Eduard Pons, Akira Miura enjoy maiden triumphs at inaugural Baja Greece

Akira Miura appears to be snug in a Toyota Hilux already. Though he entered the Baja Greece with the objective of getting used to his new trip, he ended up profitable the premier Final class altogether.

After driving a Toyota Land Cruiser for a decade and winning four Dakar Rallies in the Stock category, Miura joined Overdrive Racing for a two-round FIA World Baja Cup schedule within the Hilux beginning at Greece. Overdrive team-mate Yazeed Al-Rajhi was the early favorite as he beat Miura by fourteen seconds within the Prologue, however his brakes failed shortly after beginning the primary Selective Part; compelled to race conservatively, Al-Rajhi ended up being the final finisher within the class. Miura beat Miroslav Zapletal for the Stage #1 win.

Al-Rajhi rebounded to win Stage #2 by seven minutes over Miura, however the day gone by’s challenge left him almost an hour behind within the general.

“I’m very joyful to have gained my first Final class race with the assistance of the group’s glorious work,” mentioned Miura. His subsequent race within the Hilux would be the Qatar Worldwide Baja in early November. “This race is the start for me and the OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, which we developed for this automobile, and we need to work arduous collectively and enhance in order that we race even higher.”

Miura’s general time was good for third outright amongst all FIA entrants, trailing the Challenger caries of Eduard Pons and Lionel Baud. Pons took the general lead after surviving Stage #1, clearing Miura by fifteen minutes whereas having a four-minute edge on Baud. To protect his lead, Pons opted for a safer technique in the course of the ultimate day to seal the win by 13 minutes over Baud and seventeen forward of Miura. Each Challenger drivers loved their greatest profession finishes in a cross-country rally.

João Ferreira, returning to the Challenger class for the primary time since the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship, was simply 5 seconds behind Al-Rajhi within the Prologue however in the end had an analogous race to him. He endured a disastrous Stage #1 that started along with his wipers failed shortly after the beginning, forcing him to cease a number of occasions to wipe the mud off and even vomit as he was “not feeling very well,” then went off beam twenty kilometres earlier than the end and needed to look forward to assist. Ferreira rebounded to complete second at school in Stage #2 to salvage nineteen factors in the direction of the World Baja Cup.

Alexander Toril initially gained the SSV class by three and a half minutes till he was disqualified as a result of his Can-Am had an unlawful inlet manifold (extra bolts put in than allowed) and an aftermarket constantly variable transmission belt. His group defined the manifold was precisely because it appeared after they acquired the automobile whereas the belt was bought from a 3rd celebration as a consequence of a elements scarcity at Bombardier Leisure Merchandise, however harassed neither gave them a bonus; a consultant from BRP additionally vouched for them on the latter. Nonetheless, the FIA dominated the burden fell on the group to “make sure that the automobile was compliant” and upheld the penalty.

One other SSV driver Ibrahim Almuhna was not allowed to begin the race after the FIA discovered the crossbar between the tubes alongside the co-driver’s facet of the roll cage was bent into an ovoid form. Roll cage harm additionally knocked out Amerigo Ventura, whose body was deformed in a Stage #1 crash. Luis Henderson retired after the brake grasp cylinder broke within the first stage, then a “misunderstanding between the race officers and the crew” resulted in him arriving thirty minutes late and being barred from working the subsequent leg.

The Baja Greece is a new event for 2024, impartial of the Rally Greece Off-Road that was on the 2023 World and European Baja Cups.

Total outcomes

FIA

Final

Challenger

SSV

Factors earned

Nationwide

TZ1

SSV