– South Racing’s López and Alvarez finish third and sixth in T3
– Spaniard Farrés and Baciuška classified second and third in T4
The South Racing Can-Am Team’s Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López and Rokas Baciuška sealed the T3 and T4 titles in the inaugural FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) at the Andalucia Rally in southern Spain on Sunday.
López teamed up with Oriol Mena and arrived in Spain with a 28-point cushion over Cristina Gutierrez in the title standings. The Chilean measured his pace to perfection to steer his Can-Am to third place on the event and sealed the title to add to his previous success at the Dakar Rally.
López said: « I am very happy for today to win the World Championship. We did a good job this season. »
Rokas Baciuška teamed up with Spanish navigator Oriol Vidal and delivered a professional final day performance to stay clear of trouble and finish in a similar position in the FIA T4 section in his Can-Am. The podium finish was sufficient for the Lithuanian to claim the title.
Baciuška said: « We are World Champions but it was not an easy race. This is the first title in my life. It was a real pleasure to be here. This rally was not easy. We just drive easy today to make sure we were okay. »
While López finished the Dos Hermanas-based event behind Belgian driver Guillaume de Mevius and young American Seth Quintero, Spain’s Fernando Alvarez and French co-driver Xavier Panseri came home in sixth in their South Racing Can-Am. The Dutch South Racing Can-Am Team crew of Anja van Loon and Lisette Bakker were classified in 11th.
Dakar Rally runner-up Gerard Farrés teamed up with Diego Ortega in a factory Can-Am Factory South Racing cars and they secured second place in T4 behind young Spaniard Pau Navarro.
Farrés said: « This was my first race after Dakar and I was happy to be here. It was important that we were able to test the different suspension and this was a good result for us. »
The Cobant-Energylandia Team crew of Marek Goczal and Lukasz Laskawiec arrived in Spain leading their respective T4 drivers and co-driver championships. But that all changed on the third day when the Pole crashed his South Racing-built Can-Am heavily. The team rebuilt the broken Can-Am overnight and Goczal rewarded them with the third quickest time on the final stage.
American racer Austin Jones and his Brazilian navigator Gustavo Gugelmin also held hopes of winning the T4 title in the second of the Can-Am Factory South Racing cars, but fuel pressure issues and an accident hampered the Arizona driver and he reached the finish in fourth in T4.
Germany’s Annett Fischer ran a Can-Am with support from South Racing and Sweden’s Annie Seel working alongside as her co-driver. They finished 10th in T3.
South Racing Can-Am Team’s Scott Abraham said: « A double championship win is a great way to finish off the inaugural FIA World Rally-Raid Championship. It was a nail-biting week. ‘Chaleco’ did what he needed to do after taking the victories in Dakar and Abu Dhabi. We made some big steps during the year with the T3 programme. It’s definitely going to be a big fight with Yamaha, OT3 and ourselves going forward.
« T4 was a three-way battle at the start with one point separating the three competitors and, in the end, Rokas came out on top to win the World Championship. It was a close margin and that is what the category is all about. It has been a dog fight for years. It’s Can-Am’s fifth consecutive World Championship following our fifth consecutive Dakar. A huge thanks to the team and all our partners for keeping this project in winning ways for a fifth consecutive year.
« Now we go to the FIA Baja World Cup in Baja Portalegre in two days’ time, where we hope to consolidate both our T3 and T4 leads. »
As it happened
With much of the route following narrow and dusty tracks, achieving a top result on the Qualifying Stage of 6.91km took on added significance. López finished fourth in T3 and second of the registered drivers, with Basiuška topping the T4 times from Navarro, Farrés, Goczal and Jones.
A niggling fuel pressure error cost Jones vital seconds but he was confident that he could attack on the first of the selective sections – a demanding 317.33km passage through remote farmland and scenic terrain in the Sevilla region.
López shadowed De Mevius and Quintero to the finish to record the third quickest time in T3 and remain firmly on course for the world title, while Farrés got the better of Navarro and Baciuška in T4. Goczal finished in fourth. « It was a difficult stage with tricky navigation, » said Farres’s co-driver Ortega. « There were many waypoints and many changes of direction. But we are happy to win the stage. »
Alvarez suffered navigational issues in T3 and lost time and Jones ran well for the first part before leaving the road through some trees and damaging the car. The American finished the stage on three wheels and lost around 30 minutes. « It was a big mistake on my part, » admitted Jones.
The second selective section of 334.74km headed into the neighbouring Málaga Province but was delayed because of inclement weather conditions hampering the event’s aerial safety plan. Race officials then shortened the day’s action to just 84km before taking the decision to cancel the action entirely.
Day three headed into the Huelva region and fog caused a delay before action eventually got underway on the varied 284km section through pine and eucalyptus groves and across fast open terrain.
While López managed his pace perfectly to stay in touch with his rivals with one eye on the T3 championship – his cause helped still further by ongoing delays for Cristina Gutierrez – the outcome of the T4 series swung firmly in Baciuška’s favour. With Jones blighted by his own delays again, Goczal crashed heavily out of contention midway through the stage.
The final stage ran for 100km across remote rural terrain in the Cadiz area of southern Spain with a finish on the coast, near the Straits of Gibraltar. With the cancellation of stage two, the FIA decided that only half points would be awarded at the end of the Andalucia event and that meant that López was already on course for the T3 title.
The Chilean stayed clear of trouble on the final day to set the fourth quickest time in T3 before his title celebrations began. Jones and Goczal were second and third in T4 with Baciuška becoming the World Champion as a result of finishing a cautious fifth on the day.
The South Racing Can-Am Team received valuable support for the race programme from Method Wheels, Tensor Tires, Motul, Bell, Jjuan Brake Systems, Lazer and OMP.
2022 Andalucia Rally – FIA T3 final standings:
1. Guillaume de Mevius (BEL)/François Cazalet (FRA) Grallyteam OT3, 9hr 07min 42sec
2. Seth Quintero (USA)/Dennis Zenz (DEU) Grallyteam OT3, 9hr 15min 45sec
3. Francisco López (CHL)/Oriol Mena (ESP) South Racing Can-Am Maverick X3, 9hr 29min 45sec
4. Mathieu Serradori (FRA/Loic Minaudier (FRA) Zephyr, 9hr 40min 22sec
5. Cristina Gutièrrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno Huete (ESP) Grallyteam OT3, 10hr 02min 37sec
6. Fernando Alvarez (ESP)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) South Racing Can-Am Maverick X3, 10hr 09min 11sec
7. Jesus Fuster (ESP)/Carlos Fernandez Mula (ERSP) Herrator HRX-3, 10hr 23min 19sec
8. Oscar Olivas (ESP)/Luis Barrios (ESP) Herrator Inzane X3, 10hr 31min 22sec
9. Antonio Graña Murado (ESP)/Marc Solà (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3, 10hr 34min 30sec
10. Annett Fischer (DEU)/Annie Seel (SWE) Can-Am Maverick X3, 10hr 46min 45sec
11. Anya van Loon (NLD)/Lisette Bakker (NLD) South Racing Can-Am Maverick X3, 11hr 02min 07sec
2022 Andalucia Rally – FIA T4 final standings:
1. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Michael Metge (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo, 9hr 33min 50sec
2. Gerard Farrés (ESP)/Diego Ortego (ESP) Can-Am Factory South Racing Maverick, 9hr 35min 12sec
3. Rokas Baciuška (LTU)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) South Racing Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo, 9hr 44min 58sec
4. Austin Jones (USA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) Can-Am Factory South Racing Maverick, 12hr 07min 50sec
5. Marek Goczal (POL)/Lukasz Laskawiec (POL) South Racing Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo, 29hr 46min 32sec