MINI ALL4 Racing X-raid Cross-Country update

Dec 23, 2016

The year approaches its end and slowly but surely, it’s also getting quiet at the X-raid headquarters in Trebur. In mid-November all our vehicles hit the road to Le Havre, France, were they were loaded into a ship to then be shipped to South America. And a short time after Christmas, the team members also will travel to South America.

Rally OiLibya du Maroc, Morocco (01 – 07/10/16):
It was a difficult final test for the 2017 Dakar, with the navigation representing a particular challenge. Three MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles made it to the top five, in the last desert rally prior to the Dakar. Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstantin Zhiltsov came third, followed by Orly Terranova / Paulo Fiúza in fourth position. Right behind their team-mates, Kuba Przygonski and Tom Colsoul came fifth. Meanwhile, Boris Garafulic and Filipe Palmeiro were happy about having finished seventh.

In the final stage, the X-raid pairings had to cope with a massive dose of bad luck. Mikko Hirvonen was plagued by stomach problems and couldn’t finish the stage. Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk were forced into retirement by a damaged turbo-charger and a broken drive shaft prevented Mohamed Abu Issa and Philipp Beier in the buggy from securing a good resu
Baja Portalegre, Portugal (29 – 30/10/2016):
The 2016 Baja Portalegre proved to be a very special event for X-raid. Not only our mechanics worked on the MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles but our drivers and co-drivers too. Ricardo Porém and Filipe Palmeiro dominated the event and celebrated a superior win.

As the X-raid pairings also should get to know the jobs of other team members they had to swap positions in Portugal as team-building measure. Co-driver Michel Périn was appointed temporary Team Principal, with Mikko Hirvonen, Pete Mortensen and Paulo Fiúza working as mechanics for Porém. Tom Colsoul was responsible for the logistics and Stephan Schott attended to the journalists as media representative. Meanwhile, X-raid team principal Sven Quandt adopted the position of the team physiotherapist – of course with professional support in the background.

Thanks to the support by his special team, Porém crossed the finish line with a five-minute lead over the rest of the field. For the Portuguese, it was his third consecutive win in the event. His compatriot and co-driver, Palmeiro, was virtually over the moon – after all, it was his first win in his home Baja.

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