Erik and Anja van Loon finished the Baja Qatar with a clean sweep, although the second and final stage was far from smooth. Both once again struggled with technical problems in their South Racing Can-Am Maverick R, but managed to reach the finish.
Erik van Loon finished the day seventh in the SSV class. The stage was full of setbacks for him and navigator Martin van den Brink. “We had a fuel pump failure, struggled with a lot of dust, and the sentinel wasn’t working. We also had a flat tire, and after a water crossing, the iPad got blocked,” Erik summarized the problems. “Anyway, we finished, and it was great to do this together with Martin. And despite all the bad luck, we can still celebrate because Mitchell, Martin’s son, has become champion of the FIA Baja World Cup.”
Anja van Loon also had a challenging second stage. She finished ninth in the SSV class. Like Erik, things started well, but she also encountered problems with the fuel pump. “We were stuck for a long time, but we finally made it to the finish,” says Anja. “The collaboration with Hein Verschuuren was fantastic, that’s the positive thing about this weekend.”
Due to the technical problems in the first stage, a good final classification was already out of reach, but the performances of both drivers show that a top-ten finish would certainly have been possible without the setbacks. The focus now is on the next challenge: the Dubai Rally in two weeks.
