In cooperation with Cross-Country Rally Media we bring you the final article about FIA's T3 and T4 categories in Baja Aragon 2021.
The final day of 37th Baja Espana Aragon – Trofeo Avatel had two demanding special stages: SS2 with 112 km and SS3 with 208 km between Monreal del Campo and Santa Eulalia. These stages defined the final result of the 2021Baja, one of the most participated from the last years.
SS2 for T3 category (light prototipe vehicle)
Spanish brothers Roberto and Herman Rodriguez from CA HERRADOR COMPETICION scored another win in the T3 category in SS2. Enrique Reyes and Daniel Condo from AUTOMOVIL CLUB ALCALANS finished second, 5 seconds behind.
In the overall classification, the Rodriguez brothers had a comfortable lead after two stages with a gap of 8’21” over the second.
German female driver Annett Fischer and her co-driver Ioannes Gannotis from X-raid Team finished third.
Annett Fischer:
Today was, fortunately, a super good stage for us. Only one pity thing that we were starting from the back, so we were all the time in the dust, always catching other cars and it takes a bit of time when we can pass them. But it was a wonderful stage until now, and the result is quite ok. We are happy.
SS2 for T4category (light standard vehicle)
The young Lithuanian rallycross driver, Rokas Baciuska won the second stage, Australian rally star Molly Taylor was second at 56 seconds, Gerard Farres third 1 minute 7 seconds behind.
Alexandre Ré, who finished the 1st day in the lead, got punctures and finished only in 10th position, 2 minutes 32 seconds from the fastest.
Alexandre Re:
It was a hard race, harder than what we expected with lots of rocks where it was easy to get a puncture and we also had some, but we kept the concentration and kept going. We fought hard for the lead because till the end the battle was open.
Gerard Farres became the leader in T4 after two stages.
SS2 for T3 category (light prototipe vehicle)
Spanish brothers Roberto and Herman Rodriguez won all three stages of the Baja Aragon in the T3 category. The key in this fast and challenging Baja was a mix of factors: experience, strategy, speed, and some luck.
Roberto Rodriguez:
This is our third Baja Aragon, and we had a lot of fun. On Day 1, we started a bit conservative, but we saw that we could push a bit more and go faster to match the pace of the others. We were also very careful on the navigation and in fact, we got all the waypoints. Sometimes we had to slow down when the direction was not so clear on the roadbook, but all in all we made it and we are really satisfied.
The team principal of CA HERRADOR COMPETICION, Javier Herrador was very happy with the victory of his team.
Javier Herrador:
We are at the finish of the Baja Spain. Our team participated in the Baja Spain with five T3 cars and we are really happy, we have T3 winner of this edition. The stages were really hard, with stones, with hot weather. It was difficult not only for cars but also for drivers and co-drivers. But at the end the best is in the first position and we want to participate in the next race, the Hungarian Baja.
The French duo of Ronald Basso and Jean-Pierre Garcin finished second at 13 minutes, followed by the Spanish duo of Santiago Navarro and Sergi Brugue.
It was an incredible debut for Mashael, the first Arab female driver to race outside the Middle East. After having won in March the Sharqiyah International Baja alongside her co-driver Ali Mirza (ARE), Mashael Al-Obaidan finished 7th in the T3 category, in which the battle was really heated.
Mashael Al-Obaidan:
I really enjoyed this race. The landscape was new for me and so different from what we have in Saudi. We are used to dunes and open desert while here we have narrow roads, and you cannot leave the track because otherwise there were rocks. I had a problem on Day 1, and I had to drive with 2-wheel instead of 4-wheel drive for more than 100 kilometres, but I learned so much being with champions. The majority have already done the Dakar which is my target and my dream. After the Sharqiyah Baja and Baja Aragon, now I look forward to my next appointment on the road to Dakar.
SS3 for T4category (light standard vehicle)
The 37th edition of the Baja Aragon saw on the top of the T4 category podium the Portuguese crew of Alexandre and Pedro Re who claimed victory for the South Racing Can-Am Team.
The fight for the three podium places was fierce between the top contenders, with Spain’s Gerard Farres and Armand Monleon second at only 9min 12sec and Kuwait’s Mshari Al-Thefiri in third position.
The Spanish duo of Gerard Farres and Armand Monleon drove a Monster Energy-branded Can-Am and finished fourth overall after leading throughout the second stage. They had been second and third quickest in the first two stages before losing out on a potential victory following two late punctures.
Kuwait's Mshari Al-Thefiri fulfilled his championship dream, with no damage at all and with a solid drive in his Can-Am alongside Qatari navigator Nasser Al-Kuwari. Holding third position in the FIA T4 standings at the start of the Baja, Al-Thefiri clocked a third, an eighth and a fifth quickest time to reach the finish in second position and hit the top of the provisional points' table after five rounds.
Mshari Al-Thefiri:
We finished the last stage of the Baja Aragon, we were fighting till the last kilometres of the stage. We had a good plan and strategy, we pushed more at the last kilometres, we didn't care about anything, just that we need to push for finishing on the podium. We are second, we are leaders in the World Cup of Bajas. I am very happy with this results and I will continue in next Bajas.
South Racing team manager Scott Abraham summarised the Baja Aragon results for his team.
Scott Abraham:
It was a great Baja for the whole team with the first and second in the T4 category and four cars in the top 5. Baja Espana Aragon is a classic appointment on the calendar with lots of battles on tricky dusty and rocky tracks and this year the expectations were met. It was a big challenge for the team and the drivers, big on brakes and lots of twisty mountain terrains. Alexander Re showed a great performance and he fought hard till the end with Gerard Farres and Mshari Al-Thefiri. Among the “rookies” at this race, I want to mention Australian Molly Taylor, who did a great job and proved to be a promising talent for the future, and Rokas. They both showed phenomenal pace. It was a superb debut also for Saudi Mashael Al-Obaidan, who showed a solid performance.
Text and videos: Cross-Country Rally Media
Photo Baja Aragon
