3’ tendo sido o melhor piloto português na corrida.

 Acompanhado por Paulo Fiuza, Ricardo Porém mostrou-se satisfeito com o resultado alcançado e está convicto que não será difícil alcançar a meta de figurar entre os cinco primeiros classificados: “apesar de ter sido uma especial curta, tinha apenas cerca de nove quilómetros de extensão, foi uma etapa interessante e rápida e acabou por nos correr bem. Tínhamos definido como objetivo ficar dentro dos cinco primeiros, mas acabámos por fazer sexto. Não estamos desanimados porque amanhã é que começa verdadeiramente a corrida e penso que a prova vai correr mais ao nosso jeito. Sei que temos todas as condições para alcançar um bom lugar e, acima de tudo, queremos cumprir o objetivo de terminar entre os cinco primeiros. Essa será a nossa luta”, salienta Ricardo Porém.

 Cumpre-se amanhã o segundo dia de prova da Baja Aragón 2016. Serão disputados dois setores seletivos: o primeiro vai contar com um percurso de 184.8 km e o segundo, que será realizado no período da tarde, terá 162 km de extensão.

am Racing Team já cumpriu sem problemas o prólogo da Baja de Aragón

- Equipa muito concentrada, fez um prólogo cauteloso e cumpriu o objetivo. 

- Nissan Proto respondeu sem problemas às exigências rápidas do traçado. 

- Etapa de amanhã é dura e difícil, mas a equipa está preparada para tudo.

 O am Racing Team, já cumpriu a primeira parte da Baja de Aragón, terminando o prólogo na 44ª posição da geral, mas com a nítida sensação de que seria possível fazer bem melhor. Só que o objetivo era rodar com o Nissan Proto, experimentando as novas soluções implementadas depois da baja do Pinhal e foi isso que a equipa fez:

  “O prólogo era muito rápido e interessante, com um piso irrepreensível. Poucos buracos mas algumas lombas que ultrapassámos sem quaisquer problemas. Gostei muito de tudo, desde o carro ao traçado, passando pelo muito público presente, que era muito e que até nos distraía, pois íamos muito depressa em quase todo o traçado. 

 Estamos confiantes e queremos muito terminar esta prova que confirma até ao momento tudo o que esperava dela. Amanhã vamos rodar dentro das nossas possibilidades e tal como desde o início dissemos, o nosso objetivo é terminar a prova.”

Ricardo Leal dos Santos no Top 10 no prólogo da Baja Aragón

Ricardo Leal dos Santos completou hoje o prólogo da Baja Aragón em nono lugar da classificação geral dos automóveis ao cumprir os 9.2 quilómetros que compunham o traçado em 6m36s1’. O piloto de Coimbra, que participa nesta Baja acompanhado por Maykel Justo, terminou este primeiro dia de prova no Top 10 onde figuram os melhores pilotos da atualidade da modalidade e que integram as equipas oficiais da Toyota e Mini.

 Para Ricardo Leal dos Santos o resultado de hoje é bastante positivo: “correu tudo dentro das nossas expetativas. O prólogo estava muito escorregadio e como partimos em nono, já depois das motas terem realizado o percurso, tivemos que ter alguma atenção porque havia muita pedra solta no troço. Não arriscámos nada e penso que foi um bom início para nós. Amanhã vamos partir novamente em nono e penso que temos excelentes probabilidades de alcançar um bom resultado nesta prova ”, revelou Ricardo Leal dos Santos.

 Cumpre-se amanhã o segundo dia de prova da Baja Aragón 2016. Serão disputados dois setores seletivos: o primeiro vai contar com um percurso de 184.8 km e o segundo, que será realizado no período da tarde, terá 162 km de extensão.

Início da Baja Aragón dentro das expectativas!

O Team Consilcar iniciou hoje a participação na Baja Aragón, com a disputa do prólogo na região de Teruel, cidade espanhola localizada a quase 200 quilómetros de Saragoça. A dupla Edgar Condenso/Nuno Silva estabeleceu o 5º melhor tempo entre os portugueses (17º da geral), um resultado que correspondeu às expectativas dos pilotos.

"Honestamente, não estávamos à espera de outro resultado", começa por destacar Edgar Condenso. "Para além da inexperiência aos comandos do BMW Proto, o piso também estava muito duro e escorregadio. Por isso, optámos por não correr riscos desnecessários".

 Uma estratégia que também se justifica pelo facto de, amanhã, os pilotos terem pela frente 365 quilómetros disputados ao cronómetro, "Hoje foi apenas um aperitivo, pois o prólogo tinha 9,5 quilómetros de extensão. Mas amanhã o dia vai ser bastante difícil. Um enorme desafio para pilotos e máquinas, não apenas pela dureza do percurso, mas porque vamos rodar com temperaturas ambiente bem superiores aos 30 graus", afirma Edgar Condenso.

 Ainda assim, o piloto do Team Consilcar admite que “a motivação é grande! O prólogo deu-nos indicações positivas em relação ao BMW Proto. Por isso, vamos partir decididos em dar o nosso melhor, com o objectivo de contabilizarmos o máximo possível de pontos para a Taça Ibérica de TT, o desafio que assumimos para esta temporada. Claro que nos esperam grandes dificuldades, mas também vamos procurar tirar partido da nossa experiência, nomeadamente na prova, pois já participámos em edições anteriores”.

 Com a motivação em alta também está Nuno Silva, o co-piloto do Team Consilcar: “Estou confiante, embora consciente das dificuldades que nos esperam, até mesmo em termos de navegação. Mas é esse o espírito do todo-o-terreno".

sexta-feira, 22 de julho de 2016

SILK WAY RALLY – LEG 13 : PEUGEOT A STEP CLOSER TO SILK WAY VICTORY

The PEUGEOT 2008 DKR produced further evidence of its reliability and speed today (Friday) on the Silk Way Rally as Team Peugeot Total collected its ninth victory from the 12 stages contested so far. The squad rounded off its performance on Leg 13 with the third- and fifth-fastest times.

 - Cyril DESPRES and David CASTERA put in yet another surefooted performance today as they shrugged off the pressure to go slightly further clear at the top of the Silk Way Rally’s overall leaderboard. They posted the third-best time on the event’s penultimate stage on which they were first on the road from start to finish.

 - After cascading down the order due to a time penalty handed in the wake of Thursday’s action, Sébastien LOEB and Daniel ELENA bounced back to pick up today’s fifth-best time despite suffering from an unfavourable start order (16th). By the time they arrived in the dunes, the sand had been ploughed up by the trucks running ahead of them. This clearly added to the stage’s inherent challenge but the Franco-Monegasque duo survived the ordeal remarkably well.

 - Stéphane PETERHANSEL and Jean-Paul COTTRET notched up yet another stage victory and reported that they had rarely had so much fun in the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR.

 - The final leg of the 2016 Silk Way Rally will take survivors from Wuhai to the Inner Mongolia capital Hohhot on Saturday. The 754km run will include a 261km competitive section that nobody can afford to take lightly, with more dunes continuing the trend of recent days.

 Bruno FAMIN (Team Manager, Team Peugeot Total / Director, Peugeot Sport) “It’s been another positive day but we cannot let our guard drop. Saturday will be another long day when anything can happen. Our mission will be to keep Cyril in the lead while sparing his car. As soon as they arrive in Hohhot tomorrow, all the cars will go straight into parc ferme, so we won’t be able to work on them ahead of Sunday’s long road section to Beijing. Whichever way it goes, we are thrilled by the way the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR has performed over the long distance we have covered so far. It was competitive again today, just as it has been on all the types of terrain our crews have faced since the start in Moscow.”

 Stéphane PETERHANSEL (Leg: 1st / Overall 15th) “That was a nice long stage with around 100km over relatively hard-packed dunes with lots of navigation. It lasted almost five hours and we managed to gradually pick off the cars that started ahead of us before settling in behind Cyril. Our car was a pleasure to drive and the whole Team Peugeot Total operation has made impressive progress. We are having fun every day.” 

Sébastien LOEB (Leg: 5th / Overall: 8th) “It wasn’t a particularly exciting stage for us. We were penalised by our late starting order this morning, amidst several runners in the Trucks category. We found a decent pace but we were often slowed by other competitors. Not only that but the conditions had also been worsened by the front-runners and the dunes were quite churned up. We got stuck again and this time we dug the car free ourselves. We are doing the best we can and continuing to learn. Every day we feel a little more confident.” 

Cyril DESPRES (Leg: 3rd / Overall: 1st) “It was another good day which saw us gain more experience running at the front of the field throughout the stage. The only person who managed to catch us was Stéphane who then stayed in our slipstream. It was a hard but enjoyable stage, and it means we’re now closer than ever to the finish in Beijing. It will be good when we arrive there! There’s just one more competitive section to come but it includes some 60km of off-road driving. David and I feel confident and we are very focused. We are fortunate to be able to count on the support of everyone at Peugeot Sport. I’m not new to motorsport and I know how to handle this sort of situation.”

quinta-feira, 21 de julho de 2016

Baja Espanha 2016: MRacing regressa confiante a Aragon

Na edição de 2016 da Baja España a MRacing leva duas equipas, a dupla Alejandro Martins/José Marques e Kike Bonafonte que irá participar com um co-piloto diferente, tratando-se este ano de uma jornalista que irá cobrir a prova do lado de dentro da corrida.

 A Baja España passa-se em Teruel, na região de Arangon. Com o prólogo na sexta-feira a prova decorrerá ao longo do fim-de-semana pelo troço de 180 kms.

 Manuel Russo Jr. está confiante e satisfeito de regressar a Espanha, “É com grande satisfação que regressamos à região de Aragon para mais uma edição da Baja Spain. É uma corrida da qual gostamos muito e onde temos obtido resultados de vulto como o 7º lugar de Alejandro Martins/José Marques o ano passado, resultado esse que moraliza seguramente a dupla para este ano. É com grande alegria que vimos o Kike Bonafonte regressar um ano depois, e temos a certeza que vai querer tirar o melhor resultado possível nesta corrida do campeonato do mundo no seu país.

 Alejandro Martins que já conhece a prova e já conseguiu bons resultados, espera confiante que “toda a prova corra bem e com o profissionalismo a que a MRacing nos tem habituado ao longo do tempo e que consigamos uma vez mais, atingir o top 10”.

 Enrique Bonafonte tem por objectivo o de estar no top 15 e o de proporcionar a melhor corrida à sua co-piloto jornalista, “temos em vista o Top 15, mas como já dissemos, levo como co-piloto a jornalista da revista TopGear, para que faça uma reportagem da prova vivida de dentro. Pelo que o nosso principal objectivo é que a prova corra bem e que tenha uma boa repercussão nos media para Robby Gordon e a Speed Energy, nova bebida energética a ser lançada actualmente na Europa."

Ricardo Leal dos Santos preparado para mais uma participação na Baja Aragón

A Cerveja artesanal Praxis apoia a equipa Nissan frente a uma forte participação dos principais pilotos mundiais 

Ricardo Leal dos Santos está de regresso à Baja Aragón, a etapa espanhola da Taça do Mundo. Depois da excelente participação no ano passado, onde mostrou o enorme potencial do seu projeto desportivo, o piloto de Coimbra vai levar a pick-up Nissan Navara até Espanha para disputar esta mítica Baja.

 De novo navegado pelo brasileiro Maykel Justo, Ricardo Leal dos Santos reconhece a forte competitividade e o desafio que tem pela frente: “vamos competir contra algumas das melhores equipas do mundo da modalidade e vamos defrontar pilotos com muita experiência. No entanto, apesar de reconhecermos as dificuldades, estamos prontos para tentar alcançar as primeiras posições”, revelou Ricardo Leal dos Santos.

 O calor será uma das grandes dificuldades desta prova: “estivemos a desenvolver a suspensão assim como a admissão de ar para o motor e a refrigeração de modo aumentar a potência e aguentar o calor de Aragón.” O piloto conta ainda com o apoio da Praxis, cujas cervejas são produzidas mediante um processo 100% natural: “Será uma excelente forma de comemorar o final de mais uma presença nesta Baja Aragón, saboreando a melhor cerveja de Coimbra”, contou o piloto.

 A Baja de Aragón compreende um prólogo, uma segunda etapa com dois sectores selectivos e na derradeira etapa com mais um troço num total de seis dezenas de quilómetros.

Silk Way Rally enters the home straight

• Just two more special stages to be contested 

• Al-Rajhi /Gottschalk now second

 As yesterday’s special stage had to be cancelled due to a sandstorm, the pleasant anticipation of today’s stage was even bigger. At the end of the 425-kilometre special stage, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) / Timo Gottschalk (GER) finished second, followed by Russian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstantin Zhiltsov. Meanwhile, Harry Hunt (GBR) and Andreas Schulz (GER) had to settle for finishing sixth. Aidyn Rakhimbayev (KAZ) / Anton Nikolaev (RUS) crossed the line in eighth position, with Bauyrzhan Issabayev (KAZ) and Vladimir Demyanenko (RUS) coming 12th. After the stage Sébastien Loeb received a four-hour time penalty for having missed two waypoints. Due to this decision, all the five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles gained a position in the overall standings.

 In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday at Dunhuang, a sandstorm came in and partly reduced the vision to less than 100 metres. As the helicopters mustn’t take off, in these conditions, the special stage had to be cancelled and the competitors to Jiayuguan cruised on the service route. The city also was hit by the sandstorm but fortunately, the weather improved overnight and the pairings could start into the 12th special stage, to Alashan.

 Al-Rajhi und Vasilyev met several times, during the course of the stage. “As the track was extremely wavy and didn’t suit our car well we were aware that we couldn’t push,” revealed the Saudi, “Then we had to stop due to a damaged tyre and he passed us.” Zhiltsov added: “Afterwards, he stayed several kilometres behind us, in the dunes – to disappear all of a sudden.” 20 kilometres later, however, they met again. “We then passed one another again and again – until we turned left and he went straight on,” continued the Russian. “Later, we also lost time due to a tyre puncture.” At the end of the day, Al-Rajhi finished second, Vasilyev third and hold second and third positions in the overall standings.

 Hunt, however, encountered a difficult day. “We had a puncture in the early stages and then, our power steering failed for the final 250 kilometres,” said the young Briton who now holds fourth place in the overall standings. “And to make things worse, we later even lost our way.” For Rakhimbayev things also didn’t run according to plan. “We had three punctures and I haven’t got the slightest idea why,” he admitted. Issabayev also lost time due to a damaged tyre. “With just 10 more kilometres to go,” he said. “Very annoying.” With the 12th stage contested, the two Kazakhs now hold fifth and seventh positions in the overall standings.

 Tomorrow, stage 13 will take the field to Wuhai. The competitors will cover 724.89 kilometres, with the special-stage distance amounting to 367.44 kilometres. At first the drivers have to drive across a dried-out riverbed to then return to the dunes.

SILK WAY RALLY – LEG 12 : CYRIL DESPRES LEFT TO SPEARHEAD PEUGEOT’S BEIJING GLORY BID

With three days to go before the 2016 Silk Way Rally ends in Beijing, China, the #104 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR continues to top the provisional leaderboard. The lead of Cyril DESPRES and David Castera over their closest threats now stands at 30 minutes.

 - Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA produced an assertive run on today’s particularly tough leg (Thursday) which featured around 100km of dunes and more complex navigation. They crossed the finish line with the best time to their credit, more than seven minutes faster than their team-mates in the #104 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR. It later transpired, however, that the #102 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR crew had missed two mandatory waypoints, despite passing within tens of metres of them. They were handed a hefty time penalty of four hours which has relegated the Franco-Monegasque pair to 10th overall this evening, 4h2m55s adrift of Cyril DESPRES.

 - Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA continued their faultless run to date with another well-judged display which earned them the day’s second-best time behind fellow Peugeot Sport runners LOEB and ELENA, despite losing the use of their PEUGEOT 2008 DKR’s third gear from around the stage’s halfway point. Their lead at the top of the leaderboard has been extended to more than half-an-hour over this evening’s second-placed crew.

 - Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean Paul COTTRET were fifth-fastest on today’s stage.

 - The #104 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR duo will now have additional pressure on their shoulders since they are now PEUGEOT’s only chance of victory, although they will be able to count on the rapid assistance of their team-mates in the #102 and #100 cars until the finish in Beijing.

 Bruno FAMIN (Team Manager, Team Peugeot Total / Director, Peugeot Sport) “We can take a lot of positives from what happened today, especially as far as Sébastien LOEB and Daniel ELENA go. Despite their penalty, which we do not dispute, they had an excellent run after running at the front of the field for some 400km. They are continuing to learn and are making progress at an amazing speed. For the moment, we still haven’t deviated from our game plan which was to learn and aim for the win. We will continue to do all we can to get Cyril and David to the finish but it can’t be denied that, like us, they now have extra pressure on their shoulders. Having just one car at the top of the leaderboard changes a great deal, especially as the two remaining stages probably won’t be mere strolls in the park…” 

Stéphane PETERHANSEL (SS: 5th / Overall: 17th) “It was another stage with a bit of everything today, from twisty tracks to navigation and dunes. The navigation and the dunes were particularly hard, although the sand was quite firm compared with last year. We hesitated a little at the last Passage Control and clearly we weren’t perfect today. We will continue to play our support role and stay close to Cyril through the dunes. That makes life easier for us because it means we can afford to take our time to analyse the road and direction changes ahead. Despite his penalty, Sébastien did a good job today.”

 Sébastien LOEB (SS: 1st / Overall: 10th) “At the Passage Control, we realised we hadn’t collected the waypoint. We drove around for a while to look for it. We thought we’d collected it afterwards but that wasn’t the case. We can’t have been more than 40 metres away. It was a delicate portion with a high number of waypoints all close together. It’s very frustrating because we put in a good run despite being first on the road over some difficult terrain, and Daniel coped well with the navigation. We are still beginners and we haven’t yet mastered all the niceties of the GPS. We came here to learn and I believe we had been doing even better than that up to today.”

 Cyril DESPRES (SS: 2nd / Overall: 1st) “When we set off this morning I had a sort of premonition because the car and the gearbox were making a bit of noise on the start line. We later lost the use of third gear over the dunes while we were looking for the correct heading. I’m still learning and it’s only the first time I have suffered a mechanical problem in the 2008 DKR. We did a lot of driving about in the dunes to avoid getting stuck and it was a relief when we reached the bivouac. From the tracks he left, Sébastien was clearly going well and he paid a big price for his mistake. I intend to stay focused for the last two stages and we have the benefit of some great sporting and moral support from everyone at Peugeot Sport.”

quarta-feira, 20 de julho de 2016

Team HRC to take part in the Baja Aragon

There will be no rest for Team HRC this summer. The rally team will be in action from Friday at the renowned Baja Aragon, a legendary event in the off road motorcycle discipline, in Spain. This event is the second round in which points count towards the FIM Bajas World Cup.

 The 33rd edition of the Baja Aragon can expect the presence of Team HRC which will feature Joan Barreda aboard the Honda CRF450 R Enduro and Michael Metge astride the CRF450 Rally. Both riders, who took part in the team’s triumphant Desafio Ruta 40, have chosen to line up for various reasons. The location is in the proximity of the new team headquarters and is close to the rider’s residences. At play is the prestigious Baja Aragón title, but the race has also been selected for the high speeds and scorching temperatures that will have to be endured in the Teruel province.

 Joan Barreda has won the Baja Aragon on two previous occasions, first in 2012 and then in 2013 with Honda. The rally will be staged over three days. The event kicks off Friday 22nd after the technical and administrative tests, with a 9-kilometre prologue in the vicinity of Teruel. The first full stage will be held on Saturday with two timed-sections; Sunday will boast just a single special stage. By race-end, the riders will have run some 600 kilometres against the clock.

 Team HRC, as it has done in other rallies, will support the rider Oriol Mena from the Honda Motor Europe España team who makes a debut in an event of these characteristics.

terça-feira, 19 de julho de 2016

SILK WAY RALLY – LEG 10 : ANOTHER PEUGEOT 2008 DKR FORMATION-FINISH

Team Peugeot Total notched up its third one-two stage finish of the 2016 Silk Way Rally on Leg 10. The #100 and #102 PEUGEOT 2008 DKRs completed Tuesday’s fast, fiercely-contested competitive section at the very top of the timesheet, while the #104 car missed out on third place by just 30 seconds. The result sees Peugeot strengthen its provisional hold on the top two overall places.

 - Following their one-two-three performance on Monday, the three PEUGEOT 2008 DKRs started today’s leg at four-minute intervals. They soon regrouped in order to run in close formation for much of the 340km competitive section and aided each other through the portions which featured complex navigation.

 - Team Peugeot Total’s ‘Saint Bernards’ Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean Paul COTTRET collected their third stage victory of the event in the #100 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR despite spending the day behind their Peugeot Sport team-mates to provide rear-guard cover.

 - True to form, Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA produced a consistent display again to earn another second-best effort and defend their second place in the provisional overall standings, 18 minutes clear of their closest threats.

 - Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA finished just 30 seconds short of the podium but successfully matched the pace of LOEB / ELENA who passed them soon after the start. The former-biker’s style in the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR is getting smoother all the time and he is feeling increasingly at ease in his new front-running role.

 Bruno FAMIN (Team Manager, Team Peugeot Total / Director, Peugeot Sport) “It’s nice to have come first and second again. Our crews ran together and all three PEUGEOT 2008 DKRs went well on today’s high-speed stage. We’re a day closer to the finish but there are still four big, challenging stages ahead of us. We must continue to steer clear of mistakes and we certainly can’t afford to take our eyes off the ball.”

 Stéphane PETERHANSEL (Leg: 1st / Overall: 23rd) “We were fastest on the stage but, as is often the case on the Silk Way Rally, start orders had a big influence on the result. We soon closed on the cars ahead of us and, as they erred off the correct route, we found ourselves up at the front of the field. I think it was just a case of making fewer mistakes than the others. We will consequently be first on the road tomorrow and we know we will need to wait for Cyril and Sébastien because our role now is to provide them with assistance if they need it. It’s the first time I’ve had to do that but I am happy to play the team game to make sure there’s a Peugeot on top when we reach Beijing. It’s a little less stressful like this, so you can have more fun driving because you’re not trying to save every tiny second. All I have to play for is to help my colleagues.”

 Sébastien LOEB (Leg: 2nd / Overall: 2nd) “Cyril and I stayed together, repeatedly passing each other while keeping up a fast pace. We know we lack experience but we’re in a good position. I am very happy with the way today went and we didn’t make many mistakes. Running at the front is doing us good because we are improving day after day. I haven’t decided on any sort of strategy for the next few days. It’s hard to control the situation when you’re in the midst of a competition like this. Instead of trying to play it smart, we are going with the flow. We will continue to push and do our best on the stages, while trying not to make any navigational errors. We have valuable rear-guard protection from the #100 Peugeot and Stéphane. It’s good to have them just behind us, just in case…”

 Cyril DESPRES (Leg: 4th / Overall: 1st) “It’s quite a job trying not to lose too much ground to Sébastien LOEB! We only dropped two minutes today and we had some good sport! We were flat out all day and, apart from a short time when we got stuck in sand, it was a fast stage, with some peaks at 180kph. I’m glad to see that I am starting to think ahead, so I’m getting caught out less frequently. I sense where I can be gentler on the brakes and harder on the throttle. David and I are just trying to keep a clear head and be as tidy as we can on the stages. I feel confident and the Peugeot is a delight to drive.”

Three MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles to contest the Baja Spain

• Jutta Kleinschmidt back in the buggy 

• X-raid to race on two continents 

While one part of the X-raid team currently contests the second half of the Silk way Rally in China, another part travels to Spain for the Baja Aragon, held from 22nd to 24th July around the city of Teruel. The Trebur based team will be represented in the three-day Baja by three MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles and the buggy. For Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Michel Périn (FRA), it will the first rally since the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge that was their first rally in the 2016 season. And for the Argentinean Orlando Terranova it even will be the first appearance in the MINI ALL4 Racing since the Dakar. He will contest the Spanish event with the Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul. The third MINI ALL4 Racing will be raced by Ricardo Porem / Paulo Fiuza (both POR), with Jutta Kleinschmidt in the buggy being accompanied by PhilipBeier (both GER).

 The event is one of the most popular ones on the FIA World Cup calendar. The tracks are demanding, with both driver and co-driver having to be fully focused all the time if they want to make it to the top. Rocky sections represent a true punishment for the tyres and in addition, the distance to cover in the Baja Aragon is rather long, compared to other Bajas.

 The Baja will be kicked off on Friday with a 17-kilometre prologue. The result also counts for the overall ranking and in addition it determines the starting order for the following day. Both on Saturday and Sunday, the competitors will contest a stage around Treuel, taking them to the regions Jiloca and Comarca de Teruel. Altogether, the pairings have to cover a distance of 800 kilometres.

 In the Silk Way Rally, the MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles deliver in fine style. All the five cars involved currently hold top-10 positions in the overall rankings. The fastest MINI ALL4 Racing pairing Al Rajhi (KSA) / Gottschalk (GER) currently holds 3rd place overall. Just as the Baja Aragon, the Silk Way Rally also will officially end on Sunday.