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On Saturday it was the finnish of the 31st edition of the Sertões Rally, a race rich in history, adventure and popularity in South America. For the first time ever, it was won by a 2WD in the car category and we couldn’t be more proud of this achievement.
The collaboration between Century Racing and Bajatek is going from strength to strength. Kevin Delcros, team manager at Bajatek: "It's taken 7 years with Marcelo to achieve this result, we are so happy to finally get the win. We are a small team with limited budget facing very strong competition, but this great group of guys clearly overachieved these past ten days. The atmosphere was fun all the way, and that makes the win even sweeter! Next is Rally du Maroc and Dakar 2024, let’s see what we can achieve with Marcelo and Cadu in their new Century CR7 T1+."
There was a total of 123 cars and UTVs combined competing in the event, 42 of which were cars and 13 of that were FIA spec T1 and T1+ cars. The competition was strong and the win did not come easily as Marcelo and Cadu played the long game over the 8 stages, 2080km of racing and a total of 3800km covered.
The general comment by competitors is that it was the best and most challenging route they have experienced to date in this rally, with the terrain changing constantly. In a day and age where the perception is that two wheel drive vehicles are becoming obsolete, it is interesting to note that a CR6-T has now won 2 of the biggest stage races of the year (Morocco Desert Challenge and Sertoes Rally).
Brian Baragwanath, technical manager during the event and CR test driver: “Although most of our resources in the past few months have been focused on the imminent CR7, we have never stopped developing our CR6-T and still believe there’s a place for 2WD cars in the field. We hope to still build many more of these fantastic cars for years to come.”
Finally, congratulations to the second Bajatek entry of Carlos Ambrosio and Luiz Poli who finished their first event in over four years. After an eventful first few stages, they made up time and climbed back up the rankings to put their V8-powered CR6 4th overall at the finish line.
Be certain to find a lot more Century cars on the start line of the 32nd edition next year where we will be chasing a back-to-back event win!
Source Century Racing
The long-awaited return of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF is just around the corner. The competition, which will take place from August 26 to September 1 in La Rioja, Belén and Salta and will be valid for the World Rally Raid Championship, has a hundred pilots registered.
The return of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF, after five years of waiting, has resonated deeply in the rally-raid community, generating an impressive response in terms of registrations. The participation of 99 crews, between W2RC and OPEN, added to the 16 competitors that Desafío Ansenuza will have, shows the great interest and passion that surrounds this emblematic competition.
The stars of the race
The long list of entered riders includes some of the biggest names in all the categories. Toby Price (RED BULL KTM Factory Racing), Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing), Ricky Brabec, Adrien Van Beveren, Pablo Quintanilla and Ignacio Cornejo (Monster Energy Honda Team), San Sunderland (RED BULL GAS GAS Factory Racing) and Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports Team Rally), among others, will be on the start line in what promises to be a great battle in the FIM RallyGP competition.
With the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) as a target, the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF will play a crucial role in the definition of this prestigious event. In this sense, all eyes will be on what may happen between the Australian KTM rider, Toby Price, who arrives in our country as leader of the championship, and the Argentinean rider from Salta, Luciano Benavides, who -without a doubt- will be one of the favorites of the local fans.
With the national flag as a symbol, another of the great leaders of the competition, who will surely have his own fans, will be Manuel Andujar. The quad rider, champion of the Dakar Rally in 2021, will be looking for glory.
This 11th edition of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF presents a great singularity, both in the FIM competition and in the OPEN for bikes and quads: None of the 63 riders registered in these categories has been crowned in DR40, so when arriving in Salta we will see new winners write their names in the list of honors of this emblematic race.
The scenario will be different among the cars. Sebastián Halpern (X-raid Mini JCW) will try to win this Desafío for the third time. But it will not be an easy task to repeat what he did in 2016 and 2018 for the driver from Mendoza, as he will have to face -among others- Juan Cruz Yacopini and Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) and none other than Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing). To the delight of the thousands of fans he won over during the years of the Dakar Rally in South America, the Qatari prince and leader of the FIA general classification is one of the stars of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF 2023 and will be looking to win the crown in the north of Argentina.
Seth Quintero and Austin Jones (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA), Cristina Gutierrez and «Chaleco» López (Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing), Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli (winner of the 2016 DR40 in 4×2 quads – Ferioli Racing Team) as well as Nicolás Cavigliasso (Wevers Sport / Taurus) will be some of the great competitors in the SSV categories.
Ansenuza: Another Desafío within a Desafío
The Desafío Ansenuza also adds its exciting contribution to this edition of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF. This regularity race, which will have its own route, will add an extra attraction to the competition, adding 16 entries to further enrich the caravan of competitors.
The numbers of the Desafío Ruta 40
Check out the Entry List here: https://desafioruta40.ar/entry-list/
Source: Desafio Ruta 40
Photo: A.S.O/DPPI/J.Delfosse
Cristian and Beco finished the final special in second place and third in their category.
This Saturday (19), the participants of the Sertões Rally left from Cruz, in Ceará, and after a total of 248 kilometers, of which 108 of displacement, and 140 were timed, arrived at the beach of Preá to close the 25th Sertones of the X Rally.
The duo Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea won the final stage, which gave the duo the vice-championship of the biggest rally in the Americas and the title of the T1+ category, the fastest race.
"In Sertões who loses the least time is usually not the fastest, but is the most consistent. We managed to have that consistency quickly after our problems were solved," said Marcos Baumgart. "I started the rally thinking that we would never get second, and there, we are second in the overall, without forgetting that we were the champions in the category", concluded the driver of the Prodrive Hunter T1+ #302.
For Kleber Cincea, Marcos’ partner in the 25 Sertões of the X Rally, the result in the Sertones 2023 was positive and full of learning. "In four years, we won the race once and got three second places in a row, which is good for Sertões. We get sad for not having won overall, but happy for the learnings, developments, and everything we've been through. We are coming out stronger, and we are going well for Morocco and for Dakar," Kleber added.
The duo could have had a better result , but a penalty was applied at the beginning of the competition and they coudln't do better, as told Cincea on the arrival to Preá.
"I’ve heard from a proof director that not always what’s right is right, and right is sometimes not right. That's what happened to us on the first day, when we were severely penalized, properly penalized, but unjustly penalized, and that cost us the test," he concluded. Cristian Baumgart, driver of the Prodrive Hunter T1+ #303, was second in the eighth stage, 17th overall, and third in the T1 + next to the navigator Beco Andreotti, the Sertões 2023 served as a learning with the car.
"I managed to evolve a lot in driving until I got the hang of the car. Now we're going to go to Morocco to evolve further, because the car is very superior and we've never been in a car as strong as this one. The limit is much higher than we expected," he said. "It was a pulled rally and it was very nice to pass where we passed. In short, it was a rally with a lot of stones, and whoever was more consistent in saving the car was better," Cristian concluded.
For Beco, Marcos and Kleber's title was another important achievement for the team.
"They were champions in the category, which means another title for the team. The important thing is that we have achieved another positive result and we are going forward," he said.
The X Rally Team is sponsored by Vedacit, Motul, BFGoodrich and Rodobens.
Automatic translation from the original Brazilian-Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: P1 Media Relations/ X-Rally Team
Photo:Marcelo Machado de Melo/FOTOP
Driver completes his 20th participation in the most important off-road race of the country in his return the competitions with a Mitsubishi L200 Triton Sport Racing
Fifth champion of the Sertões Rally, Guiga Spinelli completed this Saturday (19), alongside navigator Paulo Fiuza, his 20th participation in the most important off-road race in the country.
The duo, which competed this year's edition with a Mitsubishi L200 Triton Sport Racing from the official Mitsubish Motors team, arrived on the beach of Preá, in Cruz (CE), and accumulated three wins in stages among the competitors of the T1F category.
“It was a rally of much learning and good results in several days. This return was very important for the entire Mitsubishi Motors team, for the evolution of the car and also for me as a driver. We work hard and are very advanced in all respects. I especially thank our entire team, who worked with great competence and dedication, and my browser, Paulo Fiuza, who was excellent at all times. I am also immeasurably grateful to all the sponsors and the supporters of all”, said Guiga Spinelli, who has sponsorships of FF Seguros, PneuStore, BTG Pactual Wealth Management, Atvos, W-Truffi Blindados and the support of Dacar Motorsport, Sparco, Salomon, Simply, Boxer, Hupi and Show Freighter.
The duo of the Mitsubishi L200 number 310 was one of the highlights of the race throughout the week, walking in the overall top-5 of the competition in much of the specials of the Sertões 2023.
This Saturday, in a special, Guiga chose to preserve the car, avoiding the final section of dunes and bringing the vehicle to the arrival ramp.
“We came out on the first radar of today’s special. With a lot of dune and sand in the final section, it did not make sense to follow, since we were not fighting any position in the Final Classification. But the balance was very positive with three days of victory in the category and several times in the overall top-5. It was a very important first step of our return. There is a lot of good things to come ahead and, no doubt, we will be back very competitive”, completed Spinelli, one of the most experienced off-road racing drivers in the country.
Navigator Paulo Fiuza also made a positive balance of the Sertões 2023. “My first Sertões was very good. It was a very interesting test, eight days with fantastic landscapes. A race with a lot of navigation, a tough one, with all kinds of terrain. fast track, winding, navigation, driving. A test that is worth coming and doing often. For me, being here for the first time, it was something unique. Even more in a country like this, which is fantastic, and in a team like Mitsubishi. I want to thank Guiga, because it was amazing to be with this team,” said the Portuguese.
“To get in a good relation with Guiga was quite fast. I had run with Guiga the Baja Aragón in 2014, and on the first day we refined some things and, from then on, everything went very well”, Fiuza completed.
The Sertões 2023 was finalised today in Ceará after eight days of competition, traveling a total distance of almost 4,000 kilometers in the Brazilian Northeast.
Automatic translation from the original Brazilian-Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: RF1 Jornalismo / Mitsubishi Motors Brazil
Photo: Marcelo Machado de Melo/ Fotop
Guedes and Bampi finish third overall in their Toyota Hilux
Despite setting several fastest times and leading for the first part of the gruelling eight-stage event, Lucas Moraes and Kaíque Bentivoglio were unable to earn a repeat home victory in Brazil’s BRB Rally dos Sertões after a costly fourth stage collision with a tree and further delays at a water crossing on the seventh stage.
Overdrive Racing staff supplied logistical and service support to several other teams and Sylvio de Barros and Ramon Sacilotti looked set for second place overall until they also succumbed to the water crossing on stage seven that also accounted for the third Toyota Hilux, crewed by Fernando Rosset and Marcelo Duarte Haseyama.
The delays meant the three Toyotas failed to start the final stage of South America’s most demanding off-road event. Mauro Guedes and Eduardo Bampi were the highest-placed Toyota crew in third overall in their X Rally Team Hilux.
Outright victory fell to the Century CR6 Buggy crew of Marcelo Gastaldi and Cadu Sachs, with Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea coming home second.
Moraes has recently signed as a full-time driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing and the 2019 event winner again teamed up with Bentivoglio to run a Toyota Hilux assisted by Overdrive and aligned to MEM Motorsport.
Speaking before the start, Moraes said: "It is always very good to run the Sertões, especially defending the title. I hope we can make a clean test, which is the most important thing. I believe that this edition will be a lot more technical than last year's one; more tight, and therefore the right part of the car will be much more important. We did the shakedown, and the car is very good. We have an excellent grid, a different format, and the homework is done."
Organised by Dunas Race, this year’s Brazilian event began on Friday, August 11th with a Prologue of 13.15km before the opening selective section of 375km crossed remote countryside between Petrolina and Raso da Catarina on August 12th.
Marcos Baumgart topped the times on the Prologue, the Hunter driver beating Moraes by just 3.07 seconds, with De Barros in sixth, Capua in eighth and Guedes rounding off the top 10. Moraes struck back on the gruelling opening stage and surged into a lead of 9min 03.27sec over Cristian Baumgart, despite one flat tyre on the demanding terrain. De Barros was third.
Leg two also started in Petrolina and looped around the city in the Pernambuco state in the north-east of the country for 174 competitive kilometres towards Juremal. Navigation was tricky but it failed to prevent Moraes from winning the day by 2min 03sec from Marcelo Gastaldi and extending his overall lead. De Barros came home in third.
"There by km 30 or 40, more or less, I have never seen Kaique speak so much," said Moraes. “But he got it all right. It makes my job, my confidence much easier. It was very good, excellent. It was another stage for grown men. This year’s Sertões is showing that it’s really going to be tough. Despite being short, today, we had a special difficult and treacherous, easy to get a flat tyre. But the most important thing was that we went well.”
The third stage of 407km between Petrolina and Xique-Xique, the southernmost stopover on the São Francisco River in the Bahia province, was the first start of the Marathon section with no overnight service assistance. Marcos Baumgart claimed his first stage win of the campaign, the Hunter driver beating Moraes by 3min 20sec with Barros coming home in third in his Overdrive-assisted Toyota IMA.
Stage four headed from Xique-Xique back to Petrolina on the second half of the Marathon stage and incorporated 323km against the clock. A broken steering arm ruined Moraes’s day and cost the Brazilian his hard-earned lead on a stage where Barros claimed the stage win from Marcos Baumgart and Gastaldi. The latter gained the unofficial lead from Barros. Moraes collided with a tree as a result of the suspension breakage and the car suffered damage that led to the Brazilian plummeting down the leader board.
The fifth timed section of 213km headed north towards Crato on the banks of the River Granjeiro in the state of Ceará. Moraes was back to winning ways and the Toyota Hilux driver beat Marcos Baumgart by 3min 37sec to claim the stage win. Barros came home in fourth.
“This was a victory with a taste of redemption,” said Moraes. “I don’t know if the biggest impact in the accident was the knock on the tree or the discouragement that struck is because it practically took the chance of the tri-championship. These are things that happen in rallies. Maybe something hit the bottom of the car and broke the bar.”
Stage six saw competitors heading to Sobral in the north of the state for a stage of 312km on August 17th. Moraes was quickest and the Brazilian beat Baumgart by 38 seconds with Barros again in fourth place. Gastaldi continues to lead the race from Barros and Marcos Baumgart. Moraes had unofficially started his climb back from 12th place and held 11th.
From Sobral, the route headed towards Cruz on the Acaraú river, near the northern Atlantic coast for the penultimate stage of 226km on August 18th.
Running first on the road was he root cause of a major setback for Moraes and it also cost Barros second overall and Rosset substantial time. The three Toyota drivers came across a deep river crossing after 46km. Moraes had been the fastest driver on the stage to that point but he, like Barros and Rosset, stopped with water ingestion issues on a special where the win eventually fell to Marcos Baumgart from Gastaldi and Spinelli.
A final shorter special of 98km drew the competition to a close after a run into the finish in the nearby coastal municipality of Prea Cruz on August 19th after over 2,000km timed against the clock in a route of 3,800km. Marcos Baumgart got the better of Cristian Baumgart to claim the stage win but Gastaldi did enough to win the event and Guedes confirmed third place. The three Toyotas that had suffered on stage seven did not start the stage
Rally dos Sertões – result after SS8 (unofficial @ 13.30hrs):
1. Marcelo Gastaldi (BRA)/Cadu Sachs (BRA) Century CR6 Buggy 28hr 04min 22sec
2. Marcos Baumgart (BRA)/Kleber Cincea (BRA) Prodrive Hunter T1+ 28hr 15min 01sec
3. Mauro Guedes (BRA)/Eduardo Bampi (BRA) Toyota Hilux 29hr 26min 28sec
4. Carlos Ambrosio (BRA)/Luiz Afonso Poli (BRA) Century CR6 Buggy 29hr 57min 43sec
5. Marcos Moraes (BRA)/Fabio Pedrosa (BRA) Prototipo T-Rex 30hr 22min 01sec
6. Pedro Prado (BRA)/Joesane Koerich (BRA) Ford Ranger 30hr 49min 16sec
7. Paulo Goes (BRA)/Jefferson Teixeira (BRA) Ford Ranger 31hr 14min 13sec
8. Gunter Hinkelmann (BRA)/Fabricio Bianchini (BRA) X Rally Ranger 31hr 51min 47sec, etc
Sylvio de Barros (BRA)/Ramon Sacilotti (BRA) Toyota IMA Hilux Overdrive DNF
Fernando Rosset (BRA)/Marcelo Duarte Haseyama (BRA) Toyota GR DKR DNF
Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Kaíque Bentivoglio (BRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive DNF
(T1 or T1+ unless stated)
Source Overdrive Racing
Photo: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Pool Content and Overdrive Racing
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
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