Ventura and Brun Claim Stunning Podium at Italian Baja
Quaddy Racing’s Amerigo Ventura and co-driver Mirko Brun produced a sensational performance to secure second in the T4 class and seventh overall at the 30th Italian Baja, the third round of the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Bajas.
The Quaddy Racing duo of Ventura and Brun normally compete full-time in the FIA European Cup for Cross Country Bajas but entered the event in Northern Italy, which forms part of the World Cup and the Italian Championship, to put themselves to the test against some of the best teams from around the globe at their home race.
Taking on the challenging terrain – which consisted of a mix of fast, dusty trails and dried, rocky riverbeds – in their GYTR-kitted Yamaha YXZ1000R side-by-side vehicle, the Italian pairing attacked right from the start on Friday. They set the fastest time in the Prologue and followed this up by dominating the two special stages on Saturday that covered over 400km to lead the T4 class and sit sixth overall.
Sunday’s final 140 km stage saw Ventura and Brun maintain their excellent pace, but, unfortunately, as the course deteriorated over time, they were pipped at the post by the current leaders of the World Cup for Cross Country Bajas. This meant the duo missed out on the victory by less than a minute but still managed to claim a superb second in class and seventh overall with a combined time of five hours, nine minutes, and 43.4 seconds.
This result means that although they did not participate in the first two rounds, the Quaddy Racing pairing are now fifth overall in the World Cup for Cross Country Bajas standings with 34 points. Next for Ventura and Brun is Round 3 of the FIA European Cup for Cross Country Bajas, the Hungarian Baja, on the 10th-13th of August.
Full Italian Baja T4 Results
Amerigo Ventura – P2 (5:09:43.4)
Quaddy Racing
“It is always a pleasure to participate in our home race. Many people were cheering for us on the special stages, which was an amazing feeling. We tried to entertain our fans and to go as fast as possible. The Italian Baja is a challenging race; some sections are more rally-focused and follow specific trails, while others are more like a Rally Raid stage with open areas requiring a different navigation style. We are happy as we have taken a step forward over the past year with our GYTR-kitted YXZ1000R. In fact, we led the T4 classification for the first two days of the race and only dropped down to second during the final stage. Now we are focused on the next round of the European Championship, which will be the Hungarian Baja.”
