Baja Portalegre 500, 2018 – Round 11, FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup.

Media Information

Baja Portalegre 500

27th October 2018

 

Baja Portalegre 500, 2018Round 11, FIA
Cross Country Rally World Cup

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  • One-two result for MINI at Baja Portalegre 500.
  • MINI John Cooper Works Rally take top two podium positions.
  • Joan “Nani” Roma / Alex Haro win in Portugal.
  • Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver David Castera complete
    successful MINI debut ahead of Dakar 2019.

 

Munich. The last round (11) of the
FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, Baja Portalegre 500, ended
today (27-10-2018) with a MINI one-two result. This success comes on
the back of MINI securing its sixth FIA World Cup title just weeks
earlier when Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski amassed an unassailable point
lead at Rallye du Maroc (Round 10) to take the championship win.

 

Spain’s Joan “Nani” Roma and co-driver Alex Haro (SP) drove their
MINI John Cooper Works Rally at a fast pace during Friday’s Leg 1 in
Portugal. Despite a puncture, followed by heavy rain and slippery
conditions over the last 15 km, they ended Leg 1 with a marginal lead
over the chasing pack.

 

Today’s Leg 2 was also a fast paced affair that saw Roma get two more
punctures  and finish the last stage in second place but fractionally
ahead on overall time, netting the Spaniard and co-driver Haro the win.

 

Stéphane Peterhansel (FR) and his new co-driver David Castera (FR)
completed a successful race debut in Portugal for X-raid MINI JCW
Team. Competing at Baja Portalegre 500 in a MINI John Cooper Works
Rally, to finalise race preparations ahead of Dakar 2019, the pair
lost time from a puncture in Leg 1. However, they pushed hard
throughout Leg 2 to secure a stage win and second overall. The duo now
look to Dakar 2019 and their first competitive outing in the MINI John
Cooper Works Buggy.

 

Joan “Nani” Roma: “The last stage was not easy and we
had two punctures within 70km, which caused us to stop twice, but
we’re happy and it was important to test everything in the car before
Dakar. The MINI John Cooper Works Rally goes really well. It was not
an easy race; it was really twisty and there were a lot of trees, so
it was quite complicated.”

 

Stéphane Peterhansel: “It was a good weekend for us
and a good opportunity for me to complete the last training with David
Castera before Dakar. As always, the Baja Portalegre is a really
interesting race; the driving is not easy. We finished second, which
is not the best place but we were not focused on winning. Our focus
was on Dakar training; the car was good, we had no problems, the speed
was not so bad. For me, it was like I expected, good rhythm and a good
feeling with David, so perfect weekend.”

 

Baja Portalegre 500, 2018 – MINI standings at race end