ADDC 2024: In Abu Dhabi, Baumgart brothers face second challenge of the season
The Brazilians from X Rally are competing in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second round of the FIA World Cross Country Rally Championship; meanwhile, the X Rally team is starting the Brazilian Cross Country Championship in Barretos (SP), defending its title.
After attracting attention with their excellent participation in the Dakar, brothers Cristian and Marcos Baumgart are returning to the Middle East, this time for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second stage of the FIA W2RC World Cross Country Rally Championship. The Brazilians from X Rally are competing in their second event of the year, again aboard the Prodrive Hunter T1+.
Four-time Sertões champion Cristian Baumgart is looking forward to another race in the desert alongside his long-time navigator Beco Andreotti. "The Dakar was a challenge and a huge learning experience. Because the terrain is completely different from what we have in Brazil, 'surfing' the dunes in Saudi Arabia was the biggest learning experience. Our goal is to improve our performance and I think that now, even though it's a shorter race, we should be a bit more comfortable, but always looking to learn more," said Cristian, who completed the Dakar in 13th place overall in his first participation among the cars - eighth among the cars competing in the World Championship season.
One of the sections that will be covered in the race is already familiar to the Brazilian teams: the Empty Quarter, the largest continuous area of sand on the planet. The race begins with a five-kilometer prologue on Sunday (25). The race will cover a total of 2,143 kilometers, 1,180 timed, and will be divided into five stages, with an average of around 235 kilometers per special (see the sections of the stages at the end of this text).
Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea also showed great performance in the Dakar, but were forced to abandon the race on the sixth day after three mechanical problems. Even so, the 2020 Sertões champion duo is looking forward to a new learning opportunity by riding and navigating the dunes, a region that is very familiar to X Rally after competing in the biggest rally on the planet last January.
"I've never driven in sand as much as I did in this last Dakar, and it's not going to be any different now, even though it's a shorter race. It's going to be another great experience in the dunes, which is where we have to improve the most and it's the section that makes the most difference in these long races. The grid is very strong, with great references, and the idea is to ride alongside these references. We're going to go for it, complete these five days, learn and also have fun in the race," said Marcos.
X Rally also in action in the land of the rodeo - While the Baumgart brothers are 'surfing' the challenging dunes of the Middle East, finishing the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, 12,000 kilometers away X Rally is starting another competition - the Brazilian Cross Country Rally Championship. The first event of the season is the Barretos Rally, which will be held on March 2 and 3, with around 300 kilometers of timed sections divided into two special stages of 150 km each.
The São Paulo team will line up four cars, the X Rally Rangers that will be representing the team in the hands of the pairs formed by Luís Nacif/Erick Rocha, Flávio Lunardi/Fred Budtikevitz, Pedro Prado/Josi Koerich, and the current Brazilian champion duo, Rodrigo Aché and Luís Felipe Eckel.
The X Rally Team is sponsored by Vedacit, Motul, BF Goodrich, Rodobens, Center Norte, Rock and Opaoma.
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2024
26/02: Prologue: Al Dhannah - 5km
27/02: Stage 1: Al Dhannah - Al Dhannah - 249 km (timed)
28/02: Stage 2: Al Dhannah - Mzeer'ah - 239 km (timed)
29/02: Stage 3: Mzeer'ah - Mzeer'ah - 251 km (timed)
01/03: Stage 4: Mzeer'ah - Mzeer'ah - 231 km (timed)
02/03: Stage 5: Mzeer'ah - Abu Dhabi - 205 km (timed)
Automatic translation of the Brazilian Portuguese version
Source: X-Rally Team official press release
Photo: Magnus Torquato/FOTOP
