Rally dos Sertões Day 4 was the fastest one until now. The leading cars raced through the 376-km stage in a little more than three hours, making it an average of almost 120 kph on the dusty roads between Posse (Goiás) and Luís Eduardo Magalhães (Bahia). It was a day to manage the advantage and brig the cars to the bivouac for a good service aiming the Marathon Stage tomorrow.
"We went flat out, but with a conscience of the whole figure. We still have three days to go, and a lot can happen. We must save the machinery and prevent any kind of problem", said Cristian Baumgart, from the Vedacit X Rally Team.
Stage victory went to Mitsubishis Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad with a 3h12min48s mark. Overall leaders Cristian Baumgart and Beco Andreotti came second only 1min15s off the pace in the X Rally Team NWM-Ford Ranger.
"I think it was the fastest stage of my life", stated Beco Andreotti, Cristians co-pilot. "We must have gone into an average of 130 kph, reaching top speeds of 185 kph on long, 6-km straights. It was extremely fast. We have got a good gap in the lead, so all we have to do now is to save the car so everything can go smoothly as we can".
Lance Woolridge, alongside co-pilot Marcelo Haseyama, was the third fastest duo of this Wednesday with 3h15min30s - feeling like home. "It was nice and fast, just like some races we have in South Africa. Weve lost a bit of time when we stopped to pull Marcos over, but after that we just kept the foot flat. It was awesome, with top speeds of 185 kph. Hasa was perfect all the way in his navigation, and it was fun", said Lance, who now moves to second place overall after a setback suffered by the second X Rally Team duo, of Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea.
On the 62nd kilometer of the stage, the #303 car overturned. Even with Lance and Hasa stopping to help their teammates, yesterdays winners could not continue - although both are physically ok and unhurt. However, they may start tomorrow. "This is what a rally like the Sertões is like: if you want to win, you have to take some risks. We were a bit unlucky today", Marcos mourned. "We flipped over on a long, fast right bend. The car slipped to the outside, Marcos corrected, and then we hit an erosion so there was nothing he could do", Kleber explained.
Lances co-driver Marcelo Haseyama highlighted the strength and speed of the NWM-Ford Performance Ford Ranger V8 built by Neil Woolridge Motorsport. "Comparing to the previous three days today was a lot faster. The car responded very well. We had to stop to help Marcos on the km 62, caught some UTVs on the way - we had even hit a fence trying to swerve from a slower UTV, and this proved that this NWM-Ford Ranger is in fact built tough. Nevertheless, it was a clean stage. Now lets prepare for the marathon tomorrow.
Round 5 of the Sertões tomorrow will connect the cities of Luís Eduardo Magalhães and Mateiros, already in Tocantins state. That will be the first stretch of the Marathon Stage - where the cars cannot receive any outside assistance rather than driver and co-pilot. It is the longest stage so far, with 425 kilometers against the clock of a 461 total.
DAY 4 - Results:
1º) Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (MITSUBISHI), 3h12min48s
2º) Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti (FORD X RALLY TEAM), 3h14min03s;
3º) Lance Woolridge/Marcelo Heseyama (NWM-FORD PERFORMANCE), 3h15min30s;
DNF) Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea (FORD X RALLY TEAM, did not finish;
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 4:
1º) Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti - 14h30min05s
2º) Lance Woolridge/Marcelo Haseyama - 15h16min53s (+46min48s)
3º) Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad (MITSUBISHI), 15h40min57s (+1h10min52s)
WHAT THEY ARE UP TO THE NEXT DAYS:
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
X Rally Team on Facebook: X Rally Team Oficial
X Rally Team Instagram: @xrallyteam
NWMs Facebook official page: Neil Woolridge Motorsport
Instagram Account: @nwmsport
FURTHER INFORMATION IN BRAZIL
P1 Media Relations
CLEBER BERNUCI, Press Officer
+55 (19) 992 222 517
cleber@xrallyteam.com.br
