XAVIER PONS SET FOR BAJA SPAIN ARAGON OUTING IN DMAS SOUTH RACING FORD RANGER

· South Racing also set to run Fernando Alvarez and Pablo Monasterolo 

South Racing continues its hectic global motor sport programme by running two cars in this weekend’s Baja Spain Aragon, round five of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies that is based in the town of Teruel and finishes on Sunday afternoon.

 DMAS South Racing is looking forward to running the former WRC star Xavier ‘Xevi’ Pons for the first time since the Dakar Rally at the helm of a Ford Ranger. Fellow Spaniard Sergio Lafuente navigates Pons, who finished 30th overall in January’s Dakar at his first attempt. Meanwhile, Spaniard Fernando Alvarez teams up with Argentinean Pablo Monasterolo in a South Racing Toyota Hilux.

  “Baja Aragon is the biggest Baja of the year and promises to be a dogfight at the front,” said South Racing’s managing director Scott Abraham. “Xevi will be at the wheel of the latest generation Ranger and we are looking for a strong result. Fernando will surprise a few people, because his participation in this year’s Maxi Rally Championship in Argentina has given him great preparation for this event.”

 Pons began his WRC career at the 2003 Swedish Rally and competed in 62 FIA World Rally Championship events, claiming seven stage wins and 51 series points during various spells with different Citroën, Mitsubishi and Subaru teams. He also won the 2010 Super 2000 World Rally Championship.

 Alvarez finished eighth overall with the German-based South Racing team in the recent Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina and is relishing the chance to shine over the demanding stages that cut through the remote Aragon countryside.

 South Racing is also running two cars in the gruelling Silk Way Rally that finishes in Beijing on Sunday (July 24). Those two cars are being driven by Chile’s Hernan Garces and Germany’s Jürgen Schröder.

 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.

 Competitive action at Spain’s Baja Aragon fires into life from 18.51hrs on Friday with a revised opening special stage, near Teruel, and that precedes two days of action and a route of over 800km through the Jiloca and Comarca de Teruel regions.

 There will be two selective sections of 194km and 188km from 08.31hrs and 13.34hrs on Saturday and a fourth and final special of 188km from 09.39hrs on Sunday morning.

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Silk Way Rally – SS10: All five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles in the top 10

• Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk still the fastest MINI ALL4 Racing pairing 

• Hunt/Schulz in the way up

 50 percent of the fastest cars in the overall standings of the 2016 Silk Way Rally are MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles. With 10 of the 15 stages contested, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) and Timo Gottschalk (GER) hold third position, followed by Russian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstantin Zhiltsov. Meanwhile, Harry Hunt (GBR) and Andreas Schulz (GER) continued to work their way up and currently hold fifth place. Behind them, Aidyn Rakhimbayev (KAZ) / Anton Nikolaev (RUS) and Bauyrzhan Issabayev / Vladimir Demyanenko (RUS) follow in sixth and eighth positions respectively.

 The past two stages, Urumqi-Hami and Hami-Dunhuang, featured a lot of extremely bumpy sections that suited the buggies better than the all-wheel driven cars. Furthermore, they took the field for the first time into the dunes. There, Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk got stuck and lost some time – and it cost them additional time when they had to look for a way point. Therefore, they had to settle for finishing fourth. “Today’s special stage actually should have been a good one for us,” said Al-Rajhi who finished fifth in the 10th stage, “But our power steering stopped to work at kilometre 190. Nonetheless, we didn’t lose too much time. But it was the first time in my career that this happened to me and it was really, really tough.” Therefore, Gottschalk was allowed to drive the MINI ALL4 Racing in the liaison section.

 Vasilyev and Zhiltsov, however, had no problems in stage 10. In the ninth stage they had to cope with a cracked cam belt and were forced to make a repair stop but today: “No punctures, no problems – we got through very well,” revealed navigator Zhiltsov. “But in the bumpy, fast sections we had just no chance of pushing to pressurise the teams ahead of us.”

 Hunt also got stuck for a short time, yesterday and finished fifth, in the end – but today he really got going. “We had no problems whatsoever,” said the young Briton after having secured third place. ”The medium section was extremely bumpy and I still feel it in my neck. But I’m absolutely delighted with holding fifth position in the overall standings, now. After all the time we lost in the early stages of the event I never would have believed that we would be able to make it so far up.”

 The Kazakhs Rakhimbayev and Issabayev made a good start in today’s special stage and finished seventh and eighth respectively. Yesterday, Rakhimbayev damaged his clutch and gearbox and was towed out of the special stage by Issabayev. Consequently, they had to settle for finishing ninth and 11th.

 Today’s bivouac is located right of the wall of the movie town Dunhuang that is a replication of a Song dynasty town (969 to 1279). It was built in 1987 for the film ‘Dunhuang’ and is located 25 kilometres from the city. It features different houses and other buildings in the Song-dynasty style: towers, temples, shops, restaurants, houses and more. Today, the film town is regarded as one of the biggest in North-West China. In addition to Dunhuang, more than 20 other films and TV series were shot here.

 In tomorrow’s stage from Dunhuang to Jiayuguan, the tyres once again could prove to be the key factor. The 193.91-kilometre special stage will take the field again through 5 kilometres of dunes and after through dried-out riverbeds and canyons with rocks galore. In addition, the maximum height will amount to around 2000 metres above sea level. Altogether, the competitors will have to cover a distance of 609.66 kilometres.

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am Racing Team preparada para o primeiro desafio internacional na Baja de Aragón

- Piloto concretiza um sonho antigo de participar na prova espanhola. 
- Nissan Proto foi completamente revisto para esta importante participação. 
- Objetivo da equipa passa por um andamento vivo e por chegar ao final.

A próxima prova do am Racing Team, é um verdadeiro desafio para todos, mas representa acima de tudo o concretizar de um sonho por parte de Alexandre Mota, que desde que conhece o Todo-o-Terreno, ouviu falar em Aragón e ambiciona participar ma grande prova aespanhola, no meio dos melhores do mundo da modalidade

Apesar, da grande desilusão que toda a equipa sofreu, com a desistência na Baja do Pinhal, já com a meta à vista, todos se uniram para uma recuperação que foi rápida e que garantiu ainda mais toda a força de vontade para que esta participação na Baja de Aragón pudesse ser uma realidade, como confirma Alexandre Mota:

“Na Baja do Pinhal o Nissan estava muito melhor do que na prova anterior, o que nos facilitou também a evolução em pista, O resultado final, seria por certo um lugar entre os cinco primeiros, mas o alternador não colaborou e ficámos parados a poucos quilómetros do final.

Foi uma desilusão para todos, mas desde logo começamos a pensar em Aragón, que é para mim uma prova mítica, talvez aquela em que sempre ambicionei participar, desde que comecei a minha carreira no Todo-o-Terreno. Sei que é uma Baja muito dura – não poderia ser de outra forma, já que conta para a Taça do Mundo de TT – que se disputa numa das zonas mais áridas e quentes de Espanha, com um traçado tão rápido como demolidor, que nos coloca e ao carro, grandes dificuldades que iremos tentar ultrapassar.”

Em termos de carro, tudo foi preparado ao mais ínfimo detalhe pela equipa comandada pelo Nuno Marques, pelo que a confiança é enorme:

“O carro foi completamente desmontado pelo Nuno Marques, mudado o alternador, que am Racing Team preparada para o primeiro desafio internacional na Baja de Aragón nos pregou a partida no Pinhal e ao que parece também está ultrapassado o problema das constantes falhas de motor, registadas nas últimas provas. Com o “set-up” completamente revisto estamos confiantes de que podemos fazer uma boa prova em Aragón, mas o meu grande objetivo é rodar bastante o carro e conseguir terminar a prova. Já ficaremos satisfeitos se isso acontecer!”

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Motivação em alta para a Baja Aragón!

O Team Consilcar está de regresso à estrada, com a participação na 33ª edição da Baja Aragón, nos próximos dias 22, 23 e 24 de Julho. Na lista de inscritos também figuram Carlos Sainz, Mikko Hirvonen, Nani Roma e Nasser Al Attiyah, consagrados nomes do automobilismo mundial que, depois do Dakar, voltam a encontrar-se na luta pela vitória nesta jornada que integra o calendário da Taça do Mundo de Todo-o-Terreno.

 Mas o interesse competitivo da prova que tem como palco a cidade de Teruel (localizada a quase 200 km a sul de Saragoça) estende-se à luta entre as equipas candidatas à Taça Ibérica de Todo-o-Terreno, precisamente o desafio do Team Consilcar para a época de 2016.

 Como admite Edgar Condenso, o piloto da formação, “espera-nos um dos fins-de-semana mais difíceis da temporada. Os percursos da região de Aragón são conhecidos pela sua dureza e, nesta altura do ano, também há que contar com as elevadas temperaturas ambiente. No fim-de-semana, as previsões apontam para perto de 40 graus… Ou seja, dificuldades acrescidas para mecânicas e pilotos”.

Ainda assim, Edgar Condenso confessa que “a motivação é grande! Estamos decididos em dar o nosso melhor e em vingarmos o resultado da primeira prova do calendário, onde fomos obrigados a desistir. Sim, queremos contabilizar o máximo possível de pontos e, se possível, entre os primeiros lugares. Por todos os motivos, claro que as dificuldades vão ser muitas, mas também estamos habituados a isso, até pelo facto de não ser a primeira vez que participamos na Baja Aragón”.

 Um curto teste durante o fim-de-semana permitiu ao Team Consilcar confirmar que o BMW Proto (a aposta da equipa para este ano) está apto a enfrentar os desafios da Baja Aragón. “Mais de 800 quilómetros de percurso, 600 dos quais disputados ao cronómetro e, por vezes, acima dos 1.200 metros de altitude”, destaca Nuno Silva, o co-piloto do Team Consilcar. “Sem dúvida, que se trata de uma das mais duras provas de todo-o-terreno que se disputam na Europa. Para além da dureza dos pisos e do calor, a navegação também não costuma ser fácil. Por isso, são muitos os desafios que nos esperam”.

 Na próxima sexta-feira, o Team Consilcar vai ser a 19ª equipa a partir para a Baja Aragón. “Para além do objetivo de lutarmos pelos primeiros lugares da Taça Ibérica de Todo-o-Terreno, tudo faremos para retribuir o apoio dado pelos patrocinadores e parceiros”, conclui Edgar Condenso.

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QATAR’S AL-ATTIYAH AND SPAIN’S ROMA AIM TO GIVE OVERDRIVE RACING A FIRST EVER VICTORY AT SPAIN’S BAJA ARAGON

· Khalifa Al-Attiyah teams up with Belgian Stéphane Prévot in third Toyota 

Overdrive Racing has called in its heavyweight drivers in a bid to give Toyota a first ever victory in Baja Spain Aragon, round five of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

 Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah takes a break from his Olympic Games’ shooting preparations to drive the top-seeded Toyota Hilux alongside his regular French navigator Matthieu Baumel. The Doha-based driver has won the last three rounds of the series in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Italy and heads to the baking heat and punishing dust of the Teruel region of central Spain with a massive 58-point lead in the championship.

  “This is a difficult race and perhaps, the hardest of all the Bajas,” said Al-Attiyah, who won the event for the only time with Swedish female navigator Tina Thörner in 2008. “It’s important for the whole team that we continue the winning momentum and try and claim the maximum points.”

The Qatari is also reunited with his former team-mate and two-time Dakar winner Joan Roma. The Spaniard announced last month that he was joining Overdrive Racing for the first time to drive a V8-engined Toyota Hilux and will be bidding for his sixth victory at the event in a car after also winning Baja Spain Aragon on four occasions on a motorcycle in his earlier career. Roma will be partnered by fellow Spaniard Alex Haro.

 Al-Attiyah’s brother Khalifa drives the third of the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hiluxes in Spain. The Qatari joined the Belgian team for the first time at the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in April and then went on to finish 17th in Italy last month. He teams up with the vastly experienced Belgian WRC navigator Stéphane Prévot, who has formerly teamed up with the likes of Francois Duval and Chris Atkinson in special stage rallies.

  “Everyone in the team is relishing the start of Baja Spain, because it promises to be a cracking event, like a mini-Dakar, with a great fight between at least five drivers,” said Overdrive Racing’s CEO Jean-Marc Fortin, who heads to Spain this week after overseeing several of his cars in action during the first half of the Silk Way Rally that finishes in Beijing on Sunday.

  “We are hopeful that Nasser can get his hands on another haul of championship points and give ‘Nani’ as much experience in the new car as we can. We plan to test before the rally to get the set-up right, but we know it’s not going to be easy with such a strong field.”

Competition for Overdrive Racing comes from the likes of two-time WRC champion Carlos Sainz, former WRC star and flying Finn Mikko Hirvonen, Argentina’s Orlando Terranova and former Dakar winner Jutta Kleinschmidt.

 Competitive action gets underway from 18.51hrs on Friday evening with a revised opening special stage of 17km, near Teruel, and that precedes two days of action and a route of over 800km through the Jiloca and Comarca de Teruel regions.

 There will be two selective sections of 194km and 188km from 08.31hrs and 13.34hrs on Saturday and a fourth and final special of 188km from 09.39hrs on Sunday morning.

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Rui Sousa regressa à Taça Mundo

• Edgar Condenso, em BMW série1 Proto 

• Rui Franco estreia-se ao lado de Rui Sousa 

Rui Sousa, desta vez acompanhado de Rui Franco regressa à Taça do Mundo de Todo-o-Terreno e ao convívio dos grandes nomes da especialidade aos comandos da New D-Max, dando continuidade à participação na Taça Ibérica de Todo-o-Terreno, onde ocupa o 2º posto da classificação geral. A acompanhar a participação do piloto da Prolama, estará a dupla, Edgar Condenso / Nuno Silva, com as cores do Team Consilcar no BMW série 1 Proto, viatura que vai servir para o piloto de Belas entrar na luta dos primeiros.

 A Baja de Aragon realiza-se entre 21 e 24 do corrente na região de Teruel, registando uma lista de inscritos de grande nível, esperando-se um leque alargado de candidatos á vitória.

 Rui Sousa e Rui Franco, vão utilizar a Isuzu D-Max Proto, que depois de revista e de um bom teste, deverá cumprir esta dura prova com o objectivo principal de somar pontos para a Taça Ibérica, como referiu o piloto; …” vamos a Espanha com dois objectivos principais. O mais importante é sem dúvida somar pontos para a Taça Ibérica, e depois marcar presença em mais uma prova da Taça do Mundo, em convívio com os melhores pilotos de Mundo, mostrando que a Prolama continua em actividade e com a mesma qualidade que demonstrou nos anos em que disputou esta mesma competição…” conclui Rui Sousa. Também Rui Franco vive um momento especial ao acompanhar pela primeira um piloto que não o seu Irmão “…conheço bem toda a Equipa Prolama, e este convite para substituir o Carlos é para mim uma honra. Vou viver sensações novas ao lado do Rui Sousa e todo este processo vai ser positivo para a minha evolução…” concluiu o navegador.

 Edgar Condenso, e Nuno Silva vão estar em Aragon pela primeira vez no BMW série 1 proto, e contam poder entrar na luta dos primeiros …” é um regresso muito desejado. Já passaram alguns anos desde a nossa ultima presença na Baja de Aragon, mas a imagem que tenho desta corrida é fantástica. Vamos entrar sem grandes pressões e queremos disfrutar ao máximo está experiência, levando o nome da Consilcar bem alto …” declarou Edgar Condenso.

Como referimos atrás a Baja de Aragon, tem inicio Sexta-feira durante a tarde com a disputa do Prólogo nos arredores de Teruel, seguindo-se no Sábado e domingo os três sectores selectivos que vão somar cerca de 800 quilómetros marcados pelo pó e muito calor da Região.

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SILK WAY RALLY – LEG 9 : AN ALL-PEUGEOT PODIUM

Team Peugeot Total’s three PEUGEOT 2008 DKRs and their respective crews provided further evidence of their speed and endurance capacities today in China where Cyril DESPRES, Sébastien LOEB and Stéphane PETERHANSEL monopolised tonight’s podium in Hami!

 - Today’s leg saw the 2016 Silk Way Rally reach its halfway point with a total of 1, 800km of competitive action now completed and a similar distance yet to come. After the poor/mixed weather encountered in Russia and Kazakhstan, competitors have had nothing but sunshine and searing heat since the event’s arrival in China, and the hardest phase of the fortnight probably still lies ahead of them.

 - Today’s action (Monday) produced a fourth fastest stage time from eight for Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA. At last week’s start in Moscow, their chief preoccupation had been to get as many kilometres under their belts as possible and gain experience, but that scenario has unfolded very differently! Indeed, they didn’t put a foot wrong on today’s desert test and they have consolidated their position at the top of the leaderboard which they have now led in their PEUGEOT 2008 DKR for five days on the trot.

 - Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA had a scare when they got stuck at the top of a dune 27km after the start. They were helped free by the crew of the #100 car. After that, they produced an assertive run to make up for lost time. They were rewarded with the day’s second-best effort which has strengthened their hold on second overall. Their closest threats are now 15 minutes further down the order.

 - Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean-Paul COTTRET (3rd) rounded out today’s podium despite the time they spent assisting team-mates Loeb and Elena.

 Bruno FAMIN (Team Manager, Team Peugeot Total / Director, Peugeot Sport) “After coming close to claiming a one-two-three finish yesterday, we did it today! A result like this for Peugeot is above all good for our positions on the overall leaderboard. It was a very constructive performance founded on real team spirit!” 

Cyril DESPRES (Leg: 1st / Overall: 1st) “It’s never easy to decide how to approach a stage when you know you’ve got string of dunes waiting for you straight in. We were under a little pressure but everything turned out well in the end and we were even fastest again! We caught Sébastien when he was stopped on the way up the last dune which meant we were first on the road after that. For the moment, things are going well for us and we’re winning at a rate of one stage in two. It’s an exhilarating feeling but we can’t afford to throw away caution. Our car was perfect today.” 

Sébastien LOEB (Leg: 2nd / Overall: 2nd) “We were a little apprehensive ahead of the dunes because things didn’t necessarily go our way on this type of terrain on the Dakar in January. We saw Yazeed Al Rahji take an impressive dive after a crest just in front of us. My reaction was to brake and we got stuck in the sand. We lost about 10 minutes and Daniel even thought our rally was over. A huge ‘thank you’, therefore, to Jean-Paul for helping us to dig ourselves clear! After that, we pushed very hard in order to make up ground and we ended up with the second-fastest time – so you can tell we weren’t hanging about! It wasn’t easy to keep up that sort of pace, but driving like that was tremendously satisfying. We’ve dropped a little time to Cyril overall but we’ve pulled further clear of the guys behind us. The main thing is to play for the team and hopefully we will be able to finish first and second in Beijing!” 

Stéphane PETERHANSEL (Leg: 3rd / Overall: 17th) “It’s been some time since we last contested a stage that was entirely over desert terrain. The landscape was superb. After the start, we waited for Cyril and we then helped Sébastien get going again after he got stuck in sand at the top of a dune. Jean-Paul dug like a madman for around 10 minutes. We ended the stage in the dust thrown up by Al Rahji’s car and we were unable to pass him. We’re a long way down the leaderboard, but it’s very satisfying to be able to help our team-mates and play a part in their success.”

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First stage win for the MINI ALL4 Racing

• Al-Rajhi wins stage eight 

• Five MINI ALL4 Racing hold top-10 positions in the overall rankings 

On the eighth stage, from Bortala to Urumqi, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) and Timo Gottschalk (GER) were the fastest in the 256.93-kilometres special stage and secured the first stage win for the MINI ALL4 Racing. Russian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev and Konstantin Zhiltsov came fifth, with Harry Hunt (GBR) / Andreas Schulz (GER) and Bauyrzhan Issabayev (KAZ) / Vladimir Demyanenko (RUS) finishing sixth and seventh respectively. The fifth MINI ALL4 Racing pairing, Rakhimbayev (KAZ) / Anton Nikolaev (RUS), completed the great MINI ALL4 Racing result by finishing ninth. 

After the rest day on Friday in Almaty, Kazakhstan, that offered the service team the opportunity to prepare the five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles for the second week of the event, the pairings again had to cope with quite a challenge. Following a short 76-kilometre special stage they crossed the border into China. In addition to the document control at the border, the drivers also were provided with a Chinese driving license. This also applied to all the other members of the rally baggage that crossed the border at the wheel of a vehicle. These licenses are temporary and only may be used in combination of a valid driving license. Furthermore, the service vehicles were equipped with Chinese number plates. Today, the field hit the road to Urumqi. With hindsight one of the most special stages of the rally so far. “The ambient temperatures rose up to 40° C,” said Demyanenko. “And in the cockpit it was - or felt at least - even hotter.” Furthermore, a part of the route once again took the field through high grass that tended to obstruct the radiators.

 Al-Rajhi had to cope with ups and downs, in the previous two days. Yesterday, in stage seven, he had to stop due to a puncture, thus losing several minutes and at the end of the day he had to settle for finishing eighth. But he refused to let this incident make an impact on his motivation and in today’s stage eight he once again really went for it. For a long time he held third position but in the final stages he made it to the lead and crossed the line as stage winner. A result that also helped him to gain several minutes compared to the pairings that hold the positions in front of him in the overall standings. “A truly tough stage,” said the Saudi. “An extremely bumpy track but we pushed throughout the special stage. Nearly the entire special stage suited the buggies better but the last kilometres were better for us and allowed us to close in on them and pass them, in the end. “ 

Meanwhile, Vasilyev and Zhiltsov kept on delivering on a consistent level. Having finished third and fifth in the past two stages, the two VRT pilots currently hold third place in the overall standings. And they delivered so although they were hampered by an overheated engine, today. “Therefore, our air condition unfortunately also didn’t work and it was extremely hot in the cockpit,” informed co-driver Zhiltsov. “During the final 100 kilometres we backed off to go easy on the engine. But unfortunately we lost five minutes compared to Yazeed.”

 Hunt and Schulz also keep on working their way up in the overall standings. Yesterday, they made it back into the top 10 by finishing fourth and today the young Briton finished sixth, thus gaining another three places to seventh position overall. “This special stage was more exhausting than the longest special stage prior to the rest day,” revealed Hunt. “The track was bumpy throughout the whole special stage and then we hit a stump and Andy had to get out of the car to get us going again. Later, the engine-temperatures rose quite a lot. It’s great to currently hold seventh position but we only and fully focus in the coming day, not on the overall standings.” 

Tomorrow, on the way to Hami, the Silk Way Rally will take the field to desert for the first time, with the stage featuring dunes from the start: In addition, the competitors also will have to cope with on-road and off-road sections.

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