– 10th place for Lionel and Lucie Baud in the Ultimate category
– Strong debut for Adroaldo Weisheimer
Lionel and Lucie Baud continue to establish themselves at the front of the rally-raid field. Driving the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, they finished the Rally Raid Portugal in a strong 10th place in the Ultimate category – and 15th overall. The Brazilian duo Adroaldo Weisheimer and Fred Budtikevitz completed their debut in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i in 38th position overall.
The Rally Raid Portugal, part of the W2RC calendar for the second time, proved to be a demanding event. The participants covered over 1,400 kilometers against the clock, with a total distance of around 2,400 kilometers. That meant long days for crews and teams. However, the thousands of fans along the route – both in Portugal and Spain – made up for the effort.
For the father-daughter duo, it was their third consecutive top-10 finish, achieved despite strong factory competition. In Portugal, Lionel and Lucie initially faced a setback, finishing Stage 1 in 47th place. But the French pair steadily fought their way forward over the following days and secured a well-deserved 10th place place in the Ultimate category.
For Weisheimer and Budtikevitz, it was their first rally in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i. The Brazilian crew quickly adapted to their new desert racer and even ranked among the top four in Stage 5. Unfortunately, a time penalty and an issue on the penultimate day pushed them back, leaving them 38th overall and 25th in the Ultimate category on their debut. For Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov, Rally Raid Portugal proved difficult, and they did not finish in classification.
For X-raid, the action continues in just a few days: Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero will compete in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d at the Baja Morocco.
Statement
Lionel Baud (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): « We are really happy – it was a fantastic rally. Very tight, very twisty, very narrow in the forests – a truly unique landscape and an unusual but perfect rally experience. Despite some small problems, we achieved a good result and, above all, made a lot of progress again – both in communication with each other and in terms of driving. We accomplished a lot, we’ll keep working, and next time we will be even stronger. »
Adroaldo Weisheimer (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): « I’m satisfied. We made it to the finish city. I won’t complain about the days when I had some problems – just finishing a rally like this is already worth it. We showed that, whenever we had a clear run, we could keep up with the frontrunners. It was a really great experience. Many thanks to my team, to X-raid for their efforts, and of course to my family and my parents for supporting me all the way. »
Overall standings
1. L. Moraes / A. Monleon – Toyota – 12h 13m 05s
2. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 12h 13m 58s
3. S. Loeb / E. Boulanger – Dacia – 12h 23m 10s
4. C. Baumgart / L. Eckl – SVR – 12h 30m 48s
5. N. Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin – Dacia – 12h 37m 18s
15. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 13h 07m 09s…
38. A. Weisheimer / F. Budtikevitz – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 29h 47m 22s