In an extremely close fight, the Mészáros - Szőke duo emerged as winners in the third edition of Baja Satu Mare, a joint round of Hungary’s Révész Cross-Country Rally Open National Championship and the Romanian Cross-Country Rally Championship, in Carei, Romania, on Saturday. Róbert Bodor from Slovakia won the bikes category.
The Mészáros - Szőke duo scored their first victory in the rain-soaked Baja Satu Mare. On the final day of the race, the crews covered a 70-kilometre track four times, twice in one direction and twice in the other.
Hungarian championship leaders Csucsu and Márk Mesterházi led the race for a long time, but a puncture and a technical issue on the last special stage made things difficult for the young Toyota crew. The Mészáros - Szőke duo (Ford), on the other hand, excelled in the final special stage, under challenging circumstances, and emerged as winners of the Baja Satu Mare with one of the tiniest gap ever: a mere 0.7 seconds ahead of Csucsu. The intensity of the fight is underscored by the fact that even Czech Republic’s Miroslav Zapletal, a multiple-time Hungarian champion, and his Slovak co-driver Marek Sykora were only 11.6 seconds behind the winners in the third position.
"We started on the last special stage aware that Zapletal was hot on our heels, so we had to push hard – and we successfully did that. The rain started halfway through the stage and then it was like driving on ice, but we finished. Obviously, everyone faced the same wet track conditions and rain, but as far as I know, we managed to finish first, so we're very happy. Balázs [Molnár] is also in first place in their category and fourth overall, so we're very happy and we're gearing up for the next race" - shared Nikolett Szőke.
"I'm at a loss for words at the moment, even though during the transfer section we've had some time to digest what happened. The race went really well and I enjoyed every minute of it. We began the final special stage with a 1 minute and 48 seconds lead over the second-place team. Unfortunately, we got a puncture, or rather, I caused one because the rim also got damaged, not just the tyre. We know we can change a tyre in about a minute and a half, and it might not have been an issue if we could've maintained our earlier pace. However, we ran into an issue with fuel pressure, and a couple of times the car almost stalled; it just wouldn't accelerate. If only one of those things hadn't happened… but that's not something you say in motorsport. I extend my sincere congratulations to the winning crew, because this last special stage was challenging, especially with the rain. They fully deserve the credit, and next up for us is the Hungarian Baja," stated Csucsu after crossing the finish line.
Although they couldn’t score a third overall victory, the duo of Balázs and Gabriella Molnár was still happy to win the T4 NAT category with their brand-new Can-Am. They eventually finished fourth in the overall classification. Silver medallists in the category and winners of two of Saturday’s special stages, Poland's Artur Kordek and Dominik Ragiel (Can-Am), secured fifth place overall, outperforming their fellow countrymen Marek Kubiczek and Maksymilian Staniszewski, also driving a Can-Am. The crew of Szilveszter Kéry and Barbara Bartha (Can-Am), who had an impressive Friday, encountered misfortune with a broken driveshaft, relegating them to a seventh-place finish.
"On the final day, we experienced it all: sweltering heat, mud, water, hail, downpours, windstorms; the full spectrum of cross-country rally conditions," Balázs Molnár said. "It was quite exhausting. Despite our years of experience here, we're still feeling pretty worn out. The extreme weather conditions take a toll on you. We were secretly hoping for a victory here and pushed ourselves throughout the day. We were somewhat fatigued by day's end, but overall, it was a fantastic experience. Hats off to everyone," added his co-driver, Gabriella Molnár.
In the Romanian championship classification, Mihai Dospinescu and Catalin Iftemi dominated the rally, winning all the special stages with their Polaris. Behind them, the crew of Ciprian Berchez and Alin Bugeac (Can-Am) kept the second place, while Emil Nestor and Horia Platona finished third in a Dacia Duster built for the Dakar Rally in Argentina.
“The stages were hard, we made it to the end with a few issues, but managed the pace throughout the whole rally. I think we did quite a good job and we eventually won the Romanian championship overall. So yeah, it was fun, but a bit of tough for the cars," said Mihai Dospinescu.
Slovakia’s Róbert Bodor emerged victorious in the bikes category, while László Balog was the fastest among the quads. "The weekend was fantastic. You could say that we narrowly avoided the rain, even though it was always looming. We enjoyed the sandy track, the weather was superb, everything functioned flawlessly, and we secured first place despite the fact that there were only a few bikers, but that's not a big problem," said Róbert Bodor.
The next round of the Révész Cross-Country Rally Open National Championship will be the Hungarian Baja in Várpalota on 10-12 August.
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