| The Balkan Offroad Rallye has started with 160km of special stage in the mountains around Borovets. On these technical tracks the Bulgarian teams show off with their experience, ruling the mountains in the Car and Side by Side class.
Doncho Tsanev is the first to finish in the car ranking, with his Bulgarian made two-wheel drive buggy. Second car is Adam Bomba, who has just completed the first stage in his new BMW, with an engine prepared by the famous Vincent Foucart. ‘The acceleration is fantastic!’, says Adam. Konstantin Cholakov with the new Hilux finishes third. ‘We overtook Frank, finally! But then we missed a turn and had to go back. What a fight!’
Tsvetan Tsvetanov is the first side by side, the largest class in the Balkan Offroad Rallye this year with no less than 30 vehicles on the startlist. Second are Tsanko Tsankov and Zornitsa Todorova from Bulgaria, with a completely new vehicle. ‘Our new buggy is super,’ says Zornitsa, ‘But the bolts on the suspension come loose!’ Behind them is the French brigade, with Jerome Pelichet, José Castan, Richard Oguez and Thomas Rivolet: all fast and experienced teams who are ready to overtake and catch anyone who lifts the throttle!
‘It was a beautiful stage,’ says Arunas Gelazninkas from Luthiania, the fastest biker, riding on KTM. ‘But I did not see all the nice views, because I needed all my concentration for the roadbook and the track!’ He finishes 4 minutes ahead of his teammate Aidas Bubinas. Frank Modl is third, on his tiny two-stroke Gas Gas. ‘My Spanish Lady,’ he smiles, ‘Unfortunately the route went so high into the mountains that I did not get enough air into the engine, and I maxed out on 100km/h. The route was so nice I wanted to stop and make photos!’
‘It was a tough day, but very beautiful,’ says Tom Heuer, racing his Tatra in the truck class. ‘With the truck, we can easily handle difficult terrain. And the stages here are worth it, so we need to get some more trucks to the Balkan Offroad Rallye.’ For the trucks the race is a perfect test for technical driving and a training ground for other events, without the hassle of leaving the continent in order to race.
There was enough adventure on the stage today, with several technical sections that required careful driving. Here, Herman Jasper lost the driveshaft of his Nemesis. He was towed to the finish by his teammate Bert van Mourik, who managed to complete the entire stage without any problems. Breslau Poland winner Gregorz Brochocki hit a wall, damaging the steering of his Dacia and was brought out of the stage by the Yellow Angels, the famous recovery team of Achim Lust.
‘Finishing the first special stage today was a miracle in itself,’ says Roman Weber, driving one of the three VW T4 busses. ‘We have no low gear, no height and almost no power. But we managed to do the full stage, working together with the three Bulli-teams and with the help of Philippe Musy and the Unimog. He rescued us when Udo Heidenreich managed to park his Bus into a big sinkhole! We had more adventure than we expected, but all three busses are here with minimal damage!’
Tomorrow the Balkan Offroad Rallye goes from Borovets to Starosel, on a monster marathon stage crossing half of Bulgaria. Several specials through beautiful regions allow the competitors to descent from the mountains into the valley, arriving in a fantastic bivouac amidst the famous vineyards of central Bulgaria. As the day continues, the tracks become wider and the speed will go up: it is the next level for the competitors of the Balkan Offroad Rallye 2018!
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Text: Niels Hatzmann
Photo credit: RBI Media |
