Media Information
Rally Kazakhstan
24 May 2018
Rally Kazakhstan 2018 – Round 5, FIA Cross
Country Rally World Cup
.
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FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup front runner Jakub ‘Kuba’
Przygonski looks to extend his lead in a MINI John Cooper Works Rally. -
Luc Alphand returns for his second competitive outing in
2018 with the MINI John Copper Works Buggy. -
Four MINI Motorsport crews line up for the start of
Kazakhstan Rally 2018.
Munich. The 2018
FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup edges towards halfway point
of the season with Round 5 of the 11-round championship taking place
in Kazakhstan. Rally Kazakhstan officially starts Monday 28-05-2018
and finishes Saturday 2-6-2018 after six days (six legs) of
action-filled racing covering a race distance of 2447.92 km.
After a dominant win at Qatar Cross Country Rally 2018 (Round 4),
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL), along with regular co-driver Tom
Colsoul (BEL), was elevated to the top of the FIA World Cup driver
standings. This position obviously reflects the quality of racing
produced by the young Polish rally star so far in 2018; it also
demonstrates the complete reliability of the MINI John Cooper Works
under difficult racing conditions.
Reliability of MINI racing cars is due to continual development of a
tried and tested platform. The same testing and development regime is
also in place for the latest MINI Motorsport racing machine, the MINI
John Cooper Works Buggy, which saw its debut at the 2018 Dakar.
Rally Kazakhstan will be its setting for the second outing in this
year’s FIA World Cup. Once again, the crew of this much-admired car is
that of former Dakar winner Luc Alphand (FRA) and the highly
experienced co-driver Andreas Schulz (GER). In their first ever outing
– Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2018 (Round 3) – as a MINI pairing, they
achieved a creditable second place in Leg 1 and took the win in Leg 3.
There’s no doubt that Alphand, being competitive as he is, will be
looking to better these results throughout the Kazakhstan Rally’s
off-road stages.
Spectators of Kazakhstan Rally 2018 will also be treated to the fast
pace of Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) in a MINI John Cooper Works Rally. Al
Rajhi is keen to place his name further up the leading pack within the
FIA World Cup. Helping him to achieve this is co-driver Timo
Gottschalk (GER). Together they make a formidable pairing and they
could very well alter Przygonski’s plans for success.
Two new additions to the MINI Family will be present in Kazakhstan
and both will compete for the first time in a MINI John Cooper Works
Rally. Victor Khoroshavtsev (RUS) is the latest MINI Family driver and
compatriot Dmitriy Pavlov will take up residence in the co-driver’s seat.
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski: “This time will be the
second time Tom and I have raced together at Kazakhstan Rally. Last
year it was good race that we enjoyed even though it was not easy with
navigation and was quite tricky in the dunes. Now we are leading in
the World Cup classification and this race will be very important for
us to get a lot of points to keep on course to the end of the season.
This means we not only have to fight for points but also to take care
in navigation and not damage the car.”
For more information about Kazakhstan Rally 2018, please visit the
host’s event home page here.
FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup 2018 calendar