The Baja Poland was demanding for the driver, co-driver and the entire team. Navigation was the biggest challenge on the second and third stages, where there were many intersections in the road book and instructions – sometimes every 50 metres, said the MINI Motorsport website this week.
The event quickly developed into a duel between Peterhansel and his X-raid teammate Krzyzstof Holowczyc in his BMW X3. Local hero Holowczyc from Poland was the winner of the prologue and the first test, but Peterhansel came back to win the second special stage and take the lead in the overall standings.
On the third day, navigation was slightly easier but the track conditions were difficult because of mud. After his victory on Special Stage 4, Peterhansel twice slipped into a ditch on the following stage and had to wait for assistance from other competitors. Holowczyc helped him the first time, but the second slip-up gave the Pole a crucial advantage and he was able to stay out in front to the finish.
“Stephane had a good chance of taking the victory as well,” says X-raid team boss Sven Quandt. “But he got stuck twice and that was enough to let Krzysztof through. Congratulations to Krzysztof.” Peterhansel: “The MINI ALL4 Racing has been working well. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes. I had to push as the lead was close. On Sunday afternoon I could take more of a laid-back approach because Krzysztof already had a comfortable lead.”