Press release 4_2018

Gonzalez-Duple (#362) conquer the best time for Xtreme+ in this first stage of the Rallye du Maroc ranking second in T3 in the provisional general. Scheduled for tomorrow the first boucle at Erfoud.

Erfoud, Morocco (October, 5th) – Cap Sud for this first stage of the Rallye du Maroc that, starting at dawn this morning from the imperial city of Fès, saw the competitors reach Erfoud, at the gates of the Moroccan desert, after a selective sector divided in two sections and a liaison of 322 km.

On the longest day of the rally, the competitors left to face the first 130 km of transfer to Boulmane, place of start of the first part of the SS of the day. Technical an sailed manche, this special stage from Fès to Erfoud has been characterized (as will all the rally) by two different routes made for motorbike/quad/SSV and car/truck riders who, for safety reasons, they will each have their own track to follow.

In the Xtreme+ ranks, among the SSV, the Mexican Santiago Creel Garza Rios, on the Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo, with the Polish co-driver Szymon Gospodarczyk, won the final finish in 4h24’27 » taking off his best lap time at WP4. Left fast, the crew #202 has unfortunately been delayed to the finish line for the breaking of the front triangle of the Polaris: at km 11, during the overtaking of another vehicle, Garza Rios has indeed hit a big stone because of the poor visibility due to dust but was able to repair the damage and start again even if with great delay.

In T3.1 category, excellent result for Team Xtreme Plus thanks to Vincent Gonzalez and Stephane Duple, on Polaris RZR 1000, authors of a good race that took them to the finish of Erfoud in 3h19’55 », nineteenth in the general overall provisional and seconds of T3. In this first stage of the Rallye du Maroc, the Swiss-French crew #362 showed grit and harmony, excellent qualities in view of an increasingly likely participation in the Dakar in Perù.

A difficult day for the current World Cup leader T3, the Spaniard José Luis Peña Campos, who brought the Polaris #360 on the finish line with a time of 3h37’21 »: some physical illness of the co-pilot Rafael Tornabell Cordoba has made the first day of competition even more complicated also because the navigation in the two selective sectors wasn’t a simple game. The Xtreme+ crew still placed 23rd in the provisional and third of T3.

The British Graham Knight and David Watson (#363), after becoming familiar with the route that from Fès has wound in the direction of Erfoud with an initial technical track that followed the first dunes, have completed their special in 3h44’35 » placing the Polaris RZR 1000 fifth of T3. Stage finish line reached in just over 4 hours for Marco Piana and Steven Griener, on Toyota KDJ120, in race to provide fast assistance to the 4 Xtreme+ crews.

Saturday October 6th, second round of the Rallye du Maroc with a boucle around Erfoud. For the SSV there will be 36 km of liaison and 281 of SS2 (317 km in total) while for the cars the km of special will be 329 km (+ 36 liaison).

Press Office Xtreme Plus Team

Sonja Vietto Ramus

sonja.vietto@gmail.com