NWM/X Rally Team conquering the Sertões. Again.
It was a long journey. Seven days, 3.3 thousand kilometers, two thousand staged kilometers and the second Rally dos Sertões title in a row for Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti with the NWM/X Rally Team Ford Ranger V8 4x4. The final day of competition was held this Saturday with a 240-km stage between Aquidauana and Bonito – the beautiful city in the countryside of Mato Grosso do Sul prepared a big party to host the champions.
The 25th edition of Brazil’s longest and most demanding off-road competition left Goiânia on August 19th and went through seven cities. The fastest duo of the event completed their mission with a total time of 21h38min38s52, 6min44s ahead of the Ford Ranger of Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Gugelmin.
“If anyone had told me two years ago that we would win the Sertões twice in a row, I would not believe. However, we worked very hard for this to happen, investing in a middle-to-long therm. It was our fourth Sertões with this car built by NWM, and the results show that we are in the right path”, said Cristian Baumgart.
The #301 car driver and co-driver won the first two stages of the rally, pushing the Ford Ranger to the limit to built the lead, consolidade it, and then manage the gap in front of the other competitors. They lead the overall classification since day one.
“We knew it would be hard, because the T1 FIA class is so competitive. We kept our heads down, working very hard. Our mechanics did overnight shifts to make sure everything was 100% ok. This proves that rally is, indeed, a team sport. I am beyond happy”, states Beco.
The trophy representes the second title for NWM Motorsports in Brazil. The partnership with São Paulo’s X Rally Team has proved its success. “It has been an amazing journey. Even the language difference wasn’t an obstacle. Everyone in this team worked really hard to achieve this victory. We are really proud and feeling home in Brazil. This team had become a second family for us. It was a perfect race from Cristian and Beco. Now it is time to celebrate”, stated Neil Woolridge.
2017 Rally dos Sertões Final Results (top-5 T1 FIA)
1. 301 Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti (FORD RANGER) – 21h38min38s52
2. 304 Reinaldo Varela/Gustavo Gugelmin (FORD RANGER) – a 6min44s
3. 329 Alvarez Fernando/Juan Monasterolo (AMAROK) – a 1h59min35s
4. 302 Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (MINI) – a 3h00min18s
5. 315 Sylvio de Barros/Rafael Capoani (MINI) – a 3h38min28s
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