Dakar Challenge Baja Aragón: Óscar Fuertes victorious

July 25 ^th 2017 - 08:00

A favourite event among rally-raid competitors, the Baja Aragón welcomed this weekend a record number of entrants with no less than 230 vehicles at the start of this three-day race a Teruel, which is a round in both the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies and the FIM Baja World Cup. The Baja Aragón, considered as a springboard event in the preparation for the Dakar, figures among the selection events for the Dakar Challenge (in the car category), whose winner (first place rookie) wins free entry for the 2018 Dakar! More than 30 drivers tried their luck on the Baja Aragón, which is a fast and technical rally that demands an extraordinary amount of concentration.
The Dakar Challenge was won by Spain’s Óscar Fuertes and co-driver Víctor Ferrero. 42-year old Óscar Fuertes was the Spanish rally champion in 2006 and 2011. “The Dakar Challenge offers an incredible chance to participate in this rally that represents a challenge to be met for all drivers. I had to take advantage of this opportunity on the occasion of the Baja Aragon! I entered with a lot of hope and I did everything I could to reach my goal”, he says. Mission accomplished for Óscar Fuertes who has won his entry for the 40th edition of the Dakar (6 - 20 January 2018).
At the end of the three days of racing, Nasser Al-Attiyah, behind the wheel of his Toyota Hilux, and co-driver Matthieu Baumel from France won ahead of Orlando Terranova (Mini) and Mikko Hirvonen (Mini). In the bike category, Joan Barreda (Honda) marched on to the top step of the podium for the fourth consecutive time. Joan Pedrero (Sherco), finished runner-up ahead of Michael Metge (Honda).