Brazilian Toyota Gazoo Racing driver started the second round of the World Cross-Country Rally Championship fighting for the podium
On Tuesday (27), the first of a total of five stages of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, an off-road event valid for the World Cross-Country Rally Championship, took place in the United Arab Emirates. Brazilian Lucas Moraes, now a driver for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, took fourth place on the first day of the competition, which will end on March 2nd.
Racing alongside Spanish navigator Armand Monleon, who was his teammate in the 2024 edition of the Dakar Rally, Lucas Moraes made it through the dunes unscathed on this first 248 km stage, which took place in Al Dhannah. In the end, the duo finished just 6min32s behind the winning duo of Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah and France's Edouard Boulanger (Nasser Racing by Prodrive).
Tomorrow, the drivers will tackle a new special stage, this time covering 239 km, starting from Al Dhannah and ending in Mzeer'ah. As on this first day, the dunes will be one of the main challenges, requiring the navigators to pay extra attention so as not to suffer accidents or get lost in the desert.
Tuesday's results:
Top-5 of the 1st stage out of 5 - Al Dhannah - 249 km
1st - Nasser Al-Attiyah (CAT) / Edouard Boulanger (FRA) - Nasser Racing by Prodrive - 3h34min53s
2nd - Guillaume de Mevius (BEL) / Xavier Panseri (FRA) - Overdrive Racing, +3min08s
3rd - Juan Cruz Yacopin (ARG) / Daniel Oliveras Carreras (ESP) - Overdrive Racing, +5min16s
4th Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Armand Monleon (ESP) - Toyota Gazoo Racing, +6min32s
5th Martin Prokop (TCH) / Viktor Chytka (TCH) - Orlen Jipocar Team, +6min49s
Automatic translation of the Brazilian Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: BestPR
Photo: Red Bull Pool Content
