This year the World Cup for Cross Country Rallies will stop in Pordenone from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th June. A calendar "revolution" decided by the FIA to better distribute the tests based on climatic conditions. After the Baja Russia Northern Forest won in February by Finnish Tapio Suominen (Toyota Hilux Overdrive), the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is scheduled for the end of March, the Sealine Cross Country Rally Qatar in April and the Pharaons Rally in May. Then the teams will have a month and a half to restore the means and prepare for the challenge on the shores of Meduna, Tagliamento and Torrente Cosa, where the protagonists will also be the centaurs with motorcycles and quads.
Strange this month of March without the Italian Baja. It was since 1997 that the world off-road race was staged on the eve of spring, so much so that the secretariat of the organizing committee receives calls every day to get information on what is happening. Quite simply, the Italian Baja has changed its date and, adhering to a pressing request from the International Federation - or rather, to be honest, to a precise indication of the great boss Jean Todt himself - this year it will take place from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 June . For the "bureau" in Paris it was thus possible to make a change to the calendar to better distribute the appointments of the Cross Country Rallies World Cup, which began in February with the Northern Forest of St. Petersburg in Russia (victory of the Finnish Suominen in front of the Russian Vasilyev and the Brazilian Varela), and that before the Italian stage will have archived Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Sealine Qatar and Faraoni in Egypt (so the Middle Eastern races will be run in a more favorable climate).
For its part, the Off-road Club 4x4 Pordenone promptly adapted, considering two obvious advantages. In June the weather conditions should almost certainly be better than in March, it is difficult to imagine swirling floods on Meduna, Tagliamento and Torrente Cosa, such as to force changes in the route at the last minute, as has unfortunately occurred several times. In addition, the distance of a month and a half from the Pharaohs will allow the teams to restore the vehicles worn out by the African marathon and present them competitively at the Italian Baja.
At the last FIA meeting in Geneva, Mauro Tavella received confirmation from the official X-Raid (BMW), Overdrive (Toyota) and G-Force (Proto) teams of their massive commitment in the Pordenone challenge, a guarantee of spectacle mixed with motorcycles and quads and maybe even some trucks. Particularly interesting for fans: the eve of Thursday will no longer be dedicated only to the sporting and technical checks of the competitors at the Fair, but from this year in the morning there will also be a "shake-down" in a limited portion of the route, and that is, a test with the vehicles being set up for racing to try out trim solutions, tires, electronic control units, etc. In this way, the Italian Baja will experience four intense days of authentic motor racing at the beginning of the summer.
Italian Baja Press Office - Carlo Ragogna
