Three-time Sertões champion and three-time Brazilian rally champion: Cristian and Marcos bet on Toyota Hilux to regain hegemony of the X Rally Team in the biggest rally in the Americas
The brothers Cristian and Marcos Baumgart promise to go hunting in the Sertões 2020, which starts in Mogi Guaçu (SP) on the 30th and will cross the country for about five thousand kilometers until they arrive in Barreirinhas, in the Lençóis Maranhenses region. There will be eight days of competition across five states plus the Federal District - the cities have not been revealed, as the race caravan will be isolated in “bubbles” to avoid any contact and contagion by the new coronavirus.
And to go hunting, the fastest brothers in the Brazilian rally will have new weapons at their disposal: the Toyota Hilux IMA prepared by the Belgian company Overdrive, replacing the Ford Ranger built by NWM Motorsport. In their first contact with Toyota, at the end of September, Cristian Baumgart and navigator Beco Andreotti won the Baja Capital dos Vinhos, in Portugal, while Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea finished on the podium in third place.
It is the same model with which Fernando Alonso competed in the 2020 Dakar and brings several updates in relation to the model with which the catari Nasser Al-Attyiah won the Dakar in the previous year. The bolide features a 5.0 V8 engine with a central position and 390 horsepower, in addition to a six-speed Sadev sequential transmission.
“A different year requires something different. We came with news, because with each passing year the Sertões becomes more difficult and the competitors come even more prepared. We have nine, ten drivers with a chance of winning the title and several of them have already won the Sertões. So, this year they are the hunt and we are the hunters ”,
highlighted Marcos Baumgart, three-time Brazilian champion and South American rally champion Cross Country.
Marcos’ co-drive Kleber Cincea shares the expectations of its cockpit partner.
“The expectation is always to fight for the victory, and this time we have a new car. We are optimistic, we did our homework, we prepared in Portugal and we are going full strength. Of course, Sertões is very difficult and with very strong competition, but we will do our best all the time ”, he said.
Although the title among cars in 2019 had a car built by the X Rally Team, the taste was not the most pleasant. When they were looking for the fourth consecutive championship of the race, Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti had a minor accident on the sixth of the eight days of the race and, despite having returned to the race, they lost the lead to Lucas Moraes and Kaique Bentivoglio. After three consecutive years winning, Cristian and Beco took the runner-up spot.
“Whoever wins Sertões win because they deserved it, so there is no demerit in last year's winners, who did an excellent job and took everything out of the car we built. Of course it was something that went down with a slightly bitter taste down the throat, and that is why we reinforced our preparation for 2020 ”, said Cristian. “It will be different, at a different time, and I think we will have more heat and more humidity. Competition will be very tight, and this will make Sertões 2020 a fantastic competition. As for new cars, we adapted well and quickly when we raced in Portugal. The cars came to Brazil, we set up, we did a brief training and now everything is ready to start the fight ”, he concluded.
“The Toyota proved to be very strong, fast and reliable. And after big names in the world rally, it is now our turn to accelerate these machines. The level of competitors is increasingly high - last year's result proved this - and we need to keep up with this trend. We are looking to bring that title back to our team”,
said navigator Beco Andreotti, who forms alongside Cristian one of the longest-running pairs in the history of the world rally, with 20 years of partnership.
Source X-Rally Team
Photo Rally-Raid Network
