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00:14A very warm welcome to the Andalusia Rally 2021. We're back in this beautiful region
00:20of southern Spain for the second edition and it all kicks off here at the Hacienda El Rosalejo.
00:25The sporting action will take place around Villamartin, some 65 kilometres south-east
00:31of Sevilla. After a short prologue, the competitors will battle it out across four stages with
00:36just over 1,000 kilometres against the clock.
00:42Some of the world's biggest rally raid stars will be facing off in Spain, many of them looking
00:46to kick off their season on a high note. For the cars, this is round one of the FIA World
00:51Cup for cross-country rallies, but there are still plenty of top riders here in other categories,
00:56including the bikes. Rally director David Castera tells us what's new for 2021.
01:02We've managed to improve the tracks. We know them better, we saw what worked and what didn't
01:07work last year. We've tried to slow things down in places going up into the hills. The idea is
01:12to discover the whole of Andalusia. We're going to a new province, Cordoba. Last year, the fields had
01:17been harvested, so the tracks were harder to see, and in a way, it should be easier to find a
01:22way
01:22through. The tracks are harder and narrower because of the wheat fields, and the landscape is totally
01:27different. It's still green or just changing colour, so we're going to see another side of Andalusia.
01:41Well, the big news in the bikes is that Pablo Quintanilla has joined the Monster Energy Honda team.
01:46The Chilean's move was only announced the day before the rally, so he didn't have much time
01:50to get to grips with the CRF 450 rally. Quintanilla didn't overdo it in the short eight-kilometre
01:56prologue, finishing 27 seconds down in ninth place. It was an impressive start for the Hero
02:02Motosports team. All three of their riders in the top four. Sebastian Bula only lives 300 kilometres
02:08away in Portugal, and that's basically a daily commute for a rally rider. He knows this terrain well,
02:13although that doesn't mean he can't occasionally stray off course. Third place for the German.
02:18The tracks between the wheat fields are narrow, and they kick up a lot of dust, so all of the
02:22riders
02:22were keen to be up at the front. Joanne Bereda's also here with Honda, and the Spaniard put the
02:27hammer down, only missing out on the win by a solitary second. Joaquin Rodriguez had won the prologue
02:33in six minutes and 13. Jai Roger finished 11th at the last Dakar, and was happy with some of the
02:39changes that have been made to the Hero 450 rally. This is a good beginning. We have tried new stuff
02:45on the back, and it seems that he was working, so we're really happy with the result, but we still
02:50have a few days to go, so we'll see how it goes the next days.
02:59On to stage one with Sebastian Bühle once again in third. The German pointed out that the high grass
03:05can hide the dangers and the roots on the tracks, so you have to be super careful. He caught his
03:12teammate Joaquin Rodriguez, who had started first, but lost almost seven minutes after an early
03:17navigation mistake. Another good day for Joanne Bereda, who is outgunning his new Honda teammate,
03:23Pablo Quintanilla. While the Chilean was down in sixth, the Spaniard came second, only 22 seconds
03:29off the pace. Bang, bang, also snatching the overall lead. The stage victory went to Lorenzo Santolino,
03:36who was happy with his pace in spite of the perils of high grass and low sunshine. The Spaniard had
03:41to
03:41ease off a bit after hitting a stone. That tore a hole in his rear tyre, and he's also got
03:45a bit of a
03:45sore shoulder after a crash last week. The feeling was really good. At the beginning, warming up with the
03:51shoulder, I had two, three small scary moments, but then it was good. I started to feel confidence,
04:00take a good rhythm with the bike, with the NAF. Meanwhile, Frenchman Sebastien Soudé made an
04:06ideal start in the quads, with victory in both the prologue and the opening stage.
04:20A long second stage, 339 kilometres, and Joaquin Rodriguez said it was pretty sketchy in places.
04:26He managed to keep his hero on the tracks, but dropped to fifth after a late penalty.
04:34Franco Cayemi was pretty happy with his efforts, and says he's getting used to the new bike. The Argentine
04:39did get a bit turned around at one point, and he had some issues with his rear brake, but otherwise,
04:43a solid day in fourth. It looked like Joan Bareda had extended his overall lead after setting the
04:50fastest time, despite a minor crash, but he was slapped with a four-minute penalty for speeding,
04:54and dropped to second. Today's enduro-style tracks weren't really Pablo Quintanilla's cup of tea,
05:02he's more of an open desert man, but he still had the best outing of his week so far in
05:07third.
05:14Lorenzo Santolino, on the other hand, has an enduro background, so he did a fine job navigating the
05:19sinuous mountain tracks. He stayed out in front all day, and with Bareda's penalty, took the stage
05:24honours. Santolino also going top of the overall standings, 1 minute 43 ahead of Bareda, with
05:33Cayemi, Quintanilla and Bula making up the top five.
05:38Sebastien Soudet took a dominant victory in the quads on stage two, bringing his Yamaha to the finish line
05:44some 20 minutes ahead of his nearest rival. The Frenchman now both take commanding overall
05:49lead, over 22 minutes clear of his fellow compatriot Vanson Padrona, with Spain's Tony Vingut a distant
05:55third, almost 40 minutes off the pace. Around 20 bikers here at the Andalusia Rally are taking part
06:02in the enduro cup. It's an opportunity for rally raid rookies to learn the ropes of the discipline.
06:12This is my first ever rally, what a day, what a day, absolutely loving it.
06:16Sun's out, riding bikes all day, life couldn't be any better.
06:21It's a different kind of competition, nothing like motocross or what have you,
06:25it's a new kind of enjoyment, pure pleasure.
06:27In the enduro what I've done before is just normal two, three hour her and hounds,
06:33but this compared to that, you know, throwing a road book as well, it's just a job to keep up.
06:46The sun rising on another beautiful day in Andalusia, with almost 300 kilometres for the
06:52bikers to cover. Pablo Quintinier managed to get through without any major issues despite some
06:58tricky notes in the road book fifth on the day. The Chilean says he's looking forward to seeing what
07:02this Honda can do in the desert. Sebastian Bula thinks these heavy rally bikes are better suited
07:08to the fast and open tracks. He was fourth, however the German incurred a 15 minute penalty for changing
07:13an engine and dropped to eight in the standings. Several of the top guys held up by minor discrepancies
07:19between the road book and the GPS, but Lorenzo Santolino was happy enough as he once again
07:24opened for the whole day. He lost traction after 100k and took things easier, the Spaniard third on the
07:30day and slipping to second overall. Joaquin Rodriguez had a few dicey moments, he went off the track
07:36twice at high speed, but kept it on two wheels and got back to the bivouac safe and sound. The
07:41Portuguese rider second and very impressed with his hero, he's now running fourth overall.
07:47Joanne Verade is another rider who likes the fast stages, so he was in his element. The Spaniard
07:52roared back to the top of the standings, winning by almost three minutes. He's in a great position to
07:56take victory, he just has to keep an eye out for any traps in the fourth and final stage.
08:01We try to manage as well as possible in these situations and to keep calm and going until the end.
08:10And finally, I think we make a good stage.
08:16Onto the fourth and final stage, 247 kilometres with many of the same slippery tracks as on stage two.
08:22It was always going to be a tall order for Santolino to make up nearly three minutes
08:26on Bereda. He gave it a good go, his pace was good despite an early crash, but the Spaniard could
08:31only manage third. He said opening twice has been good for his navigation and he was very happy with
08:37second place overall. Bereda hasn't won a rally since Marzouga in 2018, but his drought is over
08:43after he kept Santolino at bay on this final stage. After four wrist operations and a lot of hard work
08:49in
08:49recent years, he's finally back on top of the podium. A brilliant effort to win the rally by three and
08:54a
08:55half minutes. And the good news, it didn't stop there for Honda as their new boy Pablo Quintanilla
08:59claimed a stage four victory. He'll soon be heading home to Chile to take his new bike for a spin
09:04in
09:04the desert. But first he can celebrate joining Bereda on the podium, Quintanilla third overall on his debut.
09:12It was not easy, really hard, really demanding rally. Short for days, but really explosive.
09:23Confirmation of the final standings in the bikes, Bereda ahead of Santolino and Quintanilla,
09:28with Joaquin Rodriguez and Jacopo Chirruti rounding out the top five.
09:32Sebastian Sude secured a dominant victory in the quads. The Frenchman took a gamble here in Andalusia,
09:38bringing a Yamaha 450 instead of a 700 and it paid off beautifully. He took the win by half an
09:44hour
09:44from Vanson Padroni.
09:50In the cars, it looks like we're set for a showdown between Nasser Alatia, who's defending his title in
09:55Andalusia, and Carlos Sainz, who has a new mini 4x4. The two rally raid legends boast six Dakar titles
10:03between them. Well, Sainz admitted he wasn't feeling too confident in his new car in the first few days.
10:08It's been around a decade since he last drove the rally 4x4, but with the help of his faithful co
10:13-driver
10:13Lucas Cruz, he only lost nine seconds on the prologue, finishing in third.
10:19It's no real surprise to see Vajdotas Zala up towards the front. The Lithuanian's been going
10:24from strength to strength in recent years, and a brilliant stage win at Dakar 2020 really put him
10:30on the map. He's back after a five-month break and went second fastest. But on a day where the
10:36top
10:36five were separated by just 23 seconds, Nasser Alatia found that extra something special as he so often
10:41does. The Qatari clocking five minutes 50 to beat Zala by just three seconds. The defending champion
10:47off to the ideal start. Good stage, you know. Okay, it's not easy, very narrow, and we did a really
10:55good job. We are here, you know, to enjoy and to defend our title from last year also.
11:03The performance of the day on stage one belonged to Erik van Lohen. The Flying Dutchman set off in
11:0818th place, but he went storming through the field to finish fifth and go fifth overall.
11:15Vladimir Vasiljev still getting to grips with the quick and narrow tracks, and he didn't quite
11:19get the settings right on his BMW on stage one. Last year's World Cup Baja's winner fourth on the day
11:25and fourth in the standings. Sainz said he spent more of this stage fighting his own car than his
11:31rally rivals. He got a little bit turned around at one point and lost around two and a half minutes,
11:36a frustrating outing for El Matador. But another good day for Vaidatos Zala, who looks keen to
11:42establish himself as one of the top names in this discipline. The Lithuanian had a few spins,
11:47but he stayed second overall. Can he take the fight to the big boys? In his own words, time will
11:52tell.
11:54Well, this man is currently the biggest boy in town. A second outing and a second victory for Nasser
11:59Alatiyah. He and Mathieu Bermel had a hairy moment at one point when they crossed a stranded
12:03vehicle coming the other way. But otherwise, a trouble-free day for the Qatari. His lead over
12:08Zala, one minute and 28 seconds. It was a very good, special stage, you know. We have leading now,
12:16and yeah, it looks like in a good way and we try to do every day like this.
12:26Erik van Loon struggled to find his rhythm in the early part of stage two, but things
12:30improved as the day wore on. He had to change the front right tyre after hitting a stone,
12:35but eventually cruised home in fifth place. Van Loon says he's looking forward to a fight with Vaidatos Zala
12:41on stage three. The Lithuanian had a tough day making a few mistakes and saying it was probably
12:46down to inattentiveness. They came in fourth and slipped to third overall.
12:51Nasser Alatiyah was third, but he managed to limit his losses pretty well.
12:56He and Mathieu Bermel opened from start to finish and they really upped the pace in the second section.
13:00No punctures and they remained top of the overall standings.
13:05Yazid Al-Raji had his best performance so far. The Saudi had a slow puncture towards the end,
13:10but that didn't stop him from coming second. His shoulder still isn't at 100%, but this outing
13:15will have done him good. Carlos Sainz was wrestling with his new car for most of the first two days,
13:21but this was a much smoother outing for the Spaniard. El Matador able to push a bit more in the
13:26mini 4x4 and that increased confidence helped him to land the stage victory.
13:33He just raised some adjust and I think I can drive a car with more confidence, which is important.
13:40Overall, Alatiyah leads sights by one minute 26. There's now a gap of nearly five minutes back to
13:45Zala in third.
13:51There's a new face on the mini stand here in Andalusia, Matthias Ekström, a former World
13:56Rallycross champion and a three-time winner of the Race of Champions.
14:02Yeah, I mean, the life in Rally Raid is very different to what I've done before.
14:06The stages have no pace notes. You have to drive on what you see. Also, the stages are very much
14:11longer
14:12than a normal rally. I think the cool thing is that you can drive in really rough terrain and
14:17a mixture of nice roads, field roads, really aggressive mountains, sand dunes. So I think
14:24when you're full gas and the power here, it's most of the time spinning wheel driving sideways.
14:29So it's a lot of fun, but sometimes I wish we would have more traction to go faster forward.
14:35Well, Ekström had his best day of the rally on stage three, coming fourth, and that was impressive
14:40considering his co-driver Emil Bergqvist had a bad stomach. The Swede had a really good flow at the
14:44start, especially with the heavier fuel load, although the rear-wheel drive mini began to
14:48slide around a bit more as the stage wore on.
14:53Everything went well today for Carlos Sainz. He and Lucas Cruz only lost a handful of seconds
14:58when they briefly took the wrong road. The Spaniard finished third and stays second overall,
15:02though he has a fair chunk of time to make up to the leader, Nasser Al-Atea.
15:07Yazid Al-Rajji set a good tempo all day and he finished second. The Saudi said it was more than
15:11perfect to be back up to third overall, given the time he lost on stage one. He had no power
15:16steering for the final 30k, but finished within two minutes of the winner.
15:22Well, that was of course this man, Nasser Al-Atea, the defending champion pushing for most of the day
15:26without taking unnecessary risks. He is determined to finish the job and claim victory on Sunday,
15:32saying that in rally raid, success often breeds success.
15:42Matthias Ekstrom didn't take too many risks at the start of the week, saying rally raid rookies
15:46have to be smart, but his confidence in the mini has grown and he swept in the end to fifth
15:50overall.
15:51The Swede setting himself up for the long haul in this discipline, with a Dakar victory in his crosshairs.
15:57Nasser Al-Atea went into the final stage with a lead of almost five minutes, and that meant he could
16:01afford to take it
16:02a little bit easier. The Qatari successfully defending his title, he's also promised to come back next year
16:07and target the hat trick. For Carlos Sainz, this was a one-off experience in the 4x4, but a useful
16:13one.
16:14He's also been mentoring fellow mini teammate Leah Sainz, as she gets to grips with the T1 cars.
16:20El Matador said that if the rally had started today, he might have been able to give Al-Atea more
16:24of a fight,
16:24but he contented himself with the stage for a win and second overall.
16:33It was a fantastic weekend, you know, I am quite happy to win again and defend our title from last
16:39year,
16:39and we show we are a really fast crew in this rally. Yeah, I am quite happy.
16:45Matthias, he did a really good job, you know, navigation and the team Overdrive,
16:50he did a really good job, you know, I am quite happy, you know, to win this race.
16:54Al-Atea winning by just 43 seconds in the end from Sainz after a late penalty.
16:59Three Toyotas and two Minis making up the top five.
17:07The Red Bull off-road junior team will take some beating in the lightweight vehicles.
17:11Their all-star line-up features Seth Quintero, Mitch Guthrie, new boy Guillaume Dumevius,
17:16and Cristina Gutierrez. Well, the OT3s set out their store in the prologue with all four of their
17:21drivers in the top five. Defending champion Guthrie was second, just ahead of Rui Carnero,
17:27third last year and winner of the Road to Dakar Challenge. The Red Bull Armada led home by their
17:32newest member, Guillaume Dumevius, son of the Belgian rally driver Gregoire. He has clearly got
17:37speed in the blood. He only finished a few seconds behind the T1 cars, a perfect start for Dumevius with
17:43his new team.
17:50Leonel Bowe's been mad about rallying since he was a teenager and even now in his 50s,
17:54there's no holding him back. An impressive showing on stage one as he kept pace with the Red Bull
17:59youngsters in third. Cristina Gutierrez came second in her OT3. The 29-year-old Spaniard made headlines
18:06with a brilliant stage win at this year's Dakar and she's clearly a force to be reckoned with,
18:10a few minutes off the pace in second. But nobody could keep up with the teen tornado that is Seth
18:17Quintero. The 18-year-old American storming to victory, going almost two minutes quicker than
18:22Gutierrez. He's even mixing it up with the T1 cars. I think we're like sixth or seventh overall car,
18:30which is absolutely amazing, only like five minutes off the lead, which blows my mind and really shows
18:34what this OT3 is capable of. And yeah, overall I had a really good day.
18:45One really good day followed by one really bad day for Quintero.
18:48Disaster for the American as his OT3 suffered gearbox failure on the way to the start of stage two.
18:58Cristina Gutierrez didn't have quite as much trouble as her Red Bull teammate, but she lost
19:02around eight minutes on the stage, while the defending champion Mitch Guthrie was second.
19:07These OT3s may be limited to 130 kilometers an hour, but on the twisting tracks of Andalusia,
19:12they're giving the T1 cars a run for their money. Guillaume de Mevius scooping stage honors to make it
19:17a Red Bull 1-2-3. The Belgian winning by over six minutes to storm into the overall lead.
19:23We drive well, we didn't have any problem, we just did a good stage and we won, so good second
19:31day.
19:31De Mevius and his experienced co-driver Tom Colsell opening up a gap of six minutes and seven seconds
19:37on Gutierrez.
19:42There was another Red Bull 1-2-3 on stage three, in exactly the same order as stage two.
19:48Cristina Gutierrez had a better day, even if she lost her intercom at one point.
19:52Plenty of local support for the Spaniard as she cruised home in third.
19:56Mitch Guthrie happy with his pace and handling. The defending champion tore up his OT3 pretty badly
20:00on stage one, but limited his losses. And after coming second today, he's back up onto the podium.
20:09Guillaume de Mevius taking his second straight win to increase his overall lead to around 11 minutes.
20:14The 26-year-old says his rally background is ideal for this spin around Andalusia, but he may find it
20:20harder to keep up with his teammates in the desert.
20:26We've seen the strengths of the Red Bull OT3 throughout this rally, but also the weaknesses.
20:31Gearbox failure ending the Mevius' hopes of taking victory on his debut and also costing Guthrie a
20:36serious amount of time. Their loss was Lionel Bou's gain. The Frenchman's had a great time this week,
20:42saying his Zephyr has really progressed. With the Red Bull woes, he climbed up to second overall,
20:47a great effort after winning the Phoenix rally last month. Victory, though, went to Cristina Gutierrez,
20:53a reward for her patience and consistency. The Spaniards described last year's Andalusia rally as a
20:58turning point in her career and she will now have plenty of fun memories of 2021 as well.
21:06Yeah, it's incredible. I am a little bit shy, but it's nice because it's Spain, it's my place,
21:12it's my favourite place, of course, and I'm very happy to stay here again.
21:17Gutierrez winning by a handsome margin from Beau, with another Frenchman, Jean-Luc Pisson,
21:22sneaking onto the podium. Camellia Leperot is enjoying a change of pace at this rally. She's
21:29acting as co-driver for Eric Desen, the president of Yamaha Europe, who has traded the boardroom for
21:34the bivouac. With my job, I have all reason not to be there. Camellia is hitting my head and saying,
21:41no, no, no, no, you have to go back to the field. You must experience yourself. And I love this
21:46kind of
21:46easy and full connection with teams, drivers, riders. Normally, I am a driver, but this rally,
21:54I am co-driving, so I am learning a lot. It is very interesting, especially that we have an
21:59electronic roadbook for the first time, so everything is new for me. Eric is driving very well, fast and safe.
22:12Over in the SSVs, no fewer than 10 vehicles are being prepped in the South Racing Garage. Among
22:18them are the Monster Energy Can-Am duo of Austin Jones and Aram Domsala. The Polish star is defending
22:24his crown in Andalusia. Domsala set the pace in the prologue, but he was set to plummet down the
22:33standings after a big crash on stage one. Khalifa Alatia, Nasser's younger brother,
22:40was just nine seconds off the pace in his Can-Am Maverick.
22:52Austin Jones eased off the gas on stage one. He was around 60%. He said he didn't want to get
22:57caught
22:58up in the chaos like his team-mate Dom Zala and came third on the day. Up in second was
23:04Mathieu
23:04Marguillon. The Frenchman only tried SSVs out for the first time last year, but he had so much fun
23:09at the Andalusia rally that he decided to do the Dakar as well. Khalifa Alatia took the stage honours,
23:18making it two wins for his family on the same day. The Qataris really stepping out of the shadow of
23:22his
23:22brother Nasser and showing great pace alongside French co-driver Xavier Panzeri.
23:31It was a fast second stage with just 40 seconds separating the top three.
23:35Austin Jones got into a bit of trouble after taking the wrong road, but he pushed in the second sector
23:39and limited his losses. He's second overall and confident he can still win the rally.
23:46Aram Domsala's hopes of defending his title went up in smoke on stage one after that big crash,
23:50but he was able to get back on the tracks today, the pole second, despite getting caught up in the
23:55dust.
23:56But it's surprise package at Khalifa Alatia, who still leads the way. The Qataris doing a fantastic
24:02job in his south race in Canham, making it two stage wins in two days.
24:08His lead over Jones, five minutes and 25 seconds. At this rate,
24:12they're going to need to make more space in the Alatia trophy cabinet.
24:21However, Alatia had a trickier outing on stage three. The Qatari ended up on his side at one point,
24:26but got a helping hand from some locals and only lost around five minutes, finishing third.
24:33Aram Domsala changed his setup today and was very happy with the results, better speed,
24:37turning and braking. The pole has a sore coccyx from his stage one crash and also suffered a puncture,
24:42but he still came home in second place.
24:45His Monster Energy Canham teammate, Austin Jones, was the day's big winner.
24:50The American pushing hard from start to finish, he grabbed both the stage win and the overall lead.
24:57No problems, no punctures, no crashes, no mechanical issues. We flew all day today,
25:03so it was really good. Exactly what we needed.
25:08Aram Domsala was never really at the races this year after his big crash on the opening stage.
25:13The pole's been playing around with the settings in his Monster Energy Canham and had good speed
25:18again today, coming second on the stage. But the day and the rally belonged to his teammate,
25:23Austin Jones. The American claiming his first overall victory in rally raid. With his nearest
25:28challenger, Khalifa Alatia, suffering mechanical problems, he saw it out in style with the stage win.
25:36There we are. You know what, after the second day we made a plan on what we were going to
25:40do. If we
25:41wanted to really win this race we were going to have to go and we made a plan and we
25:44got our stuff
25:45together and we went for it and it worked out perfectly, so super happy.
25:49Jones over 13 minutes clear of double stage winner Alatia with Dutch pair Case Colen and Miriam Pohl in third
25:56place.
26:03Well it's certainly been a memorable second edition of the Andalusia Rally.
26:07Thanks very much for joining us and do tune in again next year.
26:20Oh my god.
26:23Oh my god.
26:38Transcription by CastingWords
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