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Nasser Al-Atiiyah, the leader of the FIA World Cup in Cross Country Rallies is leading Baja Poland after the Friday Super Special Stage, traditionally placed at the firing range in Szczecin.

The driver from Qatar, who is driving Toyota Hilux Overdrive, finished the first 7 kilometers long stage in the time of 6:09,7. The second crew of the Cup, Jakub Przygoński and Tom Colsoul (Mini John Cooper Works Rally), lost a bit more than 5 seconds.

"It was a fine stage for us. I am quite surprised because we won!" Said Al-Attiyah

"Two very long stages are waiting for us tomorrow but we are not afraid of them and we will be attacking since the first meters.

Krzysztof Hołowczyc, who has won the classical rally in Szczecin five times, took third place with the loss of 8,6 seconds. Hołowczyc, similar to ORLEN Team's driver, seats behind the wheel of the latest generation of Mini.

Just as the last year, after the Super Special Stage, the drivers got together in the Rally Camp which is placed in Łasztownia, Szczecin.

They made a choice of the start positions to tommorow's leg which consists of the stage at the firing range in Drawsko Pomorskie. The stage is 215,90 kilometers long this year and it will be covered twice.

Saturday start list

  1. Krzysztof Hołowczyc
  2. Jakub Przygoński
  3. Nasser Al-Attiyah
  4. Aron Domżała
  5. Bernhard ten Brinke
  6. Vladimir Vasilyev
  7. Miroslav Zapletal
  8. Jes Munk
  9. Marcin Łukaszewski
  10. Nicolas Fuchs

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South Racing brought one of its three Toyota Hiluxes to the finish of the arduous six-day Desafio Ruta 40 Nord at San Miguel de Tucumán in northern Argentina on Thursday (August 31).

The Paraguayan duo of Blas Zapag and Posse Romero claimed the final podium position in their Copetrol Rally Team-backed car behind runaway event winner Orlando Terranova and runner-up José Garcia.

Bolivian driver Rodrigo Gutiérrez and Croatian navigator Tomislav Glavic looked set to finish the second round of this year’s Argentine Cross-Country Rally Championship and a round of the South American Cross-Country Rally Championship (CODASUR) in fifth overall after recovering from a stage maximum penalty on day one that had dropped them to the lower reaches of the top 10.

But the Bolivian damaged the steering rack on his spare car – he had crashed his usual Toyota at the recent Atacama Rally – in the short final stage and was unable to snatch the lead in the CODASUR series or secure victory in the Argentine championship.

The Argentinean duo of Sebastien Halpern and Eduardo Pulenta, meanwhile, held a podium position for two days before a broken differential cost them dearly on day three and they were forced out of the event.

“It was a very promising race and a good performance and eventual result for Blas and late disappointment for Rodrigo and Sebastien,” said South Racing’s managing director Scott Abraham.

“Sebastien had a strong rally going and was running well. But he suffered a differential failure after km200 on the third stage. Unfortunately the support guys did not pack a spare diff, so he could not continue. Rodrigo damaged the steering rack on the last stage today and that cost him dearly in the two regional championships.

“Now we must look to the future, learn from the mistakes and look forward to having Sebastien race with the team in Portalegre (Portugal) and Dakar and to our ongoing programme of rallies in South America.”

The competitive action began with a timed Prologue stage of 5.4km at the Autódromo El Villicum in San Juan on August 26th. Argentina’s Orlando Terranova carded the quickest time of 3min 42sec and was followed over the finish line by Halpern and José Garcia. Gutiérrez and Zapag were fifth and ninth.

The first of the selective sections wound its way from San Juan to Villa Unión in La Rioja Province and Terranova extended his advantage at the top of the standings with the fastest time. Halpern and Zapag were third and sixth, but Gutiérrez incurred a stage maximum after technical issues and slipped into the lower reaches of the top 10.

The first section of the second selective from Villa Unión to Tinogasta in the Catamarca Province used 158km of dry riverbeds and gravel roads before venturing into the demanding dunes at Fiambalá in intense heat. Terranova extended his lead to 22min 04sec over second-placed Halpern, who disposed of Garcia to move into a similar position in the overall standings. Zapag climbed to fourth and Gutiérrez recovered some time to hold eighth.

Stage three headed out of Tinogasta en route to Belén and included a timed section of 303.97km with a mixture of gravel tracks, a sea of soft dunes and dry river beds.

Terranova topped the rankings, but Zapag and Gutiérrez dropped two hours and there were stage maximum penalties of 12 hours for a troubled Halpern after he suffered a differential failure. It meant that Terranova took a substantial lead into the remaining two stages, Zapag climbed to third overall, Halpern slipped to fifth and Gutiérrez held seventh.

Leg four headed off a plateau start at Pie de Medano, near Belén, en route to Tafi del Valle in chilly temperatures

. A stage of 309.14km was on the agenda and Terranova was again quickest, Zapag consolidated third overall with the sixth fastest time and Gutiérrez was fourth and climbed to fifth when Halpern failed to start the stage after his transmission issues on day three.

The short final stage ran for 180.70km between Tafi del Valle and the finish in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán. Terranova claimed the fastest time to seal victory and the fifth fastest time enabled Zapag to confirm third overall. But Gutiérrez damaged the steering rack during the stage and was unable to complete the rally or take the lead in the prestigious CODASUR Championship.

2017 Desafio Ruta 40 Nord – final positions:

1. Orlando Terranova (ARG)/Bernard Graue (ARG) Mini All4 Racing   19hrs 52min 25sec              

2. José Garcia (ARG)/Ricardo Torlaschi (ARG) Chevrolet S10     24hrs 28min 55sec  @4.36.30

3. Blas Zapag (PAR)/Posse Romero (PAR) South Racing Toyota Hilux   34hrs 22min 40sec  @14.30.50

4. Martin Maldonado (ARG)/Sebastien Scholz (ARG) Prototipo HP CRT    34hrs 57min 07sec  @15.04.42

5. Omar Gandara (ARG)/Leonardo Martinez (BOL) Toyota Hilux SR    62hrs 06min 58sec  @42.14.33

DNF. Rodrigo Gutierrez (BOL)/Tomislav Glavic (CRO) South Racing Toyota Hilux   

DNF. Sebastien Halpern (ARG)/Eduardo Pulenta (ARG) South Racing Toyota Hilux

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Orlando ‘Orly’ Terranova and Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue crossed the finish podium in Tucuman in their MINI ALL4 Racing as winners of the event.
 
The two Argentineans prevailed in each of the five special stages and in the prologue.
 
The Desafío Ruta 40 Norte took the field – according to the road’s name – across the northern part of Argentina’s national route 40 that is located in the western part of the country, from San Juan to Tucuman.
 
The competitors had to cope with the most different kinds of terrains, for example with the famous dunes of Fiambala. But the teams also had to demonstrate their skills on rocky roads, in the heights and at temperatures between 0° and 30° Celsius.
 

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After visits to frosty Russia, the deserts of Qatar and Abu Dhabi as well as Italy, Spain and Hungary the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies is moving to Poland where Baja Poland will take place on the first weekend of September.

The most prestigious rally raid in Poland will be the arena of the competition for the precious points in the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies – the most important prize in this discipline of motor sport.

The event, which is based in Szczecin and has its stages in areas of Dobra, Lubieszyn and at the firing range in Drawsko Pomorskie, starts on Friday, September 1 at 16:30. The finish of the competition is predicted to take place on Sunday afternoon. In addition to series-leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, two Poles: Kuba Przygoński – the runner-up of the World Cup – and Krzysztof Hołowczyc, who is returning to the competition behind his MINI ALL4 Racing's wheel, are in the circle of front-runners capable of winning the event.

ORLEN Baja Poland 2017 is going to be a round of FIA Central European Zone Championship (FIA-CEZ), Polish Cross-Country Championship (RMPST), Czech Republic Cross-Country Championship (MMCR) and Polish Cross-Country Rally Cup (RPPST). Rally fans will be also allowed to marvel at the competition in Dacia Duster Cup – a single-make cup created in order to advance junior drivers for the first time. The ambassador of the Cup is none other than Krzysztof Hołowczyc. 

Furthermore, motorcyclists who came forward in Polish Baja Rallies Cup (PPRB) are going to fight for the highest time possible as well. That fills the entry lists, which have already been published, with as many vehicles as 134. 

This year's edition of Baja Poland has gained the new titular associate, PKN ORLEN, the biggest Polish company. However, that does not change the fact that a sizeable involvement in the organisation of the rally has remained in the hands of Baja Poland Foundation. The route is changed and elongated as well.

Similarly to the previous year, it consists of seven special stages. Two Saturday's tests on the firing range in Drawsko Pomorskie are considered as the most astonishing ones. For two years, the stage has expanded to the length of 140 km. The two classic stages on firing range in Drawsko are now 431,80 kilometres in total. SS 2/3 Drawsko Pomorskie is the longest stage in the whole baja rallies' calendar. 

This year, rally's offices, service park and the rally camp are situated on the scenic Łasztownia island. The start of the rally has been moved there from Wały Chrobrego. The compact location of the most important part of the show should simplify following of The FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies' fastest drivers for the spectators. 

Just as in the previous years, ORLEN Baja Poland will begin from the Super Special Stage in the suburbs of Szczecin. Both the start and the finish of the first stage are located in the Szafera street. Before this, however, every crew will take a part in the shakedown. This will be the first opportunity to see the rally cars in action.

This element, which is taken from regular rallies, appeared in cross-country events a year ago but gained an acceptance of drivers. Now, they can check and set their cars before the beginning of the real competition. On Saturday, September 2, the whole grid will move from Szczecin to Drawsko Pomorskie.

They will travel 100 km to transit two of the longest stages of the rally which are nearly 216 kilometers long each. The service park will move to the area of the firing range as well, which is going to be another attraction for the fans. The winner of the rally will be known on Sunday, September 3 after the last four special stages which are 60 kilometres long collectively.

Krzysztof Hołowczyc has the most wins in Baja Poland. He has won in Szczecin five times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015). Balazs Szalay from Hungary, Alexander Zeloudov from Russia and Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar have got one triumph in the rally in 2009, 2013 and 2016 respectively.

Nasser Al-Attiyah, the winner of last year's edition is present in Szczecin but Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Kuba Przygoński are planning to rain on his parade. Przygoński in present season clinched his first win in The FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies by standing on the highest place of the podium in Italian Baja and is hungry to add more top places to his tally.

Baja Poland 2017 schedule 

Thursday, August 31

09:00 – 21:00           Administrative Checks
10:00 – 22:00           Check Test 1 

FridaySeptember 1

09:00 – 13:00           Shakedown, Szafera st., Szczecin
14:30                         The publication of the start list
16:30                         Ceremonial start, Łasztownia island
18:00                         SSS Szczecin, Szafera st., Szczecin

Saturday, September 2:

8:15                SS 2 Drawsko Pomorskie
11:45              The arrival of the first crew in the service park, Drawsko Pomorskie
13:45              SS 3 Drawsko Pomorskie
17:15              The arrival of the first crew in the service park, Drawsko Pomorskie
20:30              The arrival of the first crew at the first leg's finish, Szczecin, Łasztownia

Niedziela, 3 Września:

08:40              SS 4 Krzekowo
09:35              SS 5 Lubieszyn
10:30              Arrival of the first crew in the service park, Szczecin
12:30              SS 6 Krzekowo
13:25              SS 7 Lubieszyn
14:30              Ceremonial finish, rally camp, Szczecin, Łasztownia 

FIA World Cup 2017 (classification after 8 rounds)

1.         Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)               210
2.         Jakub Przygoński (POL)              138
3.         Khalid Al-Qassimi (ZEA)              105
4.         Yasir Seaidan (SAU)                     93
5.         Aron Domżała (POL)                     86
6.         Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT)         84
7.         Martin Prokop (CZE)                     70
8.         Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)                45
9.         Leeroy Poulter (ZAF)                     42
10.       Yahya Al Helei (ZEA)                     30        

2017 calendar:

24/02 – 26/02 Baja Russia – Northern Forest (Russia)
09/03 – 11/03 Dubaj Baja (United Arab Emirates)
01/04 – 07/04 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (United Arab Emirates)
16/04 – 21/04 Sealine Cross Country Rally (Qatar)
20/05 – 27/05 Rally Kazahkstan (Kazakhstan)
15/06 – 18/06 Italian Baja (Italy)
21/07 – 23/07 Baja Espana Aragon (Spain)
10/08 – 13/08 Hungarian Baja (Hungary)
31/08 – 03/09 ORLEN Baja Poland (Poland)
04/10 – 10/10 Rallye du Maroc (Morocco)
26/10 – 28/10 Baja Portalegre 500 (Portugal)

 

         

 

 

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