The Italian Baja 2006 kicked off yesterday afternoon, an event valid for the International cup for cross country bajas and the Italian tout terrain championship.
At 5.20 pm, the Nissan of the reigning champion, the Spaniard Marc Roura Blazques, started a race that returns to the province of Pordenone after the stop in 2004 and last year's exile in Sardinia. The Spanish driver himself won the Super special Comina, a stage of 4 kilometers 500 meters, ahead of the surprising Giuseppe Fornasari, who runs on a car built by himself. Today he also touches motorcycles and quads, with the first official day of racing.
The prologue for the cars served, in addition to formulating a first partial ranking, also to establish the starting order for today's specials. The only Pordenone driver entered, Claudio Allegranzi, did not even appear at the start, so that the only provincial driver left in the race is the navigator of the multiple winner of the Paris-Dakar, Edi Orioli, Pascal Rosolen. The outcome of the prologue reflects what are the real values in the race, even if some surprises have occurred. In any case, today and tomorrow, on the tracks of the two selective sectors 'Tagliamento "(39.87 kilometers) and' Aviano" (26.64), to be repeated three times a day each, there will be a battle.
The timetables of the car races. The start of the selective sector 1 will take place from Barbeano at 7.40, 11.35, 15.30, while those of the SS 2 (San Martino) at 9, 12.55 and 16.50. The departure times are identical also for Sunday tests. As far as motorcycles and quads are concerned, the selective sectors are the same as those of cars, but to be repeated twice a day.
Today the start for the SS 1 are scheduled at 9.40 and at 13.35, while from the SS 2 the start will take place at 11 and at 14.55. The times are also identical for the races on Sunday.
The press conference to present the event was also held late yesterday morning. In addition to the organizer, Mauro Tavella, there were also the provincial councilor for traffic, Corrado Della Mattia, the councilor for the Environment of Aviano, Giancarlo Ossena, and Flavio Vedovato for the Dream village, operational headquarters of the event. Everyone stressed the importance of the return to the province of a very important event.
