Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing)who withdrew from the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC) after an accident, rose to prominence in Mexico. The current world champion won the Sonora Rally and signed his second victory of the year after the Dakar.
The Qatari is the leader of the championship for the first time this season (136 pts). Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), leading the general table in Hermosillo, retired in stage 3 after leaving the track and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin injured his shoulder.
Because of this, the Frenchman fell to third place (101 pts). Guerlain Chicherit (GCK Motorsport), following his withdrawal from ADDC, was unable to finish stage 4 due to an electrical problem in another Hunter. is Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), winner at the Emirates, finished second in the race, 6’22” behind the reigning world champion. A result that allows the Saudi to place himself between Al-Attiyah and Loeb in the second position of the championship (106 pts).
The Mini JCW of the X-raid clan occupies the third and fourth positions of the Sonora Rally. Sebastian Halpern climbed to the podium of the race and signed the best result of his life in W2RC. After his fifth place in the ADDC, it allows the Argentine to place fourth in the championship (74 pts), before the Desafío Ruta 40 that he will play in his country. With his fourth place in San Luis, Denis Krotov added his first points of the season (22 pts) and directly entered the fourteenth position in the general table.
In the manufacturers’ classification, the double win between the Hiluxes of Al Attiyah and Al Rajhi allowed Toyota to increase its advantage (175 pts). The X-raid Mini JCW jumped from fourth to second place in the championship (107 pts) thanks to the results of the drivers of the new German T1+. BAIC ORV (100 pts) leads Bahrain Raid Xtreme (90 pts) in third place. The BRX sits fourth, just points off Chicherit’s 21st place.
In T3, Cristina Gutiérrez tied for ‘Chaleco’ with 78 points
In T3, mitch guthrie (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA) won his rivalry with Matthias Ekstrom (South Racing Can-Am) in the final stage. The American also won the Sonora Rally ahead of the Swede. In the overall standings, the three Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA riders are still leading the championship, but now it’s very tight! Austin Jones, third in Mexico, leads by one point (146 pts). Seth Quintero, despite his poor performance caused by a broken tire in the first stage, was very close (145 pts).
Mitch Guthrie gained 45 points and now has a total of 126 points, but is still third. “Chaleco” López and Cristina Gutiérrez, from Red Bull Can-Am Factory, are still behind them, but tied (78 pts).
In T4, victory for Baciuska and the Catalan Oriol Vidal
In T4, Rokas Baciuska (Red Bull Can-Am Factory) won every stage. The Lithuanian dominated Rebecca Busi (FN Speed) and Shinsuke Umeda (Polaris Xtreme+). In the general table, he took off (189 pts) and led his first chaser by 103 points. He only needs 7 points against Eryk Goczal, the Dakar winner who dedicated himself to his studies this year, to be proclaimed champion. A situation that could happen in the next test, where he could become the first champion of the season.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
