The pairing Khalifa Al Mutaiwei (UAE) / Andreas Schulz (GER) started with a win into the Pharaons International Cross Country Rally (01st to 6th October 2012) that was kicked off with the first special stage, today. The Egyptian rally represents the seventh and penultimate round on the 2012 FIA Off-Road Rally World Cup calendar. Al Mutaiwei, Schulz and their MINI ALL4 Racing entered by the Fazza Rally Teams travelled to Egypt with a nine-point lead in the championship, followed by Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser in second position.
And Al-Mutaiwei / Schulz proved to be the quickest team of the car ranking right away. With their MINI ALL4 Racing, they completed the 547-kilometre special stage in 2h 47m 17s with a 21.45-minute gap over Schlesser who finished sixth.
After three Bajas with a maximum of three event days, the drivers will have to display more staying power, in the Pharaons Rally. After the start on 01st October in front of the spectacular backdrop of the pyramids of Giza, they will have to cover a total mileage of about 3,000 kilometres, over the course of the six-day event. And on day six, the field will return to Egypt’s capital. in every special stage, the competitors will have to cope with sand and dunes but there also will be hard surfaces and rocky sections. For the organisers, it was a priority to make sure that the drivers will have to grapple with new terrain, on every day of the event.
Result with the first special stage contested
1st Khalifa Al-Mutaiwei (UAE) / Andreas Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing – 2h 47m 17s
2nd Regis Deladaye (FRA)/Alexandre Winocq (FRA) Buggy MD – 2h 54m 42s
3rd Patrick Sireyjol (FRA)/Francois-Xavier Beguin (BEL) SMG – 3h 01m 17s
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6th Jean-Louis Schlesser (FRA)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS) Schlesser Buggy – 3h 09m 02s
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X-raid’s Press Release
