PETITE MISE EN JAMBE AVANT LE VRAI DÉPART POUR LE TEAM XTREMEPLUS POLARIS

ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE

Samedi 5 avril 2014

Super Spéciale : Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

Après deux jours de vérifications, les équipages du team Xtremeplus Polaris Factory Team trépignent un peu et veulent prendre le large vers le grand désert. Ce matin, ils ont assisté au briefing donné par le directeur sportif, Ronan Morgan, au circuit Yas Marina et cet après-midi, heureux, ils ont pu enfin revêtir leur combinaison et prendre le départ... mais pour seulement deux kilomètres de Super Spéciale qui détermine leur position de départ demain matin.

Le petit parcours est tracé, tout à côté du circuit Yas Marina, sur une piste relativement glissante. Comme toujours, il n'y a rien à gagner sur ce genre de prologue mais Alle Fogliani se classe 36e en 2'40.42 et Jes Munk, 41e en 2'52.24.

Alle et Pietro Fogliani n°348 : « Je me suis bien amusé, raconte Alle Fogliani, et je pense avoir fait un bon temps même si je sais que ce n'est pas important. Le RZR est amusant à piloter aussi sur la piste. Je n'arrivais pas à glisser car j'étais tout de suite arrêté par les ornières creusées par les autres concurrents. Mon père me criait tout le temps : freine, freine, continue-t-il en riant, et moi, je m'étais du gaz ! »

Jes Munk / Sébastien Delaunay n°347 : « Enfin, je suis de retour en rallye, s'écrie Jes Munk à l'arrivée de cette petite Super Spéciale. C'était très amusant malgré que la piste était glissante car faite de graviers recouverts de sable. J'ai essayé de trouver les bonnes trajectoires et d'écouter ce que me disait Seb... J'attends maintenant avec impatience demain, la première vraie spéciale, le sable et les premières dunes ! »

Demain, première spéciale de 290 km qui emmènera les concurrents au bivouac de Qasr Al Sarab.

Pour suivre le rallye en live : http://abudhabidesertchallenge.com/2014_Results.aspx

Plus de photos et d'informations sur le www.xtremeplus.fr (Français et Anglais)

Suivez le team Xtremeplus Polaris Factory Team sur Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/infoxtremeplus?ref=hl

ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE : Victoire de Marc Coma en moto et de Nani Roma en auto. Le RZR XTREME+ termine en 10e position !

 Pas de chance pour Sam Sunderland qui avait fait une très belle course mais le pot d'échappement de sa Honda a cassé dans la dernière spéciale. Ensuite, après avoir longtemps parlé avec son mécanicien, il a oublié de passer dans le portique de la ligne d'arrivée et s'est pris 10' de pénalité... La victoire revient donc à Marc Coma devant Paolo Gonçalves et Sam Sunderland.

En auto, victoire de Nani Roma devant Schlesser et Ten Briken.
Mais magnifique performance de Saeiden navigué par Sébastien Delaunay sur le RZR Polaris de XTREME+. Ils terminent dixièmes juste derrière les voitures officielles... Mini, Schlesser, Mitsubishi, Toyota Overdrive... BRAVO !!


COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE !

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 11th April, 2013: Nani Roma clinched his first victory in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge today to round off a dominant display in the cars category, while Marc Coma edged his way to a record seventh win in the bikes class to complete a unique double triumph for Spain.

Despite a third stage win in successive days by defending champion Jean Louis Schlesser on the 296km Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5, Roma and French co-driver Michel Perin in a Mini won by

20 mins 58 secs from the familiar blue buggy of the veteran French driver, a six-times winner of the event.

Coma’s bikes triumph came after Sam Sunderland collected a ten minute penalty overnight for a basic technical infringement, denying the Dubai-based British rider a brilliant start-to-finish victory as a reward for outshining the reigning world champion and a host of other stars of cross country rallying. Coma won by just 32 seconds from Portugal’s Paulo Goncalves.

Also celebrating victory at the finish was Qatar’s Mohammed Abu-Issa who came through a series of major scares on theAbu Dhabi Aviation Stage to capture the quads title at the first attempt, winning by just over three minutes from the UAE’s defending champion Obaid Al Kitbe.

Celebrating at the finish, a delighted Roma said: “It’s always nice to win, and the Desert Challenge is really difficult so it’s a good feeling, but I’m also happy for the whole team. In this sport you need a lot of people around you, so this victory was for everyone involved in the team.

“The first three days were really tough because I had to open the stage, so I had to go fast but not make mistakes. After that I could relax a little and sit on my lead. A lot of credit must go to Michel in the co-driver seat for getting us around.”

Bitterly disappointed to have lost his chance of victory, Sunderland finished third and remained philosophical at the end.“It was a really good week for me but I made a big mistake yesterday,” he said. “During liaison I went to talk to the mechanic about my broken exhaust late in the race and after talking to him I forgot to go through the final two gates and got a ten minute penalty. I’m really gutted, but those are the rules.”

Coma, who has now won the Desert Challenge bikes title five years in a row, said: “I’m very happy to win but feel sorry for Sam because it was clear he was the fastest rider over the five days and deserved his victory. But those are the rules and we have to abide by them.

“For me I was just riding easy for the first three days and just trying to get used to the desert again. I rode harder today, but I knew I had to ride cleanly and not make any mistakes.”

New quads champion Abu-Issa, the third Qatari to claim a Desert Challenge title after cars victories by Saeed Al Hajri (1993) and Nasser Al Attiyah (2008), said: “My air filter was clogged 4km from the finish and my engine just stopped. I had to rip it out and crawl to the finish.”

“It feels great to finish and to win the quads. It was close today because I was leading by 14 minutes coming into the last stage but I made three big mistakes that cost me 12 odd minutes. Luckily, I still won so it’s an amazing feeling, especially because this is my first Desert Challenge. It’s been an unbelievable five days.”

Five days of world-class cross country rallying have reinforced the status of the Desert Challenge as one of sport’s top events. “It was another great week, and a lot of the competitors are already looking ahead to next year,” said Dr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, event founder and President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, the rally organisers.


“We have two new champions and it could have been three. It was very disappointing for Sam to lose the bikes title that way after he had been in control. He’s very disappointed now, but will learn from this. He has a bright future ahead of him, and many more years in the Desert Challenge.”

Now heading for its 24th edition next year, the event continues to inspire. Veteran Austrian rider Klaus Schwingenschloegl said: “I’m 62 and the first time I competed here was 15 years ago when it was basically just like a rally. Now if you ask any of the top pro cross country riders they will tell you this is the toughest cross country rally for bikes in the world. I’m really proud to have finished at my age.”

Another rider, Frenchman Christophe Sapy, could not hold back the tears at the finish. “It’s beautiful, tough, I made it,” he said. “I had some bike problems. I’m overcome by emotion, I can’t describe it. I will definitely be back next year.”

Provisional results - Cars

1. Nani Roma / Michel Perin (ESP / FRA) MINI All 4 Racing X T1                        16:38.02

2. Jean Louis Schlesser / Konstantin Zhilstov (FRA /RUS) Schlesser Orignal          17:05.00

3. Bernhard Ten Brinke / Matthieu Baumel (NLD / FRA) HRX Ford X T1             17:47.54

4. Erik Van Loon / Wouter Rosegaar (NLD / NLD) HRX Ford X T1                      17:57.40

5. Krystof Holowczyc / Schulz Andreas (POL / GER) MINI All 4 Racing X T1     18:27.34

6. Miroslav Zapletal / Maciej Marton (CZE / POL) Hummer H3 X T1                     19:07.12

7. Leonid Ogorodnikov / Anton Nikolaev (RUS / RUS) Toyota Hilux T1               19:34.30

8. Stephan Schott / Holm Schmidt (GER / GER) MINI All 4 Racing T1                 19:55.36

9. Martin Kaczmarski / Bartlomiej Boba (POL / POL) Toyota Hilux T1                   20:38.31

10. Yasir Saeidan (SAU) / Sebastien Telauny (FRA) Polaris T3                                20:59.36

Bikes

1. Marc Coma Camps  (ESP) KTM 450 Rally Replica                       14:23.51

2. Paulo Goncalves (PRT) Speedbrain 450 Rally                               14:24.23

3. Sam Sunderland (UAE) Honda CRF 450 X                                  14:32.36

4. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (NOR) KTM 450 Rally                            14:41.03

5. Jakub Przygonski (POL) KTM 450 Rally Replica                          14:41.53

7.  Juan Salvatierra Carlos (BOL) HM Honda CRE F 500 X                        15:26.01

6.  Tedeusz Blazusiak (POL) KTM 450 Rally Replica                       15:27.12

8.  Miran Stanovnik (SVN) KTM 450 Rally Replica                         15:41.22

9.  Khalid Khamis Ozair (UAE) Honda CRF 450 X                         16:05.43

10.Sean Linton (GBR) KTM 500 EXC                                             16:22.02

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge : Roma en auto, Sunderland en moto. Barreda abandonne, sa blessure à la main du Dakar le fait trop souffrir.

 Communiqué de presse

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 8 April, 2013: Spanish driver Nani Roma swept to the front of the pack in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge today while Dubai-based British rider Sam Sunderland overshadowed the world’s best on two wheels to take the lead in the bikes class.

Partnered by French co-driver Michel Perin in his Mini, Roma was fastest over the gruelling

250km ADNOC Special Stage 2 which sent the rally on a difficult passage through the giant dunes of the Rub Al Khali, and he finished it leading the cars class by 17 mins 10 secs from Brazillian Guilherme Spinelli.

Accompanied by Youssef Haddad in a Mitsubishi ASX, Spinelli was 19 mins 31 secs clear of Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in third place in their HRX Ford X.

With another Dutchman, Erik Van Loon, slipping one place overnight to fourth, defending champion and six-times Desert Challenge winner Jean Louis Schlesser had a much better day after his problems on the first leg, climbing to fifth, although he was more than 50 minutes off the lead.

While a procession of cars and bikes became stuck in soft sand as the route wound its way through the spectacular but unforgiving dunes, Saudi Arabia’s Yasir Saeidan took his Polaris into seventh position, while the UAE’s Yahya Al Helei shrugged off his first leg setback to move into the top ten, and lead the T2 production class.

Roma completed the second leg to say: “It was definitely not easy and much harder than yesterday. I got stuck once and lost maybe seven minutes. But it’s ok – I’m feeling good at the moment”

Spinelli said: “This stage was more difficult than yesterday. I was climbing one of the biggest dunes in second gear and at the top I tapped my brakes slightly and got stuck. It cost us maybe ten minutes. But this is a very good experience for me as I’ve never driven in the desert before.”

The cars category was guaranteed a new leader today when Argentina’s Lucio Alvarez, who had won the Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management Special Stage 1, withdrew overnight after his Toyota Hilux Overdrive X T1 was deemed unfit to continue. It had been damaged when it rolled 2km from finish of the first stage.

While many of the riders found the going particularly tough today, Sunderland produced a stunning performance, outpacing world champion Marc Coma throughout the stage and finishing with a lead of 2 mins 13 secs from the Spaniard, the defending champion in the Desert Challenge and six-times winner of the event.

Portugal’s Paulo Goncalves, Norway’s former world champion Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Polish rider Jakub Przygonski and Dutchman Sebastian Husseini, the leader in the quads category,  completed the top six who were separated by just over 20 minutes. Another UAE-based British rider, Dave McBride, held seventh place.

“It was hot, very hot, but a good day,” said Sunderland at the finish. “I had to do a bit of extra navigation at the end but the bike is going really well. It was just nice to get out there after missing out yesterday.”

The result underlined the star quality of a rider who made his mark in motocross before moving into cross country rallying in 2011. He won two stages on the Desert Challenge that year, and two more on the Australasian Safari before being knocked out of the event by a kangaroo.

He made his debut in the Dakar Rally last year, and was seventh fastest on first stage before being forced to retire with a mechanical problem. He was prevented from taking part in this year’s Dakar after being injured during testing for the event.
Leading positions after ADNOC Special Stage 2 - cars

1. Nani Roma / Michel Perin (ESP / FRA) MINI All 4 Racing X T1                        06:06.57

2. Guilherme Spinelli / Youssef Haddad (BRA / BRA) Mitsubishi ASX T1          06:24.07

3. Bernhard Ten Brinke / Matthieu Baumel (NLD / FRA) HRX Ford X T1             06:43.38

4. Erik Van Loon / Wouter Rosegaar (NLD / NLD) HRX Ford X T1                        06:43.46

5. Jean Louis Schlesser / Konstantin Zhilstov (FRA /RUS) Schlesser Orignal  06:57.50

6. Miroslav Zapletal / Maciej Marton (CZE / POL) Hummer H3 X T1                      07:07.27

7. Yasir Saeidan (SAU) / Sebastien Telauny (FRA) Polaris T3                                07:24.23

8. Leonid Ogorodnikov / Anton Nikolaev (RUS / RUS) Toyota Hilux T1                 07:36.38

9. Yahya Alhelei / Khalid Alkendi (ARE / ARE) Nissan Petrol T2                             07:39.08

10. Holowczyc Krystof / Schulz Andreas (POL / GER) MINI All 4 Racing X T1      07:59.23

Bikes

1. Sam Sunderland (UAE) Honda CRF 450 X                                  03:41:00

2. Marc Coma Camps  (ESP) KTM 450 Rally Replica                    03:43:13

3. Paulo Goncalves (PRT) Speedbrain 450 Rally                           03:43:54

4. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (NOR) KTM 450 Rally                            03:55:38

5. Jakub Przygonski (POL) KTM 450 Rally Replica                          04:00:38

6. Sebastian Husseini (NED) Honda TRX 700 XX                           04:01:26

7. David MC Bride (GBR) KTM 500 EXC                                             04:02:56

8.  Tedeusz Blazusiak (POL) KTM 450 Rally Replica                       04:06:14

9.  Juan Salvatierra Carlos (BOL) HM Honda CRE F 500 X           04:10:22

10. Miran Stanovnik (SVN) KTM 450 Rally Replica                          04:12:51