Rally of Morocco 2021:  Rally du Maroc  wrap up with Marco Piana, Xtremeplus Team owner

 
From the Atlas mountains to the dunes of the Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga, in 300 km you have all kind of terrain that competitors can find on the Dakar Rally. This makes Morocco so special”, sums up Marco Piana, the Xtremeplus team owner.
 
With the podium ceremony yesterday evening, the Rallye du Maroc celebrated the winners, and the 260 vehicles that took part to the 2021 edition. On the podium of the T3 category the colours of Xtremeplus team   were represented by Jose Luis Pena Campo and Rafael Tornabell.

“I’d like to congratulate Jose Luis and Rafael for the 3rd place: once again the experienced duo confirmed that consistency and not only speed is the winning key in the rally. Jose Luis showed a consistent pace, he was able to manage the car and the tyres even in the most demanding stages that featured rocks and sand alternated. This result is also important for the FIA championship. Our next appointments are Abu Dhabi and Ha’il in Saudi Arabia”.

The rally is also an important laboratory to test the Polaris Pro XP. Enrico Gaspari and Massimo Salvatore of the CST Polaris team, tested some development during the rally.

“We are satisfied for the improvements we had in the areas of the gearbox, the suspensions, and shock absorbers. We also tested a new position for the spare tyres, but it didn't give us the results we expected. Regarding the race, I was sorry for Enrico because he has been sick for 2 days. He took the start and was determined to finish the race, as he did, but he couldn’t push as he wanted. Anyway, this is his first year on the SSV and this week he had a great opportunity to continue the understanding of the machine and gaining experience. They finished  7th in the T3 category”.

Regarding the race in the T4 category, Marco commented:

“This is one of the most hard-fought category with many top drivers like Michal Goczal, Austin Janes or Amos. Sebastian Guayasamin and Ricardo Torlaschi  were also in the fight aiming at a top 10 finish. Unfortunately, in the stage 4, the hardest of the rally for the rocks and stones, they broke the chassis in a way that wouldn’t be safe to repair is so the duo couldn’t take the start of the last stage. It was a pity, but races are like this”.

In the same category the team lined up also Graham Knight and David Watson.

“They are true passionate and their enthusiasm is contagious. Their target is to enjoy the race, so our task is to give them a reliable machine so that they can have fun and finish the race. I can say: mission accomplished because both Graham and David were satisfied. Morocco offers an incredible landscape and the 5 stages were technical and varied”.

Regarding the rally, Piana underlined what makes the Rallye du Maroc so unique.

“From the Atlas mountains to the dunes of the Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga, in 300 km you have all kind of terrain that competitors can find on the Dakar Rally. This makes Morocco so special. David Castera and his team designed a route that saw in several stages rocks and sand alternated, as we find on the Dakar Rally. This is the most difficult conditions for the tyres and also a lot of stress for the machine. In terms of tyres, you need to play with the pressure or find a compromise that can fit both situations (sand and rocks). It’s quiet challenging, this is why it is so important for us to have a partner like CST tyres. The CST Apache tyres are robust and safe. This makes the difference in the stage, said Piana, founder of the Xtremeplus team in 2004.
We are the only team supported by Polaris USA and Polaris Europe. We are happy to represent Polaris and we like to continue the development to improve the performance of the machine”.

The Rallye du Maroc is over but the adventure continue. The next appointment with Graham Knight is Baja Portalegre in Portugal and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with Campo-Tornabell.

Source Xtremeplus