Press release Team x-raid: Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit and Swedish co-driver Tina Thörner noticeably eased their pace over the final leg of the 2009 Transiberico Rally between Beja and Estoril in Portugal, but did enough to clinch outright victory in the final round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. The result also confirmed the FIA World Cup title for the Frenchman and his BMW X-raid team. It was the second successive FIA World Cup success for the Trebur-based X-raid team – Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah won the title in his BMW X3 CC in 2008 – and the third in total for Sven Quandt’s ever-improving team.
Chicherit inherited the overall lead in the fifth stage, when team-mate Filipe Campos hit a tree stump and damaged his X-raid BMW X3 CC’s wheel and suspension. The Frenchman then settled into a measured pace to conserve the car and secure the FIA World Cup title. “It’s a wonderful feeling to win the FIA World Cup with this team,” said Chicherit. “This year, since the Dakar, I have now done three events and the extra time in competition has been wonderful for my confidence. I hope to do more events during the season. The aim is to be fully-prepared for the Dakar next time, but I will enjoy this triumph for now. Tina and I worked superbly together in the car and the team rallied round to make this a great result for everyone.”
To cap an excellent week of cross-country rallying for the X-raid team, Portugal’s Bernardo Moniz da Maia and Joana Sotto-Mayor finished a superb third overall in their X-raid BMW X3 CC.
“It’s a great achievement for our team to win the FIA World Cup for a second successive year” said team director Sven Quandt. “Guerlain drove very well and we had the bonus of a podium finish for Bernardo. ‘Nani’ had a useful first test with the team for the first time and Filipe proved that he has the pace to be competitive at the highest level.”

2009 Transiberico Rally – positions after leg 4:

• 1. Guerlain Chicherit (F)/Tina Thörner BMW X3 CC 15h 11m 08s
• 2. Helder Oliveira (P)/Filipe Palmeiro (P) Nissan Pathfinder 16h 27m 35s
• 3. Bernardo Moniz da Maia (P)/Joana Sotto-Mayor (P) BMW X3 CC 16h 43m 22s
• 4. Rodolphe Deveaux (P)/Luis Ramalho (P) Mitsubishi Pajero 17h 01m 16s
• 5. José Dinas Lucas (P)/Luis Tirano (P) Mitsubishi Pajero 17h 32m 55s
• 6. Lino Carapeta (P)/Rui Antonio (P) QT Wildcat 17h 35m 42s
• 25. Filipe Campos (P)/Jaime Baptista (P) BMW X3 CC 109h 53m 07s
• 30. Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (E)/Michel Perin (F) BMW X3 CC 123h 44m 07s

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2. The largest marathon rally raid in the world
3. Joan “Nani” Roma victory for X-Raid
4. Peterhansel and Roma set for first X-raid appearance in Spain
5. Team x-raid new dimensions NEWS

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This post was written by Memin