– Rally dos Sertões victory falls to Brazil’s Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti
South Racing and the Divino Fogäo Rally Team were not able to defend their title in Brazil’s challenging seven-day Rally dos Sertões.
The teams joined forces to run the Brazilian duo of Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Gugelmin in the punishing off-road rally and were inside the top three overall positions until the fifth day, when the Toyota Hiluxes’s engine let go on the selective section between Maratona and Luis Eduardo Magalhäes on Thursday afternoon.
This left the door open for Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti to reach Palmas in first position and claim the winner’s spoils on one of the toughest cross-country events in South America. South Africa’s Lance Woolridge finished second by just 67 seconds and the experienced Brazilian and former winner Guilerme Spinelli rounded off the podium places.
“Sertões is a great rally and returning this year to the more traditional routes was a challenge for the team and the car,