Victory for Leonid Novitskiy and BMW X3CC
1st Place for Leonid Novitskiy and Andreas Schulz in Rally TT Vodafone Estoril-Portimao-Marrakech 2010, the third round of the FIA Cross Country World Cup and fifth of Portuguese Championship. The Portuguese duo Filipe Campos and Jaime Baptista finished on 2nd position just six minutes behind the Russian. The third BMW X3CC driver Bernardo Moniz da Maia placed 6th position in overall with his co-driver Joana Sotto-Mayor from Portugal. The BMW X5 driver Ricardo Leal dos Santos managed to finish the rally on 4th place in overall classement. After winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2010 in April and a third place in OilLibya Rally 2010 in May, Leonid Novitskiy is leading the FIA Cross Country World Cup 2010 with his victory in the Rally TT Vodafone Estoril-Portimão-Marrakesh. Additionally, Filipe Campos took over the lead in the Portuguese Championship.
It was under the intense Moroccan sun that competitors have made the ultimate stage (Marrakech, 70 km) at the end of eight legs that linked Portugal to Morocco, Estoril to Marrakech, passing through Portimão, over a week of intense competition and many adventures. Precisely, the first place was only decided on the final day, with Leonid Novitskiy 1794.4 miles to finish the clock in front of Filipe Campos, with 6m37s advantage. Still, the Russian had to struggle in beating rookie ever in Africa, by little, being the big surprise of the race.
“I’m very happy because I joined the race victory with the world title win. The organization is to be congratulated, the stages in Portugal were difficult and after a demanding course in Morocco, all very well designed”, explained the winner before the podium ceremony.
From his side, Filipe Campos, the Portuguese champion could not be more pleased after an event of an excellent standard, in Portugal, where he collected the highest score for the Portuguese championship, whether in Morocco where he only lost the lead before the last day. “Yes, it was much better than we could expected. I never thought to fight for the podium places, and the win was like a mirage. I’ve been well above average compared to that expected … sometimes even a little too much! We learn every day to make navigation and read the ground. We lack experience to do the same game as the other drivers” said Campos that also won his first ever stage in Africa (Marrakech)
Eric Vigouroux was also pleased with his performance in the rally, as the French said to have ended in its natural place, taking into account the forces. “With the BMW in the race, this was our position. In Portugal I had some problems with the gearbox that I conditioned the way, but I came to Africa not far from the front. I always drove quickly between the three fastest and now I’m ahead of the category 2 Wheel Drive in the World Cup, so we go to Egypt in September to try to win the title”, said the Chevrolet Trophy Truck driver.
Ranked fourth and second best Portuguese team, Ricardo Leal dos Santos/Paulo Fiuza (BMW X5) were very near from a podium place, but the differences between the X5 and Vigouroux’s Silverado did not play for the Coimbra’s driver. “We have not achieved our objective, which was a place on the podium, but we are happy. The difference in the cars was great and, as an example, on a stage Vigouroux was faster 5m in only 20km! The brake problems in Portugal have also affected the suspensions in Morocco, a distinct proof from the last Dakar, where I almost had no problems”, he summarized.
With Lachaume Pierre/Jean Brucy, in Bowler Wildcat, closing the “Top 5″, Nuno Matos/Filipe Serra (Isuzu D-Max) were the only team to finish in the T2 category.
“I make a very positive assessment of this first edition. The Ambassador of Morocco in Portugal was exceptional in the way it helped us to build this organization and ACP team did not deny the efforts that all would go for the best. We will analyze everything that happened to decide the future of this event”, explained Carlos Barbosa, president of the Automóvel Club de Portugal.
Overall after Final Stage 13.06.2010 (Sunday) – (CET 13:00)
- 1. Leonid Novitskiy RUS /Andreas Schulz DEU BMW X3CC 21h06m10s
- 2. Filipe Campos PRT / Jaime Baptista PRT BMW X3CC 21h12m47s
- 3. Eric Vigouroux FRA / Alex Winocq FRA Chevrolet Silverado 22h11m00s
- 4. Ricardo Leal dos Santos PRT / Paulo Fiuza PRT BMW X5 22h24m39s
- 5. Pierre Lachaume FRA / Jean Brucy FRA Bowler Wildcat 25h27m57s
- 6. Bernardo Moniz da Maia PRT/ Joana Sotto-Mayor PRT BMW X3CC 26h24m41s
- 7. Gerard Benielli FRA / Didier Haquette FRA MCM Buggy 26h40m55s
- 8. Amadeus Matzker DEU / Lee Palmer AUS Land Rover Def. 26h48m08s
- 9. José Pereira PRT / Rui Fernandes PRT Mazda BT 50 28h58m57s
- 10.Nino Matos PRT / Filipe Sera PRT Isuzu D-Max 29h28m18s
- 11. Eric van Loon NLD / Eric Verhoef NLD Mitsubishi Lancer 30h25m34s
- 12. Yannick Commagnac FRA / Jean Luc Martin FRA Bowler Wildcat 30h58m45s
Some older video footage of Eric Vigouroux and his Chevrolet Trophy Truck
Content and images credits: Rally TT Vodafone Estoril-Portimão-Marrakech and press release Team X-raid GmbH – Puro Off Road is registered news user with Team X-raid GmbH
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This post was compiled by Suppen Kaspar
