- The driver from Lleida and his co-driver Jaume Betriu finish third in the prologue of the Baja Saudi in the Challenger category (T3) and tenth overall.
- The Pons Rallysport team manages to take the start in the first round of the FIA Baja World Cup after a technical problem in their side-by-side during the shakedown almost prevented their participation.
- "A connecting rod punctured the block, the turbo broke and quite a lot of oil started coming out, which caused a fire in the car, but fortunately we were able to put it out. It didn't burn completely by pure miracle and the mechanics were working hard all night to put it back together from scratch with a new engine."
- "Despite losing about 15 seconds, we managed to get a good position, so we have seen that the car has potential. Now we have to mitigate a few small technical glitches."
Eduard Pons and Jaume Betriu finished third in the Challenger category -formerly T3- in the prologue stage of the Baja Saudi (Saudi Arabia), the first competition they face after finishing their first Dakar together last January. A very positive result that 24 hours earlier had seemed impossible to achieve due to an engine failure in the Taurus T3 Max that caused a fire in the vehicle, which fortunately they were able to put out. After working all night, the team's mechanics were able to completely rebuild it so that the Catalan duo could take the start.
The Saudi Baja is the first qualifying event for the FIA Baja Cup, and will finish on Saturday, February 10. This new adventure marks the beginning of the new sporting challenge of the Pons Rallysport team, the preparation during the 2024 season to arrive well prepared for the Dakar Rally 2025. After finishing the last edition with many problems at the controls of a Can-Am Maverick X3 in the SSV category -formerly T4-, the driver from Lleida has decided to change his bike: "It is clear to me that I want to return to the Dakar, and the alternatives are to do it with a Taurus in the Challenger category (T3) or with a T1+ in the Ultimate category".
So Pons and Betriu set off for the Saudi Baja, held in Ha'il, with a lightweight Taurus T3 Max prototype to start testing for their next Dakar adventure. However, things did not start easily for them, as they had a whole odyssey in the shakedown, so that they had to compete in the prologue without any previous run-in.
The trigger was the breakdown of the engine at kilometer 15 of the test section due to a factory defect that caused it to catch fire. "A connecting rod punctured the block, the turbo broke and quite a lot of oil started to come out, which caused a fire in the car, but fortunately we were able to put it out. It was a miracle that it didn't burn completely and the mechanics were working hard all night to put it back together again with a new engine", Eduard Pons says.
The effort of the whole Pons Rallysport team and the willpower of Pons and Betriu allowed them to start the prologue stage, with 6 timed kilometers. Despite this important handicap and not having been able to test the car before the start of the race, the drivers from Lleida have shown a great pace and have signed a result to mark: third place in the Challenger category and 10th overall, despite having suffered various problems in the course of the section. As if that wasn't enough, they finished first among the drivers following the World Cup.
"Unfortunately, not having been able to test the car caused us some setbacks. We stalled, the gearbox went into neutral several times and we had a problem at a junction. This added extra pressure to our situation, as we had to understand the car as we went along," said the driver. "However, we managed to finish third in the category and tenth overall, as well as first in the World Championship, which was an absolute surprise for us".
Pons is optimistic about his chances in this race. "Despite losing about 15 seconds, we have achieved a good position, so we have seen that the car has potential. Now we have to mitigate these small technical failures, which I imagine are due to the haste with which the team had to work yesterday to replace the engine. We are looking forward to tomorrow's stage, which will be a long Dakar-type stage, with more than 300 kilometers of special stage. Let's see if we can pick up the pace after 20-25 kilometers and start riding faster".
Pons is optimistic about his chances in this test. "Despite losing about 15 seconds, we have achieved a good position, so we have seen that the car has potential. Now we have to mitigate these small technical failures, which I imagine are due to the haste with which the team had to work yesterday to replace the engine. We are looking forward to tomorrow's stage, which will be a long Dakar-type stage, with more than 300 kilometers of special stage. Let's see if we can pick up the pace after 20-25 kilometers and start riding faster".
After this prologue stage, which for Pons and Betriu has been the first contact with the new vehicle, this Friday they will go all out to try to stay among the best in the category in a day that will have a total of 481 kilometers, with 302 against the clock. The drivers from Lleida will be in charge of opening the track tomorrow, something they will face for the first time.
Automatic translation of the Spanish version
Source: Eduard Pons official press release / Mediagé
