Four Score at the Baja Spanien

Steve · Jul 23, 2013

Four Score at the Baja Spanien. (MiniMotorsport.com)

22 July 2013

The Monster Energy X-raid Team and the MINI brand secure all top-four positions at the Baja Spain: Another successful step towards the 2014 Dakar Rally.

Yellow, black, green, white: the result of the 2013 Baja Spain. As strange as it sounds, that is how it finished. Fans of the Monster Energy X-raid team and the MINI brand can decipher the meaning behind this list of colours straight away. For the uninitiated, these colours mean only one thing â€“ the top four were all MINI ALL 4 Racing cars. And X-raid Teamâ€™s drivers came home in the following order: Nani Roma, Orlando Terranova, StÃ©phane Peterhansel and Krzysztof Holowczyc. The result in Spain also meant more points in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, a victory on home soil for Nani and another success for the X-raid Team on the road to the 2014 Dakar Rally.

It is no surprise, then, that there were smiles all round in the X-raid team camp after the race. Nani had particular reason to be happy since the Baja Spain holds a special place in his heart. â€œThis is an important rally,â€ said the Spaniard. â€œAnd the fact that it is kind of my home race is not the only reason; this is also where I ran my first race with the X-raid team several years ago.â€ Nani also celebrated victory in the Baja Spain in 2005 and 2009, meaning this triumph in the yellow MINI ALL4 Racing has completed a hat-trick of wins.

Meanwhile, Orlando took second place in only his second start driving the black MINI ALL4 Racing. After finishing second in the DesafÃo Ruta 40 at the end of July, the Argentine found himself on the podium again in Spain. This is what Orlando had to say: â€œI am very happy with this result. It was a great race and a good test for the Dakar in January.â€ Dakar? Dakar? There's something missing here ... Oh wait, that's it: eleven-time Dakar winner StÃ©phane Peterhansel.

'Mr Dakar' third in Spain.

'Mr Dakar' had to be content with the last spot on the podium in Spain after being delayed by a brake disc problem on the third stage. â€œI would have been able to win it for sure, but we were just unlucky,â€ said the Frenchman. â€œNani was very fast, didn't make any mistakes and deserved to take victory.â€ Krzysztof could also be pleased with his fourth place finish in the red MINI ALL4 Racing. â€œThe most important thing was picking up more World Cup points and getting another 700 kilometres of racing under my belt.â€ Starting on 5 January, the next Dakar Rally is now fast approaching.

The X-raid team will be going into the world's toughest and most famous long-distance rally as defending champions. It is no surprise to hear that team boss Sven Quandt is once again putting his faith in MINI for this competition. â€œThe updated MINI ALL 4 Racing has shown what it can do,â€ said Quandt. The German is keen to make further improvements to the cars before the Dakar Rally gets under way in a little over five months' time; there are also several test runs in the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies before then. The next event is the Baja Hungary on 15 August.
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