Dubai International Baja

FIA World Baja Cup, round 8

November 28th-December 1st, 2024

OVERDRIVE RACING ROUNDS OFF 2024 SEASON WITH FIFTH PLACE FOR CHABOT AND PILLOT AT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL BAJA

DUBAI (UAE) – Sunday, December 1: Overdrive Racing rounded off its 2024 racing campaign with a solid fifth-place finish for the French duo of Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot in the three-day Dubai International Baja.

Juan Cruz Yacopini teamed up with Dani Oliveras in a second Toyota Hilux and was fastest of all the Ultimate drivers on the final stage but delays on day one pushed the Argentine down to an eventual 26th position.

Yacopini said: “It was a really good last stage for us and we claimed the win. I am very happy, because I know that when the car is working good we have the pace to make a good time. We will see now how we prepare for the Dakar.”

The team will now turn its attention to further desert testing in the coming days before making final preparations for the Dakar Rally in January.

Toyota Gazoo Racing and Overdrive Racing had carried out several days pre-Dakar testing and photoshoots in the UAE deserts in the build-up to the Baja and both Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero stayed behind with their co-drivers Armand Monleón and Dennis Zenz to tackle the event with the latest 2025 specification Toyota GR DKR Hiluxes. The cars ran in an Experimental category and were not eligible for FIA World Baja Cup points.

They made an impressive start with Moraes and Quintero both topping the times on the Prologue stage that was held at scenic Hatta, nestled in the Hajar mountains to the south of Dubai. Chabot and Yacopini came home in 11th and 24th of the 46 entrants.

Chabot said: “The Prologue was in the mountains with big rocks. The tracks were not very large for these big cars and we had to be careful, but it was fun.”

Minor route modifications saw the two original 195km stages reduced to 191.57km and 193.15km, respectively. They ran in opposite directions and featured numerous small dunes, plenty of camel grass after rainfall and carried the risk of crew members experiencing dune sickness from the undulating terrain.

Moraes was again the man to beat and, even though the Brazilian was not eligible for the general classification, he beat Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah by 6min 05.1sec to top the rankings with the new Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux. Chabot came home in fourth overall but Yacopini incurred time penalties after failing to finish the stage.

Moraes said: “It was a really nice stage. This year, the organisation made a stage much nicer to drive. It wasn’t just choppy and up and down. It’s nice to win a stage for the team. It was a shame for Seth, our team-mate, we were flying and catching guys and he had some issues towards the end. We are running the Dakar spec and look forward for tomorrow.”

Chabot confirmed an excellent fifth overall on the final stage but Moraes was sidelined with technical issues and Yacopini eventually finished 26th after his delays on day one. Quintero was also back up to speed and running in the top five on the final stage.

2024 Dubai International Baja – final result:

  1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Pablo Moreno (ESP) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 20min 34.6sec
  2. João Ferreira (PRT)/Filipe Palmeiro (PRT) Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus 6hr 23min 48.8sec*
  3. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ANA) Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i 6hr 28min 12.1sec*
  4. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i 6hr 31min 02.4sec
  5. Ronan Chabot (FRA)/Gilles Pillot (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 6hr 31min 13.8sec*
  6. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Jaume Betriu (ESP) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 36min 38.3sec*
  7. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Maciej Marton (POL) Ford F-150 Evo 6hr 40min 30.2sec*
  8. Michael van der Brink (NLD)/Bart van der Brink (NLD) Can-Am Maverick X3 6hr 44min 12.1sec+
  9. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR                    6hr 53min 52.4sec+
  10. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Michael Metge (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 55min 06.9sec+

Select others

26. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Dani Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 10hr 40min 32.3sec*

Seth Quintero (USA)/Dennis Zenz (DEU) Toyota GR DKR Hilux (EXP)                                                          10hr 41min 24.2sec

Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Armand Monleón (ESP) Toyota GR DKR Hilux (EXP)                                                          DNF

*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup

+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup

Ends

For further information:

Jean-Marc Fortin (E-mail: jmf@overdriveracing.be), Overdrive S.A., rue de L’Enterprise 1, 4530 Villers-le-Bouillet, Belgium, Tel: + 32 475 762 391. www.overdriveracing.be, Facebook: Overdrive Racing, Twitter: @OverdriveToyota

 

 

Published On: 1 December 2024