Difficult decision for Menzies and Team X-raid
Terranova / Schulz to now race a MINI John Cooper Works Rally
Sylvio de Barros to contest in a MINI ALL4 Racing
Bryce Menzie’s long-jump world record in August in the USA resulted in an injury. Afterwards, he tried hard to get fit again but then, the fact that he recently had to undergo a further surgery represented a massive setback. Consequently, he had to make a difficult decision with only a few days to go to the start of the 2017 Dakar Rally. The team and Bryce jointly opted for a ‘health-first’ approach and so, Bryce won’t contest any races until he is 100 percent fit.
His MINI John Cooper Works Rally will be raced by Argentinean Orlando Terranova and his German navigator Andreas Schulz! Terranova already achieved a 5th place for Team X-raid at the Dakar 2013 and 2014 and drives for the first time next to Andreas Schulz, who was able to win the legendary Rally Dakar twice (2001, 2003). New to the team are the two Brazilians Sylvio de Barros and Rafael Capoani – they will race in a MINI ALL4 Racing.
“That’s really bad news. Bryce is a very gifted driver and certainly would have secured several good results in his first Dakar,” says X-raid Team Manager Sven Quandt. “But it also is of major importance that he fully focuses on his recovery to afterwards return to motor racing in top form. So, we and MINI opted for letting Orly and Andi switch to the MINI John Cooper Works Rally. They are a very competitive pairing.”
“I am beyond disappointed to have to withdraw from starting this year’s Dakar. It has been a lifelong goal of mine that will have to wait another year before I can attempt. I knew it would it be tough to get back to 100% after my injuries from the world record New Frontier jump and unfortunately I just couldn’t get to a point where I’d be both comfortable in the car for that long and technically able to compete at the level warranted to win. It also wasn’t worth re-injuring anything and then being out for the more races this season. I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of my MINI later this year as we put in the homework needed to get ready for 2018 Dakar. I also want to say a special thank you to Sven Quandt at X Raid for sticking with me as I overcome this injury and Helmut Wahl at Red Bull and Carrie Woodward at BFGoodrich for continuing to support my rally efforts.”
