Yamaha Light Up the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura
The Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura marked the start of the 2024 FIA European Bajas Cup, with Yamaha Motor Europe-supported drivers Miquel Prat and William Buller finishing in fourth and fifth, respectively, in the SSV class. The event also played host to an exciting second round of the Yamaha YXZ1000R Spain Cup, which saw brothers Teo and Roberto Viñarás triumph by just four seconds over reigning champions Edesio Caamaño and Carmelo Moliné.
The renamed 2024 FIA European Bajas Cup, formerly known as the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, consisted of two days of racing over 390km of timed specials with stages taking place in both Portugal and Spain.
The opening race of the year saw the two Yamaha-supported drivers make a solid start to their campaign as they took the next step up the YXZ1000R racing pyramid to compete against the top drivers on the continent in a five-race season.
Prat is entering his third consecutive year supported by Yamaha Spain. The winner of the 2022 YXZ1000R SuperFinale makes the step up to the FIA European Bajas Cup after securing back-to-back Spanish Off-Road Rally Championship (CERTT) titles.
Prat’s co-driver for the remainder of the 2024 season will be Yamaha Spain Ambassador Sara García. Although her debut will have to wait until the second event, as the 2017 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion and four-time Dakar competitor had already committed to racing in the motorcycle class at the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura, finishing seventh overall on her Yamaha WR450F Rally.
Therefore, Prat was joined by the experienced Dakar co-driver Dani Oliveras for round one. The duo looked strong throughout the weekend in their YXZ1000R GYTR T4. Despite a small crash on Saturday that cost them forty minutes to repair, they improved their pace as the rally went on to secure fourth overall in the SSV class and third amongst the FIA European Bajas Cup crews.
