Following their first major stage of testing at Millbrook, Britain, in late October, the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team has just completed two weeks of further practice sessions in Dubai with the BRX T1. This is the 4×4 which the team will make its debut with at the 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally, scheduled for January 3 to 6 in Saudi Arabia.
Both BRX drivers, the twice Dakar champion in motorcycles (2004) and cars (2014), Nani Roma, and the most successful driver in rallying history and nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, have been putting their machine to the test on the desserts of the Persian Gulf country.
The renowned pair have concentrated their efforts on pushing the mechanics of their, Prodrive developed, 4X4 as much as possible in order to test its limits and reliability. The Spaniard was very optimistic as he spoke about his first sensations behind the wheel of the off-road vehicle:
“We are very happy with how these days are going. It is not an easy job, but it is part of every project. I am sure that for the future it will bear fruit because every kilometre you are in the car you learn things”.
His French colleague, Loeb, has also expressed his satisfaction with how the testing went and didn’t have any major concern or incident to report:
“When you get behind the wheel, you don’t feel the weight or inertia of a two-ton vehicle. We had some minor technical and electrical issues, common in new cars“.
“But aside from these, the engine, the gearbox, the suspensions, everything in general, works properly. Also, the car is fun to drive. It has a good balance and at no time does it feel unstable or as if it could tip over. The disadvantage lies in its difficult to access mechanics”.
Images: Bahrain Raid Xtreme.
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