Ventura & Brun Storm to Dominant Victory at the Hungarian Baja

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale.

Quaddy Racing’s #amerigoventura and co-driver #mirkobrun got their FIA European Cup for Cross Country Bajas title defence back on track as they powered to a superb T4 victory and seventh overall at Round 3 of the 2023 season, the Hungarian Baja, on the 11th-12th of August.

The Italian duo arrived in Várpalota, Hungary, determined to bounce back after a challenging opening two rounds of the year. They were denied the chance to create history at the opening Baja when, after becoming the first ever T4 vehicle to take an overall victory in the Cup, they were disqualified for a minor technical infringement. Their bad luck followed them into the second round, where they had to withdraw from the 10th Rally Greece OffRoad due to damage sustained during a crash.

After collecting zero points during the first two events, and with only three rounds remaining in the season, Ventura and Brun knew they needed a good result at the Hungarian Baja to defend the title they won in 2022, as in the Cup, only the top three results at the end of the year count towards the overall standings.

Therefore, the Quaddy #racing team attacked the fast and demanding terrain of the military compound near Thury Castle from the outset. The pairing ended Friday morning’s 10km Prologue in P2, but with the top three crews within four seconds of each other, they knew they were in for a close battle.

In the afternoon, they pushed hard during the first 110km Special Stage and finished on top of the timesheets, with an advantage of 4.5 seconds over the team in second. Then, at the first assistance point, the team tweaked the suspension setup on their YXZ1000R, which would prove key.

During the second 110km special, the new settings allowed them to push even harder. Once again, they would end up as the leading team, this time blowing away the opposition to open up a gap of over one minute and 30 seconds in the T4 general classification.

Saturday saw Ventura and Brun take on two more stages, each 123km long, and stamp their authority on the Baja. They finished the first run by increasing their overall lead by over five minutes and knew that if they could complete the second special of the day without losing too much time, the class victory was theirs.

Never ones to rest on their laurels, the pairing decided to attack again during the final special, fighting for every second, not only to maintain their lead in class but also to improve their position in the overall classification. They blew away the opposition, ending the stage 5 minutes ahead of the other competitors in the T4 category to claim victory by the impressive margin of 20 minutes and 29.6 seconds, with a time of five hours, 39 minutes, and 41.6 seconds.

Their sensational pace also saw them claim seventh in the overall classification, and by winning the T4 class, they secured 40 points, moving them up to seventh in the FIA European Cup for Cross Country Bajas standings.

While Ventura and Brun are 24 points behind the leaders of the Cup, they know that winning the last two rounds of the season will secure them the title, and up next is the Baja TT Sharish Reguengos Mourão in Portugal on the 22nd-24th of September.

Full Hungarian Baja T4 Results
Amerigo Ventura – P1 (5hr 20m 29.6s)
Quaddy Racing
“After an unlucky start to the season, we were determined to fight back in Hungary. The terrain here is famous for being tough, being located within a military shooting range. Long straights and plenty of whoops provided a real test for our YXZ1000R. We had to push right from the start, as our rivals were very strong here, as you could see by the fact that only four seconds separated the top three teams during the Prologue. We gave it everything during the first special on Friday, and we took the lead before making some changes to our suspension setup, which made a big difference. From then on, we were able to open a nice advantage and take the victory. Once again, the pace and reliability of our YXZ1000R proved to be crucial, and I want to thank the whole team for their hard work. We know that if we win the last two Bajas of the season, we can still be crowned champions and defend our title. We can’t wait to get back in action in Portugal.”

- Fotogallery (49)