Baja Poland: Kuba Przygonski finishes second

· 13th place for Krzysztof Holowczyc 

· Przygonski consolidates his 2nd position in the FIA World Cup standings

 The FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup slowly but surely is approaching the end of its 2017 season. In the ninth of the 11 World Cup rounds, the young Pole Kuba Przygonski and his Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul finished runner up, with their MINI John Cooper Works Rally, behind the winner Nasser Al-Attiyah. Krzysztof Holowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja (both POL) encountered a difficult rally and finished 13th.

 On Saturday, the pairings had to contest two 216-kilometre special stages, held on military premises located near Drawsko Pomorskie about an hour from the city of Szczecin . Due to the heavy rain that had fallen on the previous days, the competitors had to cope with a lot of mud and water crossings. Przygonski delivered in fine style, in the two Saturday special stages. Only once, he lost as few minutes due to a damaged tyre. At the end of the day he held second position in the overall standings. On Sunday, the schedule featured another four special stages but with their lengths of 10 and 18 kilometres they were too short to offer a pairing the chance of gaining time. Consequently, Przygonski came second in his home rally. “It was a really nice rally for us and we had a great battle with Nasser” said the Pole. “The MINI was perfectly prepared but unfortunately we lost time because of two punctures. I’m delighted with having made it to the podium.” 

Krzysztof Holowczyc, however, who held third position after the first special stage on Saturday, had to cope with a major dose of bad luck. In the afternoon he was stopped by a wheel problem and had to return to the service park early – and due to the time penalty he received for doing so he dropped out of the top 10. On Sunday he impressed with great special-stage results, thus demonstrating what would have been possible. In the end, he finished 13th. “I’m happy that I was able to match the pace of the front-runners,” revealed Holowczyc who won the fourth special stage. “Today we raced just for ourselves as becoming a factor in the battle for the overall win was impossible anymore.” 

The next rally that will be contested by the X-raid team will be the ‘Rallye du Maroc’ (4th – 10th October.2017).

 Baja Poland overall after SS7

1st N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 5h 45m 40s
2nd J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Colsoul (BEL) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 5h 49m 34s
3rd B. Ten Brinke (BEL) / S. Prevot (BEL) Toyota – 5h 59m 25s
4th V. Vasilyev (RUS) / K. Zhiltsov (RUS) MINI ALL4 Racing – 6h 03m 06s
5th A. Domzala (POL) / S. Gospodarczyk (POL) Toyota – 6h 03m 32s
... 13th K. Holowczyc (POL) / L. Kurzeja (POL) MINI John Cooper Works Rally - 11h 27m 29s

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OVERDRIVE RACING’S AL-ATTIYAH CLAIMS SECOND ORLEN BAJA POLAND VICTORY TO EDGE CLOSER TO WORLD TITLE

· Ten Brinke, Domzala and Van Merksteijn finish third, fifth and eighth 

Overdrive Racing recorded their seventh FIA World Cup rally victory of the season when Qatar’s Al-Attiyah and French navigator Matthieu Baumel secured the win in ORLEN Baja Poland, round nine of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, in Szczecin.

 The Qatari finished 3min 54sec in front of series rival Jakub Przygonski and now takes an unofficial 81-point championship lead to the remaining two rounds of the series in Morocco and Portugal, where there are a maximum 90 points at stake for the winner of both events.

  “I am delighted to take another important victory with this win in Poland,” said Al-Attiyah. “I built up a good lead on Saturday and I was able to slow down a bit and control the pace. I do not mind that we have not achieved the championship yet. Kuba (Jakub) is a friend of mine and we try to make our sport as attractive as possible.” 

Four of Overdrive Racing’s Toyota Hiluxes reached the finish: Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke and Belgian navigator Stéphane Prevot rounded off the podium places with an excellent third position and the Polish duo of Aron Domzala and Szymon Gospodarczyk finished fifth. Peter Van Merksteijn returned to cross-country action and teamed up with Frenchman Pascal Maimon to claim eighth in the fourth Hilux.

 Ten Brinke said: “I had not sat behind the wheel of a rally car for almost one year and a half, so we are happy with this result. It is an awesome feeling to drive the Toyota again. Each day was a huge lesson for us and we were raising our pace through the rally.”

 Domzala added: “We finished the rally in fifth place. Unfortunately, we lost our chance to reach the podium on Saturday when we had to change a wheel. But we demonstrated our pace with second place on the longest stage behind Nasser.”

 Dane Jes Munk and Poland’s Rafal Marton crewed the sixth team entry with additional support from Bewa and M-For Sport, but niggling electrical problems forced the crew out on the first of the longer stages on Saturday morning.

 Work commitments in the Netherlands meant that Erik Van Loon and navigator Wouter Rosegaar missed out on ORLEN Baja Poland on this occasion.

 Overdrive Racing’s CEO Jean-Marc Fortin said: “It was an excellent job from Nasser, Matthieu and the team to achieve the win. It was a difficult rally with a lot of rain before the start and, this morning, again it was raining and it was slippery. We had a good control of the race and having Bernhard on the podium as well is very good for his comeback. 

 “Aron had a good Prologue and some good stages but, in the morning yesterday, he had a puncture and the jack was not working properly and he lost too much time. Peter also did well on his comeback. He was patient and calm and finished the race in eighth. It was a good overall result for Overdrive Racing. I thank every member of the team for their hard work and effort.”
Al-Attiyah made his intentions perfectly clear in the opening 7.08km Prologue stage on Friday evening. The Qatari carded the fastest time of 6min 09.7sec to snatch a lead of 5.1 seconds from series rival and Polish driver Jakub Przygonski. Domzala, Ten Brinke, Munk, and Van Merksteijn were fourth, seventh, ninth and 11th.

  “I was quite surprised that we won the Prologue,” said Al-Attiyah. Domzala said: “To be honest, I did not expect such tough conditions. We went off the road a few times and each of those cost me some seconds.”

 Al-Attiyah opted to start the opening selective section of 215.90km through the Drawsko Pomorskie military firing range from third position. Domzala, Ten Brinke and Munk followed in fourth, fifth and eighth.

 The Qatari’s starting position worked well and he safely negotiated the opening stage with the fastest time of 2hrs 21min 07sec to extend his lead over Przygonski to 27.1 seconds. Ten Brinke, Domzala and Van Merksteijn were fourth, seventh and eighth, but Munk suffered a niggling electrical problem and incurred a stage maximum penalty of eight hours.

 Al-Attiyah was slower on his second run through the stage but still set the quickest time and extended his advantage over Przygonski to 4min 09sec, as Domzala, Ten Brinke and Van Merksteijn were second, fourth and eighth quickest and held fifth, third and eighth at the overnight halt in Szczecin.

 Ten Brinke complained of getting stuck in thick mud for around 90 seconds and Domzala got stuck in a river, had to reverse and lost even more time when he ran out of windscreen washer fluid and suffered visibility problems in the muddy conditions over the closing kilometres.

  “We managed to finish both stages without any problems,” admitted Al-Attiyah. “It was not easy. There were plenty of puddles lurking in the road and, in some places, it was incredibly muddy and slippery.”

 Sunday’s competitive action consisted of two runs through a pair of 18.39km and 10.5km selective sections in the Dobra and Lubieszyn areas. Former champion Krzysztof Holowczyc recorded the quickest time of 17min 00sec in the opening Krzekowo stage, where Al-Attiyah dropped 75 seconds and saw his outright lead reduced to 3min 15sec. Domzala, Ten Brinke and Van Merksteijn were fifth, sixth and 10th and maintained fifth, third and eighth in the rankings.

 Peruvian Nicolas Fuchs was the surprise winner of the first of the runs through Lubieszyn, but Al-Attiyah was able to increase his lead to 4min 18sec with the sixth quickest time. His three Overdrive colleagues retained their positions in the top 10 heading to service.

 Przygonski trimmed Al-Attiyah’s lead to 4min 07sec through the re-run of the Krzekowo special, where Ten Brinke, Domzala and Van Merksteijn retained third, fifth and eighth overall, but the sixth quickest time in the second pass through Lubieszyn enabled Al-Attiyah to claim his sixth win of this year’s FIA World Cup campaign by 3min 54sec. Fuchs was quickest and Ten Brinke, Domzala and Van Merksteijn emerged unscathed to consolidate their positions.

 2017 ORLEN Baja Poland – final positions (unofficial @ 14.55hrs):

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 5hrs 45min 40sec
2. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Tom Colsoul (BEL) Mini John Cooper Works Rally 5hrs 49min 34sec @3min 54sec
3. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD)/Stéphane Prevot (BEL) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 5hrs 59min 25sec @13min 45sec
4. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS) Mini Cooper Countryman 6hrs 03min 06sec @17min 26sec
5. Aron Domzala (POL)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 6hrs 03min 32sec @17min 52sec
6. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Bartosz Momot (POL) F-150 Evo 6hrs 14min 36sec @28min 56sec
7. Nicolas Fuchs (PER)/Fernando Mussano (ARG) HRX Ford 6hrs 17min 17sec @31min 37sec
 8. Peter van Merksteijn (NLD)/Pascal Maimon (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 6hrs 30min 51sec @46min 11sec

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Mais de 160 inscritos na rentrée do campeonato nacional de todo-o-terreno em Idanha-a-Nova

Oleiros, Proença-a-Nova e Sertã recebem prova do campeonato português

 Os próximos dias 8 e 9 (sexta e sábado) vão ser extremamente animados na região de Idanha-a-Nova. A vila da Beira Baixa volta a receber uma prova pontuável e a elite do campeonato nacional de todo-o-terreno. Depois de quase três meses de interrupção, a Escuderia de Castelo Branco coloca no terreno a segunda prova da especialidade. Depois da Baja TT do Pinhal, o clube albicastrense concentra todos os seus meios na Baja da Idanha, ronda que assume um papel crítico na definição das classificações, seja nos automóveis, seja nas motos, nos quads e nos SSV.

 A Baja da Idanha, quarta jornada da época, apresenta um formato semelhante ao das temporadas anteriores e com percursos distintos para carros e para motos, quads e SSV. Com centro nevrálgico na vila, o parque de assistência e a área de partidas e chegadas do prólogo e dos sectores selectivos localizam-se junto ao Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Almurtão.

 Para os automóveis, a acção começa na sexta-feira, dia 8, às 17h10. Todos os concorrentes têm de cumprir os 6,81 quilómetros por duas vezes, com a segunda partida agendada para 18h40. No dia seguinte, há dois desafios, num total de 330,65 km.

 Entre as motos, quads e SSV, a competição tem início um pouco mais cedo. O prólogo é percorrido apenas uma vez e o primeiro a arrancar vai fazê-lo às 14h20. Ainda na sexta-feira, disputa-se o primeiro sector selectivo. São 75,84 quilómetros com partida definida para as 16 horas. No dia seguinte estão reservados os 261,56 do segundo sector selectivo.

  “A nossa principal preocupação foi de apresentar uma baja à imagem do que a Escuderia Castelo Branco tem feito em Idanha-a-Nova nos últimos anos. Acreditamos que este formato e este percurso têm todas as características não só para que haja muito espectáculo para o público como muita competitividade. Depois de um verão muito quente e seco, os pisos estão duros e a gestão das máquinas por parte dos pilotos vai ser essencial para se atingir um bom resultado no final da prova”, explicou o director de prova dos automóveis, Nuno Almeida Santos. 

Para Hélder Esteves, director de prova de motos, quads e SSV, “estão reunidas as condições para que esta prova marque o campeonato nacional de 2017. A equipa da Escuderia Castelo Branco trabalhou bastante nos últimos meses para que concorrentes e espectadores tenham uma grande corrida no reinício da competição”, disse.

 A lista de inscritos para a Baja da Idanha ainda não está fechada, mas o número de concorrentes que já garantiu a sua presença cria grandes expectativas para estes dois dias do melhor todo-o-terreno em Portugal. Para além dos principais candidatos à vitória e à conquista dos respectivos títulos, o lote de participantes que aceitou o desafio de enfrentar as pistas de Idanha-a-Nova é considerável.

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Elisabete Jacinto participa na AgroSemana

A piloto Elisabete Jacinto já está na Póvoa do Varzim onde, juntamente com o seu MAN TGS de competição, vai participar na AgroSemana - Feira Agrícola do Norte - que se realiza entre os dias 31 de Agosto e 3 de Setembro.

 O MAN TGS da equipa Bio-Ritmo® vai estar ao longo dos quatro dias do certame no espaço de exposição da MAN Truck&Bus Portugal onde estão expostos outros veículos da marca. A piloto vai realizar algumas sessões de autógrafos as quais decorrem no sábado das 18:00 h às 20:00 h e domingo das 11:00 h às 13:00 h.

 Para Elisabete Jacinto: “participar nestes eventos é uma forma de partilhar o nosso trabalho com todos os apaixonados pela modalidade. Dedicamos muito do nosso tempo ao nosso MAN de competição para que seja cada vez mais eficiente. É uma tarefa que exige muito empenho e dedicação e, embora nem todas as adaptações à competição sejam exteriormente visíveis, não perdemos uma oportunidade para o exibir”, revelou a piloto.

 Organizado pelo Grupo Agros, este certame pretende ser um evento de referência no sector agrícola e este ano conta com vários expositores colocando ao dispor dos visitantes várias iniciativas que vão desde workshops, palestras ou corridas de tractores. O programa de festas fica completo com os concertos de David Carreira, na sexta dia 1 de Setembro, e da fadista Ana Moura, no sábado.

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Orlando Terranova wins the Desafío Ruta 40

· The Argentinean wins every stage 

· Ruta 40 as very good Dakar preparation 

Orlando ‘Orly’ Terranova and Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue crossed the finish podium in Tucuman in their MINI ALL4 Racing as winners of the event. The two Argentineans prevailed in each of the five special stages and in the prologue. The Desafío Ruta 40 Norte took the field – according to the road’s name – across the northern part of Argentina’s national route 40 that is located in the western part of the country, from San Juan to Tucuman.

 The competitors had to cope with the most different kinds of terrains, for example with the famous dunes of Fiambala. But the teams also had to demonstrate their skills on rocky roads, in the heights and at temperatures between 0° and 30° Celsius. Furthermore, a demanding navigation turned the rally into a true challenge. The one-week event proved to be a very good preparation for the season finale – the Dakar Rally.

 Terranova and Graue took the lead right away and defended it throughout the event. After their win in the prologue, they also won all the other stages without having to cope with any major problems. “The rally was more difficult than expected,” Terranova reveals. “85 percent of the route was off-road terrain and tackling it was anything but easy. Furthermore, we crossed several dunes that represented virgin soil for us. At the same time, Ronnie and I used the opportunity to improve our collaboration in the car. The rally was a great preparation for the Dakar. X-raid and the MINI worked perfectly on all the six days.”

 The next rally that will be contested by Team X-raid will be the ‘Rallye du Maroc’ in early October. 

Result Desafío Ruta 40 Norte

1st O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 19h 52m 25s
2nd J. Garcia (ARG) / R. Torlaschi (ARG) Chevrolet – 24h 28m 55s
3rd B. Zapag Benitez (PRY) / R. Posse (ARG) Toyota – 34h 22m 40s
4th M. Maldonado (ARG) / S. Scholz (ARG) Prototipo – 34h 57m 07s
5th O. Gandara (ARG) / L. Martinez (BOL) Toyota – 62h 06m 58s

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Sebastian Bühler procura terceira vitória

Jovem piloto da Yamaha em luta pelo título absoluto

 Depois das duas brilhantes vitórias e de dois segundos lugares já conquistados este ano no Campeonato Nacional de Todo-o-Terreno, Sebastian Bühler apresenta-se na Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova, sexta jornada do Campeonato que se disputa nos dias 8 e 9 de setembro e que marca o seu regresso do CNTT depois da habitual pausa de verão.

 Neste regresso às pistas beirãs o jovem piloto da Yamaha, de apenas 22 anos, prossegue na luta pelo título absoluto num duelo muito animado com o atual campeão nacional da disciplina.

 Para Sebastian Bühler que este ano transitou para a Classe TT2 onde competem as motos de maior cilindrada “o objetivo é ganhar. Tenho treinado forte durante esta fase de interregno do Campeonato e estou extremamente motivado para esta competição. Tenho de ganhar para me manter na luta pelo título e essa é a minha aposta. Quero repetir as vitórias de Góis e Reguengos”.

 A Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova arranca na sexta-feira com um prólogo de 6,81km’s disputado na Sra. Do Almortão, ao qual se segue um setor seletivo de 75,84 km que vai cruzar Zebreira e Idanha-a-Nova. No Sábado os pilotos terão de cumprir um troço de 261,56 km cronometrados, que se inicia e termina em Idanha-a-Nova.

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PARAGUAY’S ZAPAG FINISHES THIRD OVERALL FOR SOUTH RACING IN ARGENTINA’S DESAFIO RUTA 40 NORD

· Last stage steering rack damage hampers Gutiérrez’s CODASUR challenge

· Sebastien Halpern forced out of possible podium finish after three days 

South Racing brought one of its three Toyota Hiluxes to the finish of the arduous six-day Desafio Ruta 40 Nord at San Miguel de Tucumán in northern Argentina on Thursday (August 31).

 The Paraguayan duo of Blas Zapag and Posse Romero claimed the final podium position in their Copetrol Rally Team-backed car behind runaway event winner Orlando Terranova and runner-up José Garcia.

 Bolivian driver Rodrigo Gutiérrez and Croatian navigator Tomislav Glavic looked set to finish the second round of this year’s Argentine Cross-Country Rally Championship and a round of the South American Cross-Country Rally Championship (CODASUR) in fifth overall after recovering from a stage maximum penalty on day one that had dropped them to the lower reaches of the top 10.

 But the Bolivian damaged the steering rack on his spare car – he had crashed his usual Toyota at the recent Atacama Rally – in the short final stage and was unable to snatch the lead in the CODASUR series or secure victory in the Argentine championship.

 The Argentinean duo of Sebastien Halpern and Eduardo Pulenta, meanwhile, held a podium position for two days before a broken differential cost them dearly on day three and they were forced out of the event.

  “It was a very promising race and a good performance and eventual result for Blas and late disappointment for Rodrigo and Sebastien,” said South Racing’s managing director Scott Abraham.

“Sebastien had a strong rally going and was running well. But he suffered a differential failure after km200 on the third stage. Unfortunately the support guys did not pack a spare diff, so he could not continue. Rodrigo damaged the steering rack on the last stage today and that cost him dearly in the two regional championships.

 “Now we must look to the future, learn from the mistakes and look forward to having Sebastien race with the team in Portalegre (Portugal) and Dakar and to our ongoing programme of rallies in South America.”

 The competitive action began with a timed Prologue stage of 5.4km at the Autódromo El Villicum in San Juan on August 26th. Argentina’s Orlando Terranova carded the quickest time of 3min 42sec and was followed over the finish line by Halpern and José Garcia. Gutiérrez and Zapag were fifth and ninth.

 The first of the selective sections wound its way from San Juan to Villa Unión in La Rioja Province and Terranova extended his advantage at the top of the standings with the fastest time. Halpern and Zapag were third and sixth, but Gutiérrez incurred a stage maximum after technical issues and slipped into the lower reaches of the top 10.

 The first section of the second selective from Villa Unión to Tinogasta in the Catamarca Province used 158km of dry riverbeds and gravel roads before venturing into the demanding dunes at Fiambalá in intense heat. Terranova extended his lead to 22min 04sec over second-placed Halpern, who disposed of Garcia to move into a similar position in the overall standings. Zapag climbed to fourth and Gutiérrez recovered some time to hold eighth.

 Stage three headed out of Tinogasta en route to Belén and included a timed section of 303.97km with a mixture of gravel tracks, a sea of soft dunes and dry river beds. Terranova topped the rankings, but Zapag and Gutiérrez dropped two hours and there were stage maximum penalties of 12 hours for a troubled Halpern after he suffered a differential failure. It meant that Terranova took a substantial lead into the remaining two stages, Zapag climbed to third overall, Halpern slipped to fifth and Gutiérrez held seventh.

 Leg four headed off a plateau start at Pie de Medano, near Belén, en route to Tafi del Valle in chilly temperatures. A stage of 309.14km was on the agenda and Terranova was again quickest, Zapag consolidated third overall with the sixth fastest time and Gutiérrez was fourth and climbed to fifth when Halpern failed to start the stage after his transmission issues on day three.

 The short final stage ran for 180.70km between Tafi del Valle and the finish in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán. Terranova claimed the fastest time to seal victory and the fifth fastest time enabled Zapag to confirm third overall. But Gutiérrez damaged the steering rack during the stage and was unable to complete the rally or take the lead in the prestigious CODASUR Championship.

 2017 Desafio Ruta 40 Nord – final positions:

1. Orlando Terranova (ARG)/Bernard Graue (ARG) Mini All4 Racing 19hrs 52min 25sec
 2. José Garcia (ARG)/Ricardo Torlaschi (ARG) Chevrolet S10 24hrs 28min 55sec @4.36.30
3. Blas Zapag (PAR)/Posse Romero (PAR) South Racing Toyota Hilux 34hrs 22min 40sec @14.30.50
4. Martin Maldonado (ARG)/Sebastien Scholz (ARG) Prototipo HP CRT 34hrs 57min 07sec @15.04.42
5. Omar Gandara (ARG)/Leonardo Martinez (BOL) Toyota Hilux SR 62hrs 06min 58sec @42.14.33
DNF. Rodrigo Gutierrez (BOL)/Tomislav Glavic (CRO) South Racing Toyota Hilux
 DNF. Sebastien Halpern (ARG)/Eduardo Pulenta (ARG) South Racing Toyota Hilux

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One-two for Monster Energy Honda Team overall as the Desafío Ruta 40 concludes

Kevin Benavides has won the 2017 Desafío Ruta 40 title for the second successive year after some splendid performances by the Monster Energy Honda Team rider over the final stages. Paulo Gonçalves took runner-up spot on the podium and improves his position in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. Michael Metge snatched the final stage victory as the rally wrapped up in San Miguel de Tucumán.

 Monster Energy Honda Team continue to accrue titles and were once again on the top steps of the rostrum in an FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship event. A week ago the duo of Kevin Benavides and Paulo Gonçalves took second and third spot in the Atacama Rally in Chile; today the same pair upgraded to the top two steps with a triumph in Argentina’s Desafío Ruta 40.

 Kevin Benavides capitalized on the advantage gained in yesterday’s stage to clinch top honours overall and ride victoriously into Tucumán – the final destination of the Desafío Ruta 40. The local boy won two special stages and controlled the rally from the second stage onwards. Monster Energy Honda Team companion, Portuguese rider Paulo Gonçalves finished in second place some 12 minutes adrift of Kevin but with a huge 28-minute gap over the third place rider.

 The results of the rally give a boost to both riders in their FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship positions with just one race – the OiLibya Morocco Rally – still to run. Paulo lies in second, five points off the leader Pablo Quintanilla; Benavides is fourth, seven points behind the third-placed rival.

 Today’s stage was won by Michael Metge, marking the French rider’s first world championship win, a just reward for his performances in the rally. Ricky Brabec, fourth in the final special stage, takes fifth overall place in the final Desafío Ruta 40 table.

 The next race for the Monster Energy Honda Team takes place shortly with Peru’s Baja Inka which will feature the participation of Gonçalves, Benavides and Metge and will be held from 14th to the 17th September.

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