NWM-X Rally Ford Rangers ahead of competition
Competitors faced 355 kilometers against the clock this Wednesday between Luís Eduardo Magalhães and Barra, in Bahia. The marathon stage, in which the teams are not allowed to do any kind of intervention in the cars, put the machines to prove, and the Ford Rangers V8 4x4 from the joint effort of X Rally Team and Neil Woolridge Motorsport, built in Pietermaritzburg and São Paulo, stood out with a 1-2-3-4 lead by reigning champions Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti.
A great scenario to prove all the toughness, speed and reliability of the cars built in Pietmaritzburg and São Paulo. Baumgart won the stage by a tiny margin of 21 seconds over Gareth Woolridge, who won the third round on Tuesday. Marcos Baumgart came third alongside Kleber Cincea, and Sylvio de Barros was fifth with Rafael Capoani. The Ford Ranger of Gunter Hinkelmann and Fábio Pedroso finished the day in the seventh position due to a flat tyre.
The result allowed Cristian to raise his advantage on the overall standings from seven to more than 13 minutes over Sylvio, with three stages to the end.
“It was quite fast today. There were some jumps that scared us a little bit – we found out that they were high only when we were up in the air, but fortunately everything went fine. We pushed a little bit to catch Gareth, but we lost some time trying to overtake na UTV and a quad, but at the end of the day we kept the fastest time and could put some more minutes in the gap between us and Sylvio”, Cristian highlighted.
As for Gareth Woolridge, who makes in the Sertões his international racing debut, the strategy is to go flat out all the way. “Since we did not finish the first day, we have been taking off the advantage of Facco (Luiz Facco, overall leader in the T1 Brazil class), hoping we can catch him if he faces some kind of issue. Despite of that, the experience of racing in the Sertões has been imensely valuable and I am really enjoying the challenge”, said Neil Woolridge’s youngest son, who stands in second, 1h23min42secs behind the T1 Brazil leaders.
With only three rounds to go, the Sertões will leave Barra this Thursday morning heading to São Raimundo Nonato, in Piauí. There will be 400 kilometers of stage and a short 46-km liaison to the bivouac, where finally the teams will resume working on the cars.
Day 5 Results (X Rally Team): MARATHON STAGE
LUÍS EDUARDO MAGALHÃES (BA) – BARRA (BA)
1. 301 Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti (Ford Ranger) – 3:55:08
2. 319 Gareth Woolridge/Marcelo Haseyama (Ford Ranger) – 3:55:30
3. 303 Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea (Ford Ranger) – 3:58:03
4. 315 Sylvio de Barros/Rafael Capoani (Ford Ranger) – 4:01:05
7. 348 Gunter Hinkelmann/Fábio Pedroso (Ford Ranger) – 4:15:13
General Classification (X Rally Team – T1 FIA):
1. Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti – 11:41:29
2. Sylvio de Barros/Rafael Capoani – a 13:37
4. Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea – a 22:14
General Classification (X Rally Team – T1 Brazil):
2. Gareth Woolridge/Marcelo Haseyama – a 1:23:41
3. Gunter Hinkelmann/Fábio Pedroso – a 6:53:52
.jpeg "Rodobens")
