Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc to face next desert challenge!
“We continue our preparations for the 2023 Dakar Rally, which for we have chosen a championship in the Middle East. Also, it suits us from the logistics point of view, because of our Dubai base. And most importantly, all races will take place on a terrain that is similar to Dakar. That is also going to test qualities of our Can-Am prototypes,” explained the Buggyra ZM Racing’s head of communication Jan Kalivoda.
The Baja Jordan event is a part of the four-round FIA Cross Country Bajas series. This time, the participants will face a route of 664.3 kilometres in total, out of which 471 are timed. The whole event starts and ends in the Port of Aqaba on the shores of the Red Sea. The main part of the event will be in the Wadi Rum desert, in southern Jordan. Amongst the competitors is, for example, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Saudi Arabia), the 3rd best driver overall in the Cars category at this year’s Dakar.
Both sisters aim to follow up on their very successful debut at the Hail Rally International in December. While Aliyyah managed to win her first stage and then the whole race as well in the Nations Cup, her sister Yasmeen took 3rd place despite technical issues in the opening and final stages. “The Buggyra Academy couldn’t wish for a better start in the cross-country. On the other hand, it’s already in the past and we need to focus on the present and the future. We see the Baja Jordan event as a preparation for the next year’s Dakar. Also, the girls have some reputation now and we definitely aim to fight for the best result possible,” confirmed Martin Koloc as the team principal and a father of both girls.
Just as he said during the Dakar Rally, it is difficult to find a top navigator these days. Yet, the Buggyra team has been successful in this area. While Yasmeen will work together with Stephane Duple, who took part in many Rally Dakars before and already worked with her at the Hail Rally International, Aliyyah is going to be joined by Sebastian Delauney, who finished 4th in the SxS category at Dakar Rally back in 2017. “We really appreciate it. For navigators, it’s much more than just reading a map, or working with roadbooks. It’s about leading the drivers mentally, about communication, gains, and losses. The fact that Stéphane and Sebastian have agreed to work with Buggyra Academy, means something,” said Martin Koloc.
The 2021 Dakar Rally winner in the T3 category, Josef Macháček, is preparing for his debut as a mentor and a watcher. “There’re always some ideas and thoughts to discuss, Josef is going to be working with David Vršecký,” added Martin Koloc.
After that, the next race is scheduled for late March in Qatar. Then, the series is going to take a break due to the local weather, and the championship will return in early November with a race in Saudi Arabia.
More info: https://www.buggyra.com/news/aliyyah-and-yasmeen-koloc-to-face-next-desert-challenge-2325
