Media Information
Italian Baja 2017
13 June 2017
Italian Baja 2017 –
Round 6, FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup
.
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Two crews from the MINI Family to compete in the
24th edition of Italian Baja, 15-18 June. -
Mohamed Abu Issa and co-driver Xavier Panseri head record
entry list with race number #1. -
Jakub Przygonski and Tom Colsoul look to improve their two
second place results of two previous outings.
Munich. Race action that forms the sixth round of the
FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup (15-18th June)
returns to mainland Europe, specifically the north-east of Italy and
the scenic countryside and river beds in the outlying areas of
Pordenone. Two MINI Family crews are lined up to challenge the
largest entry list to date of the long-standing Italian Baja.
Technical scrutineering of competitor vehicles and safety equipment
takes place 15th June. First sign of race action occurs
with an official shakedown of vehicles and drivers in race trim on
Friday 16th June, at an as yet undisclosed location on the
dry beds of river Tagliamento. There then follows an early evening Leg
1 Super Special Stage of 20km to decide the starting order for Leg 2
(17th June). Race end (Leg 3) and following award ceremony
takes place Sunday 18th June.
Mohamed Abu Issa (QAT) and co-driver Xavier Panseri (FRA) are once
again at the controls of an X-raid Team MINI ALL4 Racing (#1) and
desperate to make amends for a difficult last race (Round 5,
Kazakhstan). Unknown terrain provided valuable experience but at the
cost of punctures and a finish outside of the top ten – a result that
saw them slide from third to fifth in the World Cup standings.
Jakub Przygonski (POL) and Tom Colsoul (BEL) of Orlen Team finished
Kazakhstan (Round 5) on a high after completing the arduous race with
a positive second place. Przygonski now moves up to third in the World
Cup standings and hopes to grab even more valuable points from Italian
Baja 2017.
Przygonski: “I really like to drive with Tom Colsoul;
we are good team inside the car. We solve the problems together and it
is working very well. I was racing in Italian Baja two-times on the
bike – it will be a new experience to race there in the car. I can’t
wait for it.”
For more information about Italian Baja 2017, please visit the
hosting Baja’s home page here.
Italian Baja 2017: MINI line-up