Erik van Loon and navigator Wouter Rosegaar seemed to start their hunt for the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas well. After a strong third time in the prologue, a podium finish looked within reach, but technical problems threw a spanner in the works during the first stage of the Hail Baja Rally in Saudi Arabia. Anja van Loon and navigator Christiaan van der Rijsen also struggled with problems in their Can-Am Maverick R.
After the strong prologue, Erik and Wouter continued that form in the 242-kilometer opening stage. “We were in the fight for victory for a long time,” Erik explains. “We were competing for the stage win until about 90 kilometers before the finish. The reliability proved not to be good and we went from one problem to another. A broken fuel pump, power steering that failed, understeer and lack of braking power meant we didn’t get further than fifth time.”
That was just a small selection of the problems at the end of the stage. “We also got a problem with the turbo which meant we lost power. It’s almost a miracle that we only lose eleven minutes to Alvarez. Tomorrow we’re going all out, because it’s definitely there! Apart from the problems with the car, the driving and navigation went well. So we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
Anja and Christiaan also didn’t come through the stage unscathed. “It’s Christiaan’s first Cross Country, but it’s actually going well in the car. Yesterday in the prologue we finished ninth and today eleventh. Especially today there was more in it, we were missing power and our suspension wasn’t good. Because of that, the car couldn’t handle the terrain well and we lost speed. Hopefully tomorrow we can make it to the finish without problems.”
On Saturday, the second and final stage of the Saudi Baja takes place. The final stage covers 151 kilometers.
