PressClub Italia · Article.
MINI ALL4 Racing to compete at the Italian Baja – round 4 of the 2016 FIA Cross Country World Cup.
Thu Jun 23 18:22:00 CEST 2016 Comunicati Stampa
Munich. The 23rd Italian Baja takes place 23-26th June, in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy, with the action taking place on the rolling plains and river beds around the province of Pordenone.
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Press release
23 June 2016
MINI ALL4 Racing to compete at the Italian Baja – round 4 of
the 2016 FIA Cross Country World Cup.
X-raid Team MINI ALL4 Racing drivers Yazeed Al Rajhi
(KSA) and Bryce Menzies (USA) line up for Italian Baja debuts.
Munich. The 23rd Italian Baja takes place 23-26th
June, in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy, with
the action taking place on the rolling plains and river beds around
the province of Pordenone.
Two MINI ALL4 Racing are lined up against a large entry of
competitors, which should guarantee spectacular cross-country rally
racing for the competing teams and the spectating crowds. Under the
banner of X-raid Team, the two MINI ALL4 Racing entries will be crewed
by Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) and co-pilot Timo Gottschalk (GER) in car
#202, with Bryce Menzies (USA) and Tom Colsoul (BEL) in MINI ALL4
Racing #214.
The new partnership of Al Rajhi and Gottschalk has proven to be
a successful one. In the first third of this year’s Fia Cross Country
World Cup, at Round 2, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2016, the pairing
netted a deserved second place result. The same race end position was
also achieved at Round 3, Qatar Sealine Cross Country Rally 2016. For
the Italian Baja, Al Rajhi is in a determined mood to go one better...
For America’s Bryce Menzies, the 2016 Italian Baja is only his
second outing in a MINI ALL4 Racing. His first full race at the
controls of a MINI ALL4 Racing took place at the Abu Dhabi Desert
Challenge 2016. Considering he had never competed in such a lengthy
desert rally competition, Menzies completed the race in an amazing
fourth place with the experienced co-pilot Andreas Schulz (GER) at his side.
By utilising Al Rajhi and Menzies’ varied rally experiences
(climate, terrain, vehicles), they are proving to be key components in
X-raid Team’s development of the MINI ALL 4 Racing ahead of the 2017
Dakar Rally.
Ongoing test and development work under race conditions is
paramount to reliability and performance, both of which are essential
ingredients to securing success at the Dakar Rally – the ultimate in
long distance cross-country endurance rallies. The fact a MINI ALL4
Racing won the Dakar Rally across four consecutive years (2012-15) and
completed the 2016 edition in second place pays testament to this
continuous development regime.
Racing action at the 2016 Italian Baja starts Friday 24th June
with a “shakedown” test available for the competing teams. This will
be followed at 17:00 local time by a spectacular timed Super Special
Stage (SSS – Leg 1) in the area of Cordenons.
The end results of SSS Leg 1will determine the start order for
the two Special Stages (SS 2/3) of Leg 2, Saturday 25th June. Leg 3 on
the final day, Sunday 26th June, features two further Special Stages
before the final result late afternoon – results that hopefully will
mirror the MINI win achieved in the 2015 Italian Baja. For more
important information regarding this year’s Italian Baja, please vist:
www.italianbaja.it
2016
Italian Baja
: MINI ALL4 Racing line up
Driver | Co-driver | # | Team |
Yazeed Al Rajhi | Timo Gottschalk (GER) | 202 | X-raid Team |
Bryce Menzies (USA) | Tom Colsoul (BEL) | 214 | X-raid Team |
Race calendar: 2016 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.
19/02 – 22/02 Baja Russia
02/04 – 7/04 Abu
Dhabi Desert Challenge
17/04 – 22/04 Sealine Cross-Country Rally
Qatar
23/06 – 26/06 Italian Baja
22/07 – 24/07 Baja
Aragón
11/08 – 14/08 HunGarian Baja
25/08 – 28/08 Baja
Poland
03/10 – 08/10 Rallye Oilibya du Maroc
21/10 – 23/10
Baja Portalegre 500
Find reports, photos and videos in high resolution of previous
MINI ALL4 Racing activity on the BMW Media Website by clicking here.