The Rally dos Sertões begun this Sunday in Goiânia with a 111.7-km stage between the state capital and the city of Padre Bernardo, 364 kilometers ahead. In a dangerous, Pikes Peak-like stretch, the NWM-Ford Performance Ford Rangers V8 showed their potential by clinching the positions one, three and four.
The stage was won by X Rally Teams #304 of Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti with the time of 1h36min42s. Lance Woolridge, making his debut on an international rally, came third only 4min32s off the leaders.
"It was very good. By 20 kilometers, weve got past Guiga (Guilherme Spinellis Mitsubishi). Then, it was a good stage. I didnt push too much. There were plenty of blind spots, precipices, too much dust. Quite rough in some places, but fast and flowing in others, so it was a good experience", said Lance, son of South-African rally legend Neil Woolridge.
Lances co-pilot Marcelo Haseyama took a conservative approach in the beginning. Since the communication between the duo was getting better, the pace started to increase. "It was a tough stage. We had many trials on the first third of the stage, and we could see what the Ford Ranger is capable of. Lance remained very confident and my job consisted in warning him of the main dangers on the road", said the Brazilian.
"Our strategy was a little more conservative, however, once the car behavior and Lances driving were very good, we started to push a bit further and we gained on speed and grip. It was a really good start", he stated.
Sertões day two takes the rally caravan from Padre Bernardo to Cavalcante, still in Goiás state, on a 374-km stage from 418 total.
DAY 1 - Results:
1º) Christian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti (FORD X RALLY TEAM), 1h36min42s;
2º) Reinaldo Varela/Gustavo Gugelmin (TOYOTA), 1min39min51s;
3º) Lance Woolridge/Marcelo Heseyama (NWM-FORD PERFORMANCE), 1h41min15s;
4º) Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea (FORD X RALLY TEAM, 1h42min42s;
5º) Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (MITSUBISHI), 1h47min11s.
05/09 - Round 2
Padre Bernardo (GO) - Cavalcante (GO)
Stage 374,84 km
Total: 418,3 km
06/09 - Round 3
Cavalcante (GO) - Posse (GO)
Stage: 376,41 km
Total: 643,48 km
07/09 - Round 4
Posse (GO) - Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA)
Stage: 361,94 km
Total: 560,15 km
08/09 - Round 5 - Marathon Stage
Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA) - Mateiros (TO)
Stage: 425,67 km
Total: 461,14 km
09/09 - Round 6 - Marathon Stage
Mateiros (TO) - Ponte Alta (TO)
Stage: 514,98 km
Total: 520,95 km
10/09 - Round 7
Ponte Alta (TO) - Palmas (TO)
Stage: 191,54 km
Total: 243,61 km
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Instagram Account: @nwmsport
FURTHER INFORMATION IN BRAZIL
P1 Media Relations
CLEBER BERNUCI, Press Officer
+55 (19) 992 222 517
cleber@xrallyteam.com.br
FURTHER INFORMATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
Mileman Media
+27 (82) 897 6145
COLIN MILEMAN, Press Officer
colin@milemanmedia.co.za
