MINI prepared for Silk Way Rally 2018.

Media Information

Silk Way Rally 2018

05 July 2018

 

MINI prepared for Silk Way Rally 2018
.

 

  • Two MINI John Cooper Works Rally line-up for Silk Way Rally 2018.
  • Significantly revised route sees event split into two
    separate races.
  • First edition of Silk Way Rally 2018 will be contested in
    Russia only.

 

Munich. Two MINI crews of Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) with Timo
Gottschalk (GER) and Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP) with Alex Haro (ESP)
will line-up for the start of the 2018 Silk Way Rally in Russia. The
podium event will be staged in Astrakhan on Friday 20 July before
the seven-day, 3,570km race begins the following day.

 

Unlike the previous edition of Silk Way Rally, this year the
competitors will not travel across Kazakhstan to cross the border into
China. They will instead complete the race in Moscow on 27 July before
contesting a second edition of the rally in China this September. 

 

It will be a gruelling start to the rally for drivers and navigators
with a marathon stage planned for day two – this means that the
competitors will have no overnight support from their team or
mechanics during this part of the race.

 

Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) is no stranger to Silk Way Rally, having
contested the previous two events with MINI and X-raid. In 2016,
together with this year’s co-driver Timo Gottschalk (GER), the pair
enjoyed success with a second place finish overall, including two
stage wins along the way. For 2017, with regular co-driver Gottschalk
injured, Al Rajhi was paired with Tom Colsoul (BEL) and the driver
experienced a more difficult race.

 

Despite a strong start, finishing fourth in stage one, the pairing
faced significant challenges and a resulting penalty on day two,
forcing them down to 41st place overall. Refusing to give
in though, the pair battled hard and scored a top ten finish overall.
However, Al Rajhi is looking forward to returning to the event in the
MINI John Cooper Works Rally with his regular co-driver.

 

Al Rajhi: “We have fond memories of the rally and
finishing second in 2016. The routes are always nice and diversified
and we are curious to find out what we will have to cope with in
Russia. It is a pity that China will be omitted and the rally
consequently will be far shorter, but the routes in Russia are
anything but easy so it will still be a challenge. We had success with
our recent win at the Kazakhstan rally, so we’re hoping to replicate that.”

 

For fellow MINI competitor, Joan ‘Nani’ Roma, the Silk Way Rally will
be a completely new challenge. The experienced rally driver has never
before raced in Russia. He will be accompanied in the MINI John Cooper
Works Rally by regular co-driver and fellow Spaniard Alex Haro. The
race signals the pair’s return to racing following Nani Roma’s
recovery from head and neck injuries sustained during the third stage
of the 2018 Dakar Rally.

 

Roma: “After the long break, we are finally back in
the cockpit of the MINI. We have practiced a lot and are prepared for
the long stages that we will have to face, but Alex and I will
certainly need some time to find our rhythm. I am looking forward to
the event, even more so because I have not contested a rally in
Russia. It’s a pity that China is not part of the schedule as the
dunes would have helped us to prepare for the 2019 Dakar in Peru.”

 

For further information on Silk Way Rally 2018 and the full rally
schedule please click here.

 

 

Silk Way Rally 2018: MINI Family line up