The 2023 Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura not only played host to the second round of the Spanish Yamaha YXZ1000R Cup but also the second round of the CERTT, plus the first round of the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, with Yamaha represented in all categories.
The action began on Friday with a 5.8km prologue that saw Caamaño and Moliné, winners of the first round of the YXZ1000R Cup, finish in P2 overall in the SSV class, incredibly with González and Ruiz matching their time of 4:25.700 in third.
On Saturday, six stages were planned, but the final two had to be cancelled due to bad light, leaving the competitors to battle it out over 350km of challenging, technical terrain, which was made even more difficult by the fact the teams had to follow the CERTT and FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas drivers.
Despite this, nothing could stop the pairing of González and Ruiz, and the duo would win every stage on offer as they completely decimated their opponents. Not giving their rivals a chance, the team ended the day with a 48-minute advantage in the YXZ1000R Cup over second-placed Caamaño and Moliné, with Valverde and Valverde 56 minutes behind the leaders in third.
Heading into Sunday with such a large gap at the front and just two stages to navigate, González and Ruiz did not let up and won the penultimate stage to extend their advantage even more before an issue in the final stage saw them have a minor crash and sustain damage to the front ball joint on their YXZ1000R. They lost 27 minutes carrying out running repairs before sensationally finishing the race on three wheels to secure their first YXZ1000R Cup victory of the season and finish second overall in the SSV category.
The winners of the opening round of the season, Caamaño and Moliné, took second in the Cup, one hour, nine minutes and 11 seconds behind the winners, to retain their lead in the overall standings, with the Valverde’s securing their first podium in third, 17 minutes further back.
Another father and son pairing of Carlos Sendrós and Carlos Sendrós, with both sharing the same name, were fourth, while Víctor González and Carles Barangué rounded out the top five in the cup. Amazingly, despite the demanding nature of the event, all of the YXZ1000R Cup competitors made it to the end of the rally and completed the race. The teams will be back in action in Murcia between May 26th and the 27th at the Baja Lorca - Ciudad del Sol.
Winners of the 2022 YXZ1000R Superfinale, Prat and González, once again showed their class as they produced a stunning performance to win the overall SSV class in the CERTT, 26 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of González and Ruiz in second, to make it two victories from two so far in 2023 and extend their lead at the top of the standings.
In the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, the X-Raid Yamaha Supported Team YXZ1000R Turbo Prototype driven by reigning T3 champion João Ferreira and co-driver Filipe Relvas enjoyed a superb rally, powering to second in class and sixth overall in the car category, showcasing the pace of the new side-by-side vehicle that made its debut at the 2023 Dakar Rally.
In the same championship, it was a bittersweet weekend for Quaddy Racing’s Amerigo Ventura and Mirko Brun in the T4 category. The duo were in complete control of the action on Saturday despite a small crash that saw them hit a tree on the opening stage, leading their class and on the cusp of the overall top ten at the end of the day. Unfortunately, they had sustained some damage to their roll bar during the crash, and upon inspection on Saturday night, the FIA deemed it unsafe for the duo to continue.
Despite this disappointment, Ventura and Brun were happy with the performance shown by their YXZ1000R and, alongside Ferreira and Relvas, are already looking forward to the next round of the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas in Greece from the 14th to the 15th of June.
Yamaha YXZ1000R Cup Race Classification:
1. Agustín González / Rubén Ruíz 6h 29'03''
2. Edesio Caamaño / Carmelo Moliné +1h 09'11''
3. Lorenzo Valverde / Lorenzo Valverde +1h 26'15''
4. Carlos Sendrós / Carlos Sendrós +5h 14’46’’
5. Víctor González / Carles Barangé +6h 01'36''
2023 Yamaha YXZ1000R Cup Classification:
1. Edesio Caamaño 92.42 points
2. Victor Gonzalez 65.29 pts.
3. Agustín González 50.5 pts.
4. Lorenzo Valverde 36.36 points.
5. Carlos Sendrós 32.32 pts.
6. Fernando Mesa 42 pts.
7. Toni Vingut 0 pts.
Classification of the Spanish SSV Championship race:
1. Miquel Prat / Mario González 6h 02'32''
2. Agustín González / Rubén Ruíz +26'30”
3. Juan Luis Sánchez-Jurado / Alberto Sánchez-Jurado +30'25''
4. Miguel Guillermo Valero / Raquel Cecilia Jimena +49'06''
5. Edesio Caamaño / Carmelo Moliné +1h 35’42”
SSV Spanish Championship Classification:
1. Miquel Prat 100.5 points
2. Guillermo Gomez 69.26 pts.
3. Edesio Caamaño 65.29 pts
4. Miguel Valero 61.32 pts.
5. Agustín González 42.42 pts.
