The four races challenge proposed by the FIM Bajas World Cup will start from Pordenone, from June 23rd to June 27th. After the Italian Baja, participants will face the Spanish race in July, take part in the Hungarian challenge in August and fight in Portugal in September.
Foreign specialists always had to face the difficult tracks offered by the Meduna, Cosa and Tagliamento stream beds, able to disorientate them and to make void all their strategies. Fords, holes, stones, mud are killing obstacles for all of those used to confront dry lowlands, to raise the dust, to plough sandy tracks. This is the main reason why local bikers demonstrate their supremacy over their challenger, even Stéphan Peterhansel, who in 2013 had to place in the rear of Alessandro Ruoso.
The biker from Aviano maybe won’t be able to line up at the start because of the consequences of the bad falling suffered in Morocco during the first stage of the Dakar Series, when he anyway got the pass for the 2017 edition. “If possible, I will take part in the race with a shoulder support” affirms Ruoso thanks to his unbounded grim.
His fans and all Pordenone inhabitants fond of this specialty are looking forward to see him back on the track, but it will deal in this case on an uneven challenge with Vanni Cominotto, widely familiar to the route. The biker from Dignano, who won in 2014 with a Yamaha, this time will try to widen the gap ahead on his challengers riding a Husqvarna 450; he will fight against French riders (Michael Pisano, Xavier de Soultrait, Brice Barbier, Loic Minaudier, Christophe Colletta), the Spanish Oriol Vidal Montijano, the Hungarian Lajos Horvath, the Czeck Rudolf Lhotsky. A hard challenger will be Alex Zanotti, from San Marino (Smr 450 Bora). The entry list includes also some Italian bikers, among them Stefano Biscontin from Porcia.
FRANCO PICCO. This Highlander, 60 years old, is still ready to new off-road adventures and represents with his charism an example for new generations. The biker from Vicenza, who was the protagonist by car of the Italian Baja first edition in 1993, came back last year taking part in the race with a Can-Am quad; this time he chose to ride an Asiawing 450 cc. to face the Italian Baja 2016.
Carlo Ragogna Italian Baja Press Office
