Manuel Andújar is aware of the best way to win on a quad, and now he is aware of the best way to win in a side-by-side car.
The newly topped World Rally-Raid Champion within the Quad class made the swap to co-driving a SSV this weekend when he entered the Campeonato Argentino de Rally Raid‘s (CaNav Rally Raid) Rally Raid San Juan. Serving because the navigator of a Can-Am Maverick pushed by Juan Cruz Yacopini, their #211 narrowly edged out Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli for the UTV total win.
Ferioli had received the W2RC’s Desafío Ruta 40 within the Open Automobiles class earlier in June, the place Andújar clinched each the race win and the title for Quads. The previous’s Maverick R barely beat Yacopini and Andújar by simply 4 seconds in Stage #1 earlier than they returned the favour by putting forward of him by 5 minutes (second behind Leandro López, who received the Street to Dakar on the DR 40). Yacopini and Ferioli traded blows earlier than the #211 pulling away to win with a minute and 5 seconds between them.
Andújar claimed the Dakar Rally for Quads in January, which final turned the class’s remaining begin there because the Amaury Sport Organisation has dropped them for 2025. Feeling that operating the remainder of the W2RC season was pointless with out Dakar to organize for, he centered on securing the championship on the DR 40 earlier than ending his Quad profession fully and switching to SSVs. A lot of his classmates plan to leap to FIA classes as nicely together with 2023 World Champion Laisvydas Kancius and runner-up Rodolfo Guillioli, Pablo Copetti, and Juraj Varga.
Yacopini additionally races within the W2RC, albeit a Toyota Hilux within the premier Final class.
“It was my first expertise in a UTV,” wrote Andújar on Sunday. “I used to be in a position to contribute to the crew with my humble navigation however [Juan] went out and moved his fingers in an unimaginable option to narrowly win by a minute. I need to thank the Yacopini household for giving me this chance and the boys Maxi, Gaby, and Gonza who labored spectacularly with the crew.”
Julián Sánchez Dabin, one other DR 40 class winner in Open Bikes, received the motorbike total forward of Joaquín Debeljuh.
Rally Raid San Juan was the third spherical of the 2024 CaNav season.
