The first round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is taking place this weekend in Russia, in the Leningrad region. According to the Baja Russia Northern Forest first day results, Vladimir Vasilyev took lead in the race, he won both the first and the second special stages. However, the backlog of the rivals is not so great and the whole struggle for victory is still ahead.
Unfortunately, this day was unlucky for several participants, and the reasons for the stops and retirements were very different. Sergio Galletti was one of the first day losers, he stopped on the track at the first special stage. Electric system of his Toyota Hilux prototype went haywire, and the crew tried to repair the car in the field, but all attempts were in vain and the racers had to retire.
Sergey Uspensky (#204) and Lina van de Mars (#615) did not make it to the finish of the second special stage. The prototype of the legendary Russian racer crashed into a tree and lost its right rear wheel. Continuing the struggle was out of the question. And the Baja Russia Northern Forest debutant from Germany lost control and went off the track, her heavy Toyota Land Cruiser 200 got stuck in the snow after that. The crew struggled to get out of the snow captivity, but they did not succeed before the stewards’ car arrival.
Also Andrey Sushentsov and Patrycja Brochocka stopped on the track during the first and the second special stages for different reason. But they managed to continue moving and complete the special stages.
Vladimir Vasilyev had the best result both at the first and at the second Friday special stages. Moreover, in both cases the same drivers became his main rivals! Andrey Novikov finished the second, and Denis Krotov became the third both times. At the first special stage, Vasilyev’s lead from the Novikov brothers was two minutes and twenty seconds, and at the second stage – one minute and fifty three seconds.
Andrey Rudskoy, Sergey Uspensky, Yury Arshansky, Boris Gadasin, Evgeny Sukhovenko, Alexey Ignatov and Anastasia Nifontova finished in the top ten of the first special stage.
At the second special stage, the situation in the top ten seriously changed – the T3 buggy drivers Boris Gadasin and Yuri Arshansky finished behind Vasilyev, Novikov and Krotov, and only after them Andrey Rudskoy and Evgeny Sukhovenko rushed to the finish line. Tatyana Sycheva, Claude Fournier and Anastasia Nifontova followed them.
According to the Baja Russia Northern Forest first day preliminary results, Vladimir Vasilyev is heading the race. The second place is taken by Andrey Novikov, and Denis Krotov is rounding out the top three. Boris Gadasin is the fourth in the overall standings and the best in the T3 standings. Andrey Rudskoy is taking the fifth place. Yury Arshansky is the sixth, followed by Evgeny Sukhovenko and Alexey Ignatov.
Tatyana Sycheva is the best at the end of the day in the unofficial female standings – she is taking the ninth place in the overall standings. However, Anastasia Nifontova is losing quite a bit to her and is the tenth.
Most of the crews that came to the Baja Russia Northern Forest also take part in the first round of the Russian Cross-Country Championship, where Vladimir Vasilyev is also the best at the end of the day. The positions in the top 10 almost completely repeat the situation in the standings of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, but with two differences – Alexey Cherkesov is in the ninth position at the end of the first day, and Vadim Fedotov is in the tenth place.
Tomorrow the participants will tackle six special stages with a total length of 104 kilometers
