Cross-Country – Krotov And Zhiltsov Give X-Raid First Victory In Mini JCW Rally At Qatar Baja

Qatar Worldwide Baja – FIA World Baja Cup, spherical 6 of 8 / FIA Center East Baja Cup, spherical 2 of 4

The X-Raid Mini Staff’s Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov overcame a puncture on the opening day to set the quickest time on day two and ensure a snug maiden win for the brand new petrol-engined Mini JCW Rally 3.0i on the three-day Qatar Worldwide Baja.

Krotov trailed the overnight-leading Dania Akeel and Stéphane Duplé by over one and a half minutes heading into the ultimate morning of the sixth spherical of the FIA World Baja Cup. However a small navigational error by the Saudi let him by and a late steering arm breakage for the Overdrive Racing driver enabled Krotov to seal victory by 30min 06.7sec.

Krotov mentioned: “I’m very completely happy to come back again to Qatar and take the win with the brand new petrol Mini. This race could be very difficult and hard for the motive force, co-driver and the automobile. I’m proud that we’ve the primary victory with X-Raid within the new automobile. I’m certain this undertaking has an incredible future. Because of the organisers for an incredible race. Our crew was on the rostrum final yr and now we’ve received.”

Akeel was in a position to restore the Toyota’s teering with a hefty time loss that pushed her all the way down to an eventual fifth place nevertheless it opened the door for the Portuguese pairing of João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro to grab second place and very important FIA World Baja Cup factors of their Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR. The consequence additionally enabled them to shut the hole on Fernando Alvarez and Xavier Panseri within the Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championships and win he SSV class.

Ferreira mentioned: “It’s been a season with many races and lots of achievements. This consequence is essential for our objectives within the World Cup. We actually need to attempt to win the competitors and at the moment are simply 5 factors behind the lead. We’re going to do our greatest to struggle for good leads to Jordan and Dubai. We all know something can occur in racing and we’ve to watch out.”

Their Santag Racing team-mates João Dias and Gonçalo Reis rounded off the rostrum locations within the second of the Can-Ams to spice up their FIA World Cup title problem.

Czech Miroslav Zapletal and his Slovakian co-driver Marek Sykora completed fourth in a self-built Ford F-150 Evo and Akeel’s Overdrive Racing team-mate Akira Miura was sixth after a late 10-minute time penalty for a tyre infringement. Akeel, for her half, nonetheless claimed most factors within the FIA Center East Baja Cup, whereas was third within the Final part of the FIA World Cup behind Krotov and Zapletal.

The South Racing Can-Am Staff’s Alvarez and Panseri collected worthwhile FIA World Baja Cup factors for ending seventh and sixth of the registered crews. They nonetheless lead the general FIA World Baja Cup and the SSV Championship.

Anja van Loon (Can-Am) entered a South Racing Can-Am with fellow Dutch lady Ground Maten and the duo completed eighth to safe success within the Challenger class. Qatar’s Rashid Al-Muhannadi was ninth however not registered for factors in his Taurus T3 Max and Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla rounded of the highest 10 in an analogous automobile.

Al-Jafla got here into the occasion trailing Spaniard Eduardo Pons by 19 factors within the Challenger part however his win and gasoline consumption and navigational points for Pons have closed the hole within the championship race.

Pons finally completed fourth of the registered World Cup drivers in Qatar behind Van Loon, Al-Jafla and the title-chasing Argentinian Diego Martinez in his South Racing Can-Am. Martinez overcame a 17-minute time penalty for lacking two waypoints on day one to complete third. Al-Jafla’s co-driver Andrei Rudnitski continues to steer the Challenger Co-drivers’ Championship.

The Lusail-based was organised by the Qatar Motor and Bike Federation (QMMF) and attracted 36 starters: there have been eight registered within the Final part, 13 competing within the Challenger group, 12 in SSV, two within the Inventory class and a improvement Can-Am Maverick R working in an Experimental part that was not eligible for the primary FIA occasion.  Twelve had been eligible for the FIA World Baja Cup and 14 challenged for factors within the FIA Center East Baja Cup.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah was a late entry and surprised his rivals with the quickest time on the Prologue, the Qatari beating his brother Khalifa by 12.2 seconds, regardless of a 15-second penalty for lacking stage gates. Taurus T3s working within the Challenger part earned the highest 4 positions with street opening duties for stage one finally falling to Krotov.

Navigational woes and the rocky terrain precipitated chaos throughout the sector on day one over two tough phases within the northwestern deserts. Akeel and Krotov had been first and second total and headed their respective FIA World and Center East Baja Cup battles however punctures value Miura and Ahmed Al-Kuwari a number of time, navigational woes plagued Pons and five-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah misplaced the oil out of his Taurus’s engine.

Al-Attiyah was unable to start out the ultimate 251.10km run from the west of Qatar and through the Inland Sea and the Sealine dunes to a end to the east of the oil terminal at Mesaieed. Krotov claimed the quickest time total on his strategy to victory and Qatari drivers Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Ahmed Al-Kuwari had been quickest within the Challenger and SSV classes.

A entrance suspension breakage value Saudi Arabia’s Ibrahim Al-Muhanna worthwhile time within the SSV tussle and Italy’s Amerigo Ventura suffered time penalties for lacking waypoints and misplaced additional floor on his rivals.

The South Racing Can-Am Staff continues to steer the Groups’ Championship from Overdrive Racing.

Most FIA Center East Baja Cup factors for Dania Akeel

Dania Akeel might have suffered the frustration of dropping second place total within the closing kilometres however scant comfort for the Saudi was selecting up most factors within the FIA Center East Baja Cup.

Akeel mentioned: “We had an incredible day opening the stage. That was one thing new for us. We had been in second place till 10km from the tip when one of many steering arms got here unfastened. It got here off. We ended up ending fifth as a substitute of second. That occurs generally. That’s a part of the sport. We got here right here to study and prepare and we realized rather a lot.”

Qatar’s Nouef Al-Sowaidi (Taurus), Saudi Arabia’s Maha Al-Hameli (Can-Am) and native driver Abdullah Al-Khelaifi (Yamaha) rounded off the highest 4 finishers within the FIA Center East Baja Cup. Al-Sowaidi might effectively have completed larger had he not suffered two punctures on the primary day.

Quaddy Racing’s Ahmed Al-Kuwari started the occasion with a slender total lead within the FIA Center East Cup and the SSV class however tyre points and punctures value him a number of time on day one. He fought again strongly to set the quickest time in stage three and picked up factors for fifth within the new Yamaha YXZ 1000R Quick Shift. Saudi Arabia’s Hamad Al-Harbi was categorised in sixth.

Majed Al-Thunayyan led the Inventory class earlier than the occasion in his Nissan Patrol however completed second in Qatar to native driver Abdullah Al-Rabban.

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari is the recently-crowned FIA Center East rally champion however his swap to Baja racing in a Taurus T3 Max was not as profitable. The Qatari misplaced over 90 minutes with electrical gremlins and gasoline stress points on day one and completed seventh within the FIA Center East Baja Cup.

Two hours of time penalties had been awarded to Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh for working off-road tyres not fitted with FIA bar codes. Al-Yaeesh additionally relinquished any factors he would have earned within the FIA Center East Baja Cup. Kuwait’s Nasser Al-Ajmi retired his Nissan Patrol after the second stage and engine points on SS2 sidelined Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah in his Nasser Racing Taurus T3 Max.

The seventh spherical of the FIA World Baja Cup and spherical three of the FIA Center East Baja Cup takes crews to the Purple Sea port of Aqaba in Jordan on November 14th-Sixteenth.

2024 Qatar Worldwide Baja – Last outcomes

1. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ANA) Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i5hr 27min 13.7sec*2. João Ferreira (PRT)/Filipe Palmeiro (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR5hr 57min 20.4sec*3. João Dias (PRT)/Gonçalo Reis (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR6hr 01min 09.7sec*4. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo6hr 01min 29.9sec*5. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive6hr 09min 02.6sec+6. Akira Miura (JPN)/Jean-Michel Polato (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive6hr 12min 08.4sec*7. Fernando Alvarez (ARG)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR6hr 16min 59.4sec*8. Anja Van Loon (NLD)/Ground Maten (NLD) Can-Am Maverick X36hr 29min 57.6sec*9. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Taurus T3 Max6hr 30min 52.1sec10. Khalid Al-Jafla (ARE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU) Taurus T3 Max6hr 31min 27.9sec*11. Diego Martinez (ARG)/Sergio Lafuente (URY) Can-Am Maverick X36hr 31min 29.8sec*12. Nouef Al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Taurus T3 Max6hr 36min 19.4sec+13. Maha Al-Hameli (SAU)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X36hr 40min 30.7sec+14. Abdullah Al-Khelaifi (QAT)/Abdulaziz Al-Jabri (QAT) Yamaha YXZ 1000R Quick Shift6hr 41min 09.4sec+15. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Lucchese (QAT) Yamaha YXZ 1000R Quick Shift7hr 02min 26.2sec+16. Hamad Al-Harbi (SAU)/Hugo Magalhães (PRT) Can-Am Maverick X37hr 05min 20.7sec+17. Amerigo Ventura (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R Quick Shift7hr 14min 26.1sec*18. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Taurus T3 Max7hr 20min 56.9sec+19. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Aleksei Kuzmich (ARE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR7hr 38min 30.0sec20. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Jaume Betriu (ESP) Taurus T3 Max7hr 45min 46.3sec*

*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup

+ denotes registered for the FIA Center East Baja Cup