FIM Bajas World Cup, round 5

SVITKO AND VARGA SEAL MOTORCYCLE AND QUAD VICTORIES

On the strength of his two previous victories at the Hungarian Baja, Stefan Svitko (KTM) once again demonstrated how much he loves the Hungarian tracks by winning the Prologue and then the two special stages on the first day.

Following his day one performance, the Slovak took a useful 10-minute lead over Jan Brabec (KTM) and David Megre (Kawasaki), who were second and third respectively. “The SS2 went better than the SS1 in which I had to rely on the road book,” said Svitko, after day one. He admitted that he could see the tracks more clearly after the passage of the cars. “I'm in good physical shape, I didn't crash, it was a good day for me.”

Svitko gave his opponents no chance on Saturday and claimed the other two stage victories to finish on the top step of the podium. "We ran the same two specials in the opposite direction,” he explained at the finish in Várpalota. “But, after three passages of the cars on the same route, there were stones everywhere and we had to stay focused. Anyway, I enjoyed the race, I didn't make any mistakes, only the heat made me suffer a little.”

Jan Brabec finished second after making two small off-track excursions on the first day which cost him some time. "It's my first race since the Dakar,” said the Czech. “Because I had to recover from my fractured ankle. I felt better on the second day, more relaxed, I was able to find a good rhythm and focus on the navigation. The good news is that I no longer have pain in my ankle when riding…”

Third overall was David Megre, who finished over four minutes behind Brabec. "In the SS1, I was kind of in survival mode because of the many stones. Today, I tried to put some gas in the morning stage to catch up Brabec because the points in the FIM Bajas World Cup are important for me. But he was very fast so I decided to finish the race smartly and secure third position!”

Veteran Pedro Bianchi Prata (Honda) finished in a strong fourth, ahead of Mohammed Al-Baloosh (KTM)i, who did not like the dust on the route of the first stage but found himself better on the reverse course and in the higher temperatures. Richárd Hodola (KTM) finished sixth followed by Andrew Houlihan (KTM) and Joanna Modrzewska (Husqvarna), who won the Women’s category.

There was bad luck for Paulo Cardoso (Kawasaki), a victim of a mechanical problem on the first day. The FIM jury authorised the Portuguese to restart but he broke his engine in the first kilometres of SS3.

In the quad category, Kevin Giroud had to cede victory to Juraj Varga. “Very fast. I accelerated as much as possible today,” confided the Slovak. “Because the difference between Giroud and me was very small. The track was better for quads thanks to the cars that had cleared the track. It was a tough fight and I had to give my all to keep the lead.”

Kevin Giroud enjoyed a strong race. He said: “the stones were really a problem for him. We have a big fight with Varga, who is very fast.” Saudi Arabia’s Haitham Al-Tuwaijri came home in third.

***
Overall results Moto
1. Stefan Svitko 5hr 48min 49sec
2. Jan Brabec @ 15min 45sec
3. David Megre @ 20min 29sec
4. Pedro Bianchi Prata @ 39min 12sec
5. Mohammed Al-Balooshi @ 46min 54sec

Overall results Quads
1. Juraj Varga 6hr 29min 26sec
2. Kevin Giroud @ 2min 01sec
3. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri @ 54min 41sec

Source FIM

 Fernando Barreiros today began his participation in the 20th edition of the Baja da Hungria, scoring for the European Cup FIA Cross Country Bajas competition, where the driver occupies the 2nd position in the T2 category. The current Iberian champion and vice-national champion of all-terrain T2, co-driven by David Monteiro and at the wheel of the Isuzu D-Max T2, were, at the end of the 1st stage, in the 2nd position in their respective categories.

A stage marked by several setbacks that the team is managing to overcome, as Fernando Barreiros told us: "We didn’t have an easy day today. It was a very troubled day that started very early and ended quite late, It's 10 o'clock here in Hungary, and with some problems in the car that leave us virtually away from being able to discuss the victory, Unfortunately, electrical problems and other situations that happen in races, but that we strive to create the conditions so that they do not happen, have prevented us from having our machine in the best condition to fight for first place. We will continue to give our best, and that goes by taking the car to the end, trying, at least, to secure 2nd place among the T2s", said the driver of the Isuzu D-Max prepared and assisted by Prolama.

The Hungarian Baja, which has the city of Várpalota as headquarters, competes tomorrow on its final day of racing, where two selective sections of 116 km each will be competed. In total, about 615 km, of which 445 are timed.

Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version available at www.todoterreno.pt
Source Fernando Barreiros oficial press release

A spectacular starting ceremony opened the HunGarian Baja in front of the Thury Castle in Várpalota, which in motorbike category counts as a round of Baja World Cup, while in the car category of Baja European Cup.

Péter Faluvégi, Clerck of the Course said: “A more compact race has been put together by this year’s edition, which means the schedule of the event is going to be tighter. It will surely be challenging for the competitors, but it is the essence of cross-country rally, testing not only the machine, but the man as well. The weather played tricks on us with huge rains over the last couple of weeks, and although the terrain dried up a bit during the last two days, there are still some puddles, half a metre deep in some cases, which can be challenging for the riders.”

The competitors are over the necessary paperwork and scrutineering, and a total 101 units – riders, drivers and two trucks – will start the real race on Friday, with its distance of 615-km, including the 445-km special stages.

In bike category Mohammed Al Balooshi is leading the Baja World Cup, not surprisingly his aim is to keep the leading position, because the rivals are chasing him.

Two-time HunGarian Baja winner, Stefan Svitko has nr. 1 starting number, and explicitly or implicitly, he is one of the riders to beat at the race.

“This is my fourth HunGarian Baja, I won two of them, and finished second once, which shows how I love these stages here. I also heard that there was lots of rain in the last weeks, which I am happy for, because I like the slippery and muddy stages. I am looking forward to the start of the first stage” Stefan Svitko said.

Richárd Hodola represents Hungary among the riders in the World Cup: “This is the most important and of the highest quality race here in Hungary, for which I prepared at the Spanish round. The field is very strong, there are many top riders here, so I expect a fierce fight. I do not like predicting, but I will do my best to get the maximum out of myself.”

One of the most interesting characters in the riders’ field is Andrew Houlihan of Australia, who travelled 16 thousand kilometres, 33 hours to be able to participate at the HunGarian Baja. “Five years ago, I had my first race in Greece and we came to Budapest for a holiday, but I never raced here” Houlihan said, who is leading the veteran’s class, and third in the overall classification of 450cc category. “I have heard that it is a tough race, the military shooting range is quite demanding, especially for the riders. My goal is to be safe and continue to get points, keep my lead in the veteran’s category and close the gap to Balooshi in the 450cc championship class.”

In car category three former HunGarian Baja winners are on the start line: Krzysztof Holowczyc, Benedictas Vanagas and Miroslav Zapletal. All of them are aimed at fighting for the win, but in T1+ category Michal Maluszynski will also have a word or two. Interestingly, Maluszynski’s car is powered by environmental-friendly fuel called HVO, which reduces the emission by 90 per cents. Cross-country rally decided to run on the environment protection years ago, and in some years, it will turn out whether electric cars or alternative fuel will be the solution.

Speaking of the former winners, Holowczyc’s win two years ago probably was one of the most interesting victories in the history of HunGarian Baja, because he finished with exactly the same time as Jazeed Al Rajhi, and finally he won the race thanks to his first stage win.

“I will never forget that day” Holowczyc said. “We fought until the last metres with Al-Rajhival, not kilometres, but metres, and after some hundreds of kilometres we had the exact same times. And we had no idea about who won the race. Finally, the regulations said that the winner was the one having won the first stage. It was unbelievable! HunGarian Baja is one of my favourite races, not just for this, but because here, besides the technical parts, there are places where big heart is needed to push as much as you can. Now I will compete with my old BMW, but the goal is the same: win the rally.”

In the car category Hungary is represented by Kornél Lukács „Csucsu” and Pál Lónyai, Csucsu started his cross-country rally career here two years ago, and he fell in love with the sport for the first sight. “It is always a pleasure to return wherever everything started, and I love these stages, the conditions. So, for me it is important to get the maximum out of myself” Lukács said, who has already started to collect points in the European Cup. “I tried rally and rallycross, but I really liked the community of cross-country rally, the togetherness, which describes this community, so I would like a long-term pass here.”

This is the first time that Pál Lónyai competes with György Tóth, they did their first kilometres together at shakedown on Thursday, but they are both experienced competitors, so they hope to be competitive together. “We developed the gearbox and the central differential, which made the car more driveable, the speed at turns and the grip also got better. I hope we will become more competitive than before” Lónyai said. “I love the shooting range and the whole rally, and I am looking forward to starting it. And what am I thinking of the mud and puddles? I am not thinking anything, I just send the car over them, because it is fit for it.”

Source Hungarian Baja official press release

BP Ultimate Adventure Team highlighted in Hungarian Baja

David Megre today completed the inaugural stage of the 20th edition of the Lower Hungary, scoring competition for the FIM Bajas World Cup in 3rd place after an animated duel with the accredited Czech driver, Jan Brabec, who is only 6s away. The BP Ultimate Adventure Team driver started by reaching the 2nd best time in the prologue, losing some time to his direct opponent in SS1 and again being faster than he in SS2. David Megre, who leads the European Championship, occupies the 2nd place in the World Cup of Bajas and in this Hungarian journey he currently occupies a better position than the leader of World Cup.

David Megre explains that “we started with a good prologue and then in the first special I decided to keep a calm and quiet ride because the piece had a lot of stone and we would be limited in the issue of tyres. If he accelerated what is normal after 50 km he no longer had a tire and they had to withstand the 200 km. For the 2nd sector I realized that the tire was going to hold because the special was cleaner of stones after passing the cars and I decided to attack. I finished second, I recovered time and I'm just 6s away from 2nd place. I think it will, but let's see how things go tomorrow. The bike is impeccable and the assistance has done a good job. It was a good race day,” says the driver who is racing in a Kawasaki.

The Baja da Hungary which has the city of Várpalota as headquarters competes tomorrow its final day of race where two selective sectors with 116 km will be competed. In total, about 615 km of which 445 are against the clock.

Automatic translation from the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source  BP Ultimate Adventure Team