Tomorrow, a new edition of the Baja España Aragón gets underway, in which Nani Roma will defend the title he achieved a year ago, his second victory in the car category after four wins in bikes. The Repsol driver will again compete behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0, the petrol version of the car he used in the 2009 Dakar. The Repsol Technology Centre has developed and produced the 1000 litres of fuel he needs to compete in the rally.
Roma has an impressive record in this rally that, since 1983, covers the Monegros desert (Aragón), which he won for the first time in 1995 on a KTM. Since then, he has won the 1997, 1999 and 2002 editions on a bike and after switching to cars in 2005, he has taken another two victories: in the year of his debut and last season.
In this edition, the Spanish driver will battle for victory in a Mitsubishi again, the brand he used when he debuted in cars six years ago and which he used until last season. He will do so in the ranks of the JMB Stradale team wearing the colours of Repsol, competing against drivers like Stéphane Peterhansel, former team-mate and now rival on the track.
The challenge starts tomorrow at the Motorland Aragón circuit, where a preliminary stage of just 5 kilometres will be held to define the starting order for the first stage, on Saturday. Following the format of previous editions, participants must tackle two timed special stages, of 132 and 177 kilometres, respectively, which they will do again on Sunday. There will be a total of over 1200 kilometres, 566 of which will be against the clock.
The Repsol Technology Centre, based in Móstoles (Madrid), has developed and produced the fuel that Nani Roma’s Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 turbo will use in this rally. Repsol has supplied 1000 litres for the three days of the Baja España Aragón competition, which will cover over 1200 kilometres. The scientific basis of this fuel is the same as that of the Efitec 98 and Diésel e+10 fuels, which are available to any user in Repsol’s network of over 3600 service stations across Spain. A special fuel has been developed for this competition that offers maximum performance under high temperatures, such as those reached in Aragón at this time of year.
Repsol has a blending plant specialised in racing fuels at its research and development facilities in Móstoles and supplies tailored fuels to teams like the Repsol Honda Team (MotoGP) and Ajo Motorsport (125cc). With more than 40 years in competition – an unbeatable test bench -, Repsol has vast experience in developing and manufacturing fuels and lubricants for the main motor racing competitions.
Nani Roma
“It’s always nice to compete in a rally like la Baja, which I have been coming to for so many years and because of which I have even been made honorary citizen of Zaragoza. I do so with gusto but also with caution because I’m not familiar with the new car and the idea will be to start flat out and advance during the race. I will have a tough rival, as is Stéphane Peterhansel, and with whom we can look forward to a fun race. It’s always good to compete with people of this level because he’s very fast, knows his car well and this makes the victories worth even more”.
