Pordenone, 8 July 2023_ The title was ready: “Only one man at the lead, his name is Nasser Al Attiyah”. Because it’s a pleasure to paraphrase the epics of Giro d’Italia for the great champion Fausto Coppi in favor of the Qatari driver, that yesterday showed off, on the beds of Meduna, Cosa and Tagliamento, his repertoire of class and expertise finishing with two super times (1:33’51’’4 and 1:28’49’’9) - his only rival Yazeed Al Rajhi was able to stay on this tray, with a distance of 16’’1 in the first Pash (131 km), but giving away a 1’25” on the second, to close the step at a total 1'37’’7.
But in the second strike, where he did a better performance, Al Attiyah skipped a part of the track, too fast to correct the trajectory, and the mistake led to a penalty of 2’ given by the stewards. So the first position gained on the field became a second position at 22”3 from the Saudi rival, who today will have to give the best of himself on the last and decisive leg “Dignano” to resist the return of the furious Doha sniper. Anyway the two Toyota Hilux Overdrive (Al Attiyah’s prepared by Gazoo Racing) showed an unendurable rhythm for the rest of the contestants, with the first of the Mini Cooper Work Plus, the one of the Portuguese Joao Ferreira able to do a blitz in the prologue, third at 5’21’’7, and then at 3’43’’2, to close yesterday’s labors at 7’22’’3 from the unexpected leader, in front of another Hilux by the young Argentinian Juan Cruz Yacopini, fourth at 10’31’’5, and from Krzyszrof Holowczyc’s Mini, with a 11’22’’3 distance. The Polish driver, that was first yesterday morning after the ceremony of starting grid positions, was chased by the Middle Easter “pacmans” and in the last part of the sector he suffered from a problem to the sequential gearbox, that forced him to stop to look for a reset. In addition to the 8’ lost without losing his chill. At the assistance the mechanics managed to assemble a new gearbox and the gap was halved in the rest of the race.
Behind the X-raid driver an incredible Amerigo Ventura on a Quaddy Yamaha, at 17’34”6 from the first position, but sixth overall, first provisional in the T4 World Cup and with a great advantage on his tricolor SSV colleagues where Federico Buttò exited the stage together with his Can-Am Maverick, left with three wheels after the overturn in the first “Pasch” and subsequent crash on a three. Really hard track as usual, that doesn’t look anybody in the face. Friday the ko was almost immediate for the Cross Country Baja leader, Manuele Mengozzi, that went off track with his Toyota Hilux Overdrive for an excess of impetuosity without having the opportunity to end the shakedown. Yesterday the issues with Alfio Bordonaro’ Suzuki New Grand Vitara’s motor, who was about to overtake in the National ranking, however that was made possible from the coefficient 4 of the Italian Baja despite the third place overall behind the former
Carlo Ragogna Italian Baja Press Office
