The Repsol rider finishes the prologue stage with very good feelings after his debut in the world of four-wheel racing
Marc Coma had a positive debut after his first experience at the wheel of an official racing car. The Repsol rider, with his Mitsubishi Montero 3.2 DID, finished the prologue stage of the 2006 Baja España Madrid-Aragón 43 seconds behind the leader, Marc Blázquez, and was more than satisfied with his debut on four wheels.
Under an intense heat and with a 4.8-kilometre stage ahead, combining fast sections and some technically more demanding sections close to the Jarama circuit, Coma and his co-driver Nacho Salvador took the start with the usual ease and caution of a beginner, but quickly becoming more confident until finishing the race with very good feelings and looking forward to the harder stages that will take them through the areas of Soria and Aragon.
Conscious about the fact that he has got a unique chance to enjoy driving without the pressure of having to finish among the top drivers, Marc Coma is facing the Baja as an experience he wants to exhaust.
On the other hand, the Repsol riders contesting the race in the motorbike class, Jordi Durán and Jordi Viladoms had a positive start finishing fifth and sixth, 1s12,3 and 1s13,1 behind the leader.
Duran and Viladoms achieved the aim they had set themselves for this super special which was no other than getting a good starting position for tomorrow’s stage, since the dust and the heat will be a problem for late starters if they want to go for good stage times. Isidre Esteve, five-time winner of the Baja and biggest favourite to repeat last year’s victory finished second.
Marc Coma: “The first contact has been good. We’ve been very prudent, we haven’t taken any risks and that will be the main feature of our race: trying always to get to the finish without taking any risks. We are happy with how things have worked out and I want to thank Nacho Salvador for the work he is doing, which is being of great help, because I have almost no experience in cars and he makes things so much easier. The references compared to the motorbike are very different by we’re learning without pressure, taking care of the mechanical aspects and especially trying to reach the finish.”
Results Super Special Cars
1. Blázquez/Cruz (Nissan Navara) 4’46” 900
2. Ramos/Jesús (Toyota RAV 4) a 4″ 400
3. Campos/De Freitas (Renault Megane) a 5″ 300
4. Fornasari/De Michelis (Fornasari RR 450) a 9″ 500
5. Orioli/Rosolen (Isuzu D Max Rodeo) a 15″ 200
31. Coma/Salvador (Mitsubishi Montero) a 43″
Results Super Special Motorbikes
1. Rivera (Tot Curses) 4′ 22″ 200
2. Isidre Esteve (KTM) a 09.200
3. Óscar Romero (Suzuki) 09.600
4. Marc Guasch (Husqvarna) a 10.000
5. Jordi Durán (KTM) a 12.300
6. Jordi Viladoms (KTM) a 13.100
