One again Guilherme Spinelli wins in the Sertões Interantional Rally

Guilherme Spinelli had an average of over 90km/h this Saturday (foto: )

After coming in second place in yesterdays stage, the duo, Guilherme Spinelli/Youssef Haddad, leaders of the 2011 Sertões up to now, won this Saturdays Special. They completed the 140 kilometers between Gurupi (TO) and Porto Nacional (TO) in 1h32min12. Paulo Nobre, Palmeirinha, and the Portuguese navigator, Felipe Palmeiro, came in second in the stage, a little less then a minute slower

Spinelli highlighted the high speeds and stretches without a high degree of technical difficulty, in one of the shortest stages of the test. It was a good day for us, a very fast Special with a high speed average. There was only one stretch that was narrower in the middle of the track. We managed to set a good rhythm, fast but without exaggerating, said the driver, who finished todays timed stretch with an average of 92.42 km/h, according to the events timekeeper.

Now we are preparing for the next two stages, that will be very hard, and if we get through without any problems, we will already set our strategy to get to Fortaleza, Spinelli added, referring to the marathon stage that begins this Sunday and also gets the Monday stage. In it the vehicles cannot undergo maintenance at the end of the day as is usual.

The third place was attained by Reinaldo Varela and Eduardo Bampi, who are competing in an L200 Triton SR, vehicle that is the current Champion of the test. The driver also affirmed that he reached high speeds during the timed stretch. The whole time it was a speed rally and we managed to keep up to the prototypes and the imported cars, he celebrated.

Jalapão
Besides the lack of maintenance on their vehicles, the competitors worry is also with the Jalapão region in Tocantins, as Varela explains. The Jalapão is one of the most difficult points of the rally, with very heavy sand. It is a hard test for the equipment, with a tendency for overheating of the engine.

According to Cristian Baumgart, who places second in the rallys overall classification, this Saturdays stage was already a sample of what to come ahead. Today there was a bit of Jalapão: the ground, dry place, with sand, grass, and very few streams. Visually, something very characteristic of the place that have been used in the marathon stages, he said.

With this victory, Spinelli and Haddad increased their advantage over Baumgart and the navigator Beco Andreotti in the accumulated results. In third place we see Varela and Bampi, followed by the duos Klever Kolberg/Flávio França and Paulo Nobre/Felipe Palmeiro.

The first part of the marathon stage takes place this Sunday between Porto Nacional and Lizarda, already in the region considered Jalapão, in Tocantins. As soon as they finished the Special, the drivers must leave their vehicles in a park closed off by the organization, where the access by the mechanics is not permitted. On the next day, only the duos can carry out the necessary repairs and with the timer on: on half an hour before the start to make the necessary adjustments.

Only at the end of the stage of Lizarda to Balsas (MA, on Tuesday, can the mechanic teams come on scene again and fix the vehicles.

* Andrei Spinassé collaborated straight from Porto Nacional (TO).

Este texto foi escrito por: Daniel Costa*