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07.Aug - Day 6: Euclides da Cunha Paulista (SP) - Umuarama (PR)
MARATHON STAGE
Liason 1: 27 km
Stage: 199 km
Final Liason: 90 km
Total: 316 km
The sixth of seven stages took the Rally dos Sertões caravan across one more state border, leaving São Paulo and getting to Paraná. With a 199-km stage of 316 total, the competitors arrived in Umuarama this Friday afternoon. The result among T1 FIA cars was a replay of yesterday in the beginning of the marathon, with another X Rally Team/NWM 1-2: Cristian Baumgart won his third stage this Sertões having his younger brother Marcos 5min15s behind him.
Cristian and his co-driver Beco Andreotti faced a technical problem on day one and lost more than an hour to their competitors, and now they went up to P3 overall while Marcos and Kleber Cincea, who have 12 minutes added to their total time due to two penalties, took 4min10s off leaders Reinaldo Varela/Gustavo Gugelmin. With only 111 kms to go, the gap between first and second is only 13min46s.
Since yesterday, the vehicles could not have any team assistance. Only drivers and co-drivers could perform minor repairs on their cars for half an hour this morning inside parc fermè. The marathon stage is a real endurance race for the equipment, and the NWM-built Ford Ranger Dakar V8 4x4 didnt let anyone down: on both days of the marathon stages, the Vedacit-yellow livered Ford Rangers took first and second places.
"In the morning wed just checked tyre pressures and we went flat out all the way down to Umuarama. The car behaved very well and did not suffer at all; on the other hand, I need some massage", laughs Cristian. "The problem we had on day one was an issue with a material that a supplier had sent us, which was different than the one wed ordered", he remembered. "I think we would have been in contention for this title. Anyway, the main goal since then was to win as many stages as possible, and we are achieving that".
It was Cristian and Becos third stage win, the same number as the overall leaders Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Gugelmin. "Those 1-2 finishes weve achieved the last two days are a proof of the resistance and reliability of our cars, such as the fantastic work X Rally Team and NWM are performing on our machinery", highlighted Beco.
Marcos Baumgart himself was a little more careful with his car, but still he was 4min10s faster than Varela. "The Sertões Rally is unpredictable. Theres still one stage to go and anything can happen. We had already seen this film last year", told Marcos.
Sertões final day starts with a 199-km liason. The gas pedal will be hit to the ground for 111 kms, with more 30 kilometers to get to the Latin Americas largest hydroelectric power plant, Itaipu, in Foz do Iguaçu, right at the triple border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguai, and close to the famous Iguaçu Falls.
Day 5 result (cat. T1 FIA)
CARS
1-) Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti (Ford Ranger) - 1h58min39s
2-) Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea (Ford Ranger) - 2h03min55s (a 5min15s)
3-) Reinaldo Varela/Gustavo Gugelmin (Toyota Hilux) - 2h08min05s (a 9min25s)
4-) Guiga Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (Mitsubishi ASX) - 2h14min40s (a 16min00s)
08.Aug - DAY 7: Umuarama (PR) - Foz do Iguaçu (PR)
FINAL DAY
Liason: 199 km
Stage: 111 km
Final Liason: 30 km
Total: 340 km
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X Rally Team is sponsored by Vedacit and Cidade Center Norte, with the backing of Ford Brasil, Motul, GoPro, Reebok Sports Club, Elemidia and Arai
Teams website: www.xrallyteam.com.br
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MORE TEAM INFORMATION
P1 Media Relations
CLEBER BERNUCI, PR Officer
+55 (19) 992 222 517
cleber@xrallyteam.com.br
