Spanish top driver Nani Roma (Mini All 4 Racing) lived up to his status as one of the big favorites on the dunes of Ica and won the 2nd edition of the Desafío Inca, clinching his first triumph on Peruvian soil with a final time of 13 h 21′48″.
He and co-driver Michel Périn did an excellent job and put on a dominant performance throughout the three stages of the final leg of the Dakar Series.
The 42-year old driver led the race from start to finish, claiming all three stages and six specials at stake in this edition. It was a strong showing by the official Mini driver, who left nothing to his rivals in the three-day race.
At the end of some 1000 kilometres and 13 hours of special-stage action, they crossed the finish line with a lead of more than 90 minutes over second-placed Chilean Rodrigo Moreno.
Rodrigo Moreno (+1 h 37'42?) was runner-up, with Peru's Duro 4x4 team placing Diego Weber (+2 h 23'21?) in third place as the best Peruvian van in the race.
The dunes in Peru represented the perfect location for taking both man and machinery to their very limits. On day one, Roma was hampered by some stomach problems but succeeded in winning the two special stages, nevertheless. And on the following two days, he and his French co-driver also proved to be invincible.
"We're always happy when we win a race. I think the best part was tackling three grueling stages with a total of over 900 kilometres raced mostly on dunes,” said the Monster Energy X-raid Team driver after the event.
Roma added, “It was very demanding, the dunes are very tough. We're happy we won, but we were the odds-on favorites. The best part was all this training, all these tests, lots of kilometres… That was the best part, to be honest".
(END) LOG/LOG
Published: 9/15/2014