– Good debut of the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy
– Tough Dakar – strong team
It was not a Dakar like any other: the 40th edition of the prestigious event was one of the most difficult ones in the recent past. And it also proved to be a tough rally for the X-raid Team, with the seven MINI pairings representing the team’s colours keeping the squad on its toes.
After 14 stages and more than 7,000 kilometres across South America, Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and Tom Colsoul (BEL) in a MINI John Cooper Works Rally secured an excellent fifth place in the overall standings. Boris Garafulic (CHI) and Filipe Palmeiro (POR) took their Mini JCW Rally to 13th place in the 2018 Dakar. Meanwhile, Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Andreas Schulz (GER) secured 19th place in the debut Dakar of the Mini John Cooper Works Buggy, with Orlando ‘Orly’ Terranova / Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue (both ARG) in another Mini JCW Rally following right behind their team-mates and finished 20th.
Przygonski and Colsoul succeeded in avoiding any problems throughout the Dakar. Due to this strategy they benefitted from the mistakes made by their rivals and worked their way up in the overall standings step by step. « We are very happy to be here in Cordoba