– Final competitive kilometers before the Dakar Rally
– Strong daily results for the MINI desert racer
The Qatar International Baja marked the final competitive kilometers before the world-famous Rally Dakar. The participants used the event as the ultimate rehearsal for the big season highlight in early January in Saudi Arabia. Lionel and Lucie Baud secured an excellent fifth place in the Ultimate category and eighth overall with their MINI JCW Rally 3.0d. Last year’s winners, Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov, showed strong pace in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, but unfortunately were unable to repeat their previous year’s victory.
The Qatar International Baja got off to a promising start – both MINI desert racers placed in the Top 10 during the prologue. Krotov and Zhiltsov even won the first special stage on Friday in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, while Lionel and Lucie Baud finished the day in 20th position.
On Saturday, Krotov seemed well on his way to repeating his victory from last year or at least securing a podium finish. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side this time – just a few kilometers before the finish, they had to retire. The Baud family, however, stayed on attack mode, finishing the second day in seventh overall, which moved them up to eighth place overall and fifth in the Ultimate category.
The X-raid Team will be back in action in just under two weeks at the Dubai International Baja. Meanwhile, at the team headquarters in Trebur, Germany, final preparations are underway to ship all equipment to Saudi Arabia.
Statement
Lionel Baud (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): « After yesterday’s setback, we started far back today – right in the dust of the other competitors. That meant we had to overtake all the SxS in front of us. Lucie did an amazing job with navigation, and despite two punctures, we finished the stage in a strong seventh place. The car ran perfectly – we’re really happy with that! »
Overall standings
1. J. Yacopini / D. Oliveras – Toyota – 4h 50m 30s
2. M. Prokop / V. Chytka – Ford – 4h 53m 02s
3. D. Akeel / S. Delaunay – Toyota – 5h 07m 14s
4. N. Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin – Taurus – 5h 12m 59s
5. M. Zapletal / M. Sykora – Ford – 5h 32m 00s…
8. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 5h 42m 18s
Stefanie Szlapka