INFO: AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION    

Portuguese championship

João Ferreira inherits the victory due to João Ramos' penalty
António Maio with an immaculate performance on the motorcycles
João Vale didn't give any chance in the quads
Roberto Borrego beats the competition in SSV

The last day of competition defined the winners of the second edition of Baja do Oeste. History will remember the triumph of João Ferreira, leader of the Portuguese TT Championship, António Maio, who didn't give any chance to his opponents on the motorcycles, João Vale, who was a reality apart from the quad, and Roberto Borrego, who imposed himself in the SSV.
With temperatures on the rise, the competitors discovered the tracks in the western region with dry ground, a lot of dust, and a course that alternated between very technical areas and other quite fast ones. In cars, João Ramos dominated the first day and everything indicated that he could achieve his first victory in 2022. However, a five-minute penalty, for not having one of the spare wheels in the Toyota at the end of the baja, made the driver from Oporto fall to fourth place.

"The race didn't start in the best way. We were sixth in the prologue and managed to recover to fourth in the first selective sector. Today we started to attack and we did so until the last meter. We benefited from Tiago's bad luck. He had a flat tire and we passed him. We had a clean race until the end," said the winner, João Ferreira.

António Maio wins for the first time in the West

The TT national champion in motorcycles, António Maio, made his debut in the Baja do Oeste and had an immaculate performance. The Yamaha pilot won the prologue and two of the three selective sectors to arrive in Torres Vedras in the first place of the classification. Martim Ventura tried to beat Maio and, at least in the second selective sector, managed to be the fastest. However, in the final classification, he finished second, more than seven minutes from the winner. Micael Simão completed the podium.

"It was a fun race. I managed to set a good pace. I ended up winning, which was the main goal. The terrain was very hard and slippery. We had to ride cautiously, with the bike slipping, which is something I like," said António Maio.

João Vale unchallenged in the quads

In the quads, there was a pilot who did a Baja do Oeste completely apart. João Vale was always ahead in this category and, in the end, he conquered the first place with 13 minutes ahead of Fernando Cardoso. Rafael Carvalho finished in the last place of the podium, but more than 20 minutes away from the winner.

"Today we set out with the sole objective of enjoying the circuit, which was five stars, and taking home the victory, which was what we wanted. Everything went well", exclaimed João Vale.

Roberto Borrego triumphs in the SSV category

The SSV national champion, Roberto Borrego, was the best and won the Baja do Oeste 2022. The Ponte de Sôr pilot had a growing race and took the first place in the last day of the competition to ensure the triumph. Sérgio Baptista got the second place and Hélder Rodrigues closed in the third position.

The race had Gonçalo Guerreiro as the leader in the first two days of the race. However, the Can-Am pilot had a breakdown in the last selective sector and fell in the classification. Borrego took advantage and, with great consistency, took command and won.

"The weekend was very difficult with heat, dust and a very slippery floor. The first stage went well and we won the second selective sector. Today we set a strong pace and knew we were already gaining time on Gonçalo. However, he had a problem and we passed him. From then on, we were able to manage the race", explained Roberto Borrego.

Escuderia Castelo Branco organized the Baja do Oeste and now it will start preparing the Castelo Branco Rally, which will take place in June.

Image galleries are available here

    Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version   
Source Escuderia de Castelo Branco
Photos: Imagensdesportivas.com

       INFO: AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION     

On the most difficult and longest rally routes in Poland, we saw the fastest drivers of cars, trucks, SSVs, motorcycles and quads. The cult special sections welcomed the competitors with long-awaited conditions, and during the Columna Medica Baja Drawsko Pomorskie they had to cover over 300 kilometers!
The rally held on the first weekend of April was the first installment of Polish Cross-Country Car Rally Championship, Czech Republic Cross-Country Car Championship as well as Dacia Duster Motrio Cup. There was also a fight for first points in classification of Polish Cross-Country Car Rally Cup, Polish Championship and Polish Cup in Baja Rally, as well as Baja Poland Series open for unlicensed drivers.

Difficult fight with the militar camp.

The area in Drawsko Pomorskie is a showcase of Polish off-road rallies. The Columna Medica Grzęda Baja Poland and Columna Medica Baja Drawsko Pomorskie are the longest rallies of their kind in Poland, and their routes are not only very difficult, but above all, they are a lot of fun to drive.
The competitors face a long, very varied route - from heavy tank roads and sandy parts resembling small dunes, through fast straights and long curves with WRC-style hills called "Little Finland", to winding, narrow and very technical forest tracks.
Weather was always a joker during Baja Drawsko. During the last two editions of the rally we were used to rather wet, muddy and slippery surface, which only increased the level of difficulty of the rally. This time, more desert-like conditions awaited the competitors in the form of sand, dust, and even the 'drawski' variety of fesh fesh, which, combined with low temperatures, proved no less demanding.
Who came out victorious from this battle and can enjoy a good opening of the season, and who had to recognize the superiority of rally routes of Drawsko military training ground once again? We invite you below.

How to beat the champion?

Holowczyc and Kurzeja won many times in Drawsko Pomorskie. As they themselves emphasize, they have a kind of handicap here, because apart from taking part in the rally, they train a lot every year with different competitors on the training ground.
In this season to defend their title the duo of last year's European Cup winners again chose old but proven BMW X3CC.
Despite the fact that his car has years of glory and international successes behind it, the popular and experienced "Hołek" shows that it is still possible to squeeze enough out of it to win rallies. Michał and Julita Małuszyński in the newest specification Mini John Cooper Works Rally and Paweł Molgo with Maciej Marton in Ford F-150 EVO tried to prevent him from doing so. Both crews proved that they could establish a fight with Ho³owczyc and Kurzeja, winning special sections with him. Other drivers who wanted to join the fight were Włodzimierz Grajek in a BMW X5 piloted by experienced Łukasz Łaskawiec and Robert Kufel in a Ford Ranger with one of the busiest pilots in Poland - Daniel Dymurski on the right seat.
In the end, however, Holowczyc and Kurzeja did not give a chance to any of the teams and despite a navigation error on the first SSC which resulted in a 2-minute penalty, they confidently won both runs of the 150-kilometre-long section.
This time the rally couple of Małuszyński did not manage to outrun their teacher, but the duo in Mini promises to fight at all rallies in the season. Paweł Molgo also plans to take part in the full cycle of FIA European Cup.
It is possible that we will see the repeat of the battle on Drawsko Field within the European competition, because the winner of Columna Medica Baja Drawsko Pomorskie, between his words, promises to continue his participation in the international competition, adding that he is still thinking about the biggest rally in the world!

Debutants' victories

Apart from the general classification, the Columna Medica Baja Drawsko Pomorskie Rally definitely belonged to the debutants. The fourth crew from the final results, Piotr and Karolina Otko, won among the SSV vehicles of the T4 Nat group. The Otko/Otko duo is a great example of gradual career development. They debuted in 2020 during the High Grzeda Baja Drawsko Pomorskie, driving without a licence as part of the Baja Poland Series. They devoted the 2021 season to further development and fighting in the Polish Off-Road Car Rally Cup, winning 2nd place in the SSV group, to start the fight for the Polish Championship this year with a strong accent.
The Can-Am Maverick X3 crew managed to beat two factory duos, Szczurtek/Szylkowski and Kalinowski/Pielużek, driving Polaris RZ Pro XP, as well as other rivals from the most heavily populated group. Among the popular SSV vehicles it promises to be a very fierce fight at every rally.
The second debutant and winning duo at the same time were Bartłomiej Wajzer and Patryk Sudoł, who couldn't have dreamed of a better start to the season and their fight in Dacia Duster Motrio Cup. The brand cups have accustomed us to an extremely close fight. Last year after driving almost 300 km of SS, two teams driving racing Dusters reached the same result to the second! And this year the fight was no different, and after the first leg the time differences between top three teams were within one minute.
Everything seemed to indicate that the 2020 DDMC champions Tadeusz Rzeżuchowski and Wojciech Jermakow would be able to enjoy a successful return to OS. However, a moment of inattention on the course, ending in a broken control arm, buried their hopes for a spectacular comeback, thus giving victory to the rookies.

Evenly matched

There are many competitors who have not settled accounts with Drawsko Field, either in Baja Drawsko or Baja Poland edition. Piotr Borys in Mitsubishi Pajero, piloted by Michał Goleniewski was one of them.
Polish vice-champion in T2 group, admittedly, summed up the last season in a very successful way, winning in a spectacular way (driving on three wheels) T2 group during Drawsko Independence Day 2021, but his participation in High Grzeda Baja Drawsko Pomorskie 2021 was no less spectacular and ended with a spectacular front roll on SS 2. This time Borys clearly announced what his goal is and he realized this goal, winning in T2 group with competition in Duster.
T2 group, next to T4 Nat, will be place of most interesting duels. While the Baja Drawsko route favored the more powerful Pajero, the Columna Medica Baja Borne Sulinowo and Columna Medica Baja Czarne, will favor the much lighter and more efficient suspension Dusters.
Łukasz Bzdyl in a Mitsubishi Pajero, piloted by Mariusz Włosiński, who crossed the finish line last year on a tow behind another rally car, also managed to settle the score in Baja Drawsko. This time, he triumphed with a considerable time advantage in TH group.

Cross-country rallies open for everyone

Championships are championships, but there is something for everyone in off-road rallies. You can compete at any level of experience, from unlicensed drivers to professional competitors. Limited budget is also not a barrier and you can start from a financial level, which is not different from many amateur events, and the equipment itself often requires only installation of basic safety equipment, which can be found in many serial SSV constructions present on the market. In a word, there is something for every off-road enthusiast.
It is for beginners and developing drivers that the Rally Cup of Poland and Baja Poland Series were created.
In Drawsko Pomorskie in both categories the most numerous were SSV vehicles, with prototypes and modified constructions from Open group and production models from S2 and Limited groups.
In RPPST both in general classification and SSV group the fastest were Adam Kuś and Marcin Pasek in Can-Am Maverick X3. The duo also had an opportunity to collect prizes for taking third place in SSV X3 class of Baja Poland Series 2021.
As you can see, experience gained in Baja Poland Series was not wasted, and the team representing Akpol Rally Team, could enjoy a great result and successful debut in RPPST.
On the other hand, Michał and Nikola Lipscy team obviously benefited from the change of car from Pajero to Duster, because they could add victory in S2 group to their excellent general classification.

Translated by Deepl from the original Polish Version

Source Baja Poland

After a Prologue and two days of racing, Micael Simão (GasGas) sealed victory in the motorcycle category at the Baja Oeste de Portugal, the Portuguese rider finishing ahead of Fabio Magalhães (Honda) and Konrad Dabrowski (KTM Duust).

In the quad section, victory fell to Teo Viñaras, ahead of the Saudi rider Hani Al-Noumesi, both riding Yamahas.

The Baja Oeste de Portugal took place to the north of Lisbon, in the areas of Torres Vedras, Bombarral, Cadaval, Azambuja, Alenquer, Óbidos and Sobral de Monte Agraço. Competitors enjoyed fine weather, although some suffered a little from the unusual heat this early in the season.

On Saturday, the start of the second special of the day was delayed by one hour to give officials time to clear the track of SSVs. This extended the neutralization between the two selective sections to 4hr 10min.

"The wait was very long before the second start,” said Mirjam Pol (Husqvarna), who finished fifth in the FIM motorcycle ranking and first in the women's class. “The heat tired me and it weighed on me when I had to start. But I really liked the terrain, sometimes fast, sometimes winding… I was expecting dust, but in the end it was never a problem to overtake. I had so much fun!”

Polish rider Joana Mordzewska (KTM Duust) finished second in the women’s category but had a little trouble getting into her rhythm. She said: “The first day, I didn't want to crash and I had difficulty adapting to the bike, but then it was much better and I liked this race, a mix of enduro and rally.”

Konrad Dabrowski (KTM Duust) was the victim of a tracking system breakdown but, nevertheless, the young Pole finished in third position and won the Junior category. "It was a difficult race for me because I'm used to running in the desert now. Yesterday I didn't have much motivation to attack on fast tracks and wind through the trees. I didn't want to take any risks but it's a good exercise for me, I learned a lot and in the end, I rode better and I'm happy.”

Veteran rider Pedro Bianchi Prata (Honda) finished fourth, Rui Ferreira (Honda) was sixth, Barry Howe (KTM) came home in seventh and Kurt Burroughs (Husqvarna) was classified in ninth.

Micael Simão image gallery available here

Teo Viñaras image gallery available here

All Baja TT Oeste Portugal image galleries are available here

Photos: Rally-Raid Network / Imagensdesportivas.com
Text: FIM / Official press release

Info: Automatic translation

The XXXVIII edition of the Baja España Aragón will finally be held from the 21st to the 24th of next July in Teruel. The organization has decided to extend one more day the race, returning to the previous format of competition that will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

In this way, the teams will be able to carry out the pertinent administrative and technical verifications on Thursday and Friday to start the activity on Friday 22nd with the dispute of the prologue stage for the motorcycles.

On Saturday 23rd, two of the three timed special stages will be disputed, while on Sunday 24th the last and definitive stage will be disputed, which will close the only Spanish event scoring for the FIA Cross Country Baja World Cup and for the FIM Baja World Cup for motorcycles.

The 2022 edition will bring with it the great novelty of the new Trail category, in a clear commitment to recover this style of motorcycle in rally-raid competitions.

From next Monday, May 9, the regulations will be published on the website (www.bajaaragon.com) and in the Sportity application. Likewise, registrations for participating teams will also be opened.

Automatic translation from the original Spanish version.
Source Baja Aragon