MOTORSPORT
BAJA GB 2006
Britain?s all-new candidate for FIA Baja Championship
For immediate release
Tuesday, July 25th, 2006
DAKAR STAR PATSY QUICK
ENTERS INAUGURAL BAJA GB
Bahrain?s National Champion Hassan Al-Sadadi eyes Baja outing;
Shipton-on-Stour?s Richard George set for quad encounter
NEWTOWN (Wales): Patsy Quick, a regular rider in the gruelling Dakar Rally, is one of the leading motorcycle enduro names to enter the inaugural Baja GB, a candidate round for the FIA Baja Championship, which takes place in mid Wales on August 18th-20th.
Quick has been a regular rider in the world?s toughest enduro rally in recent seasons and finished the event for the first time in January this year after several attempts, one of which almost cost the plucky Patsy her life in 2003. She had successfully navigated her way through the tricky deserts of Tunisia and Libya and was heading towards the finish of the event in Sharm-El-Sheikh, when she crashed heavily before the Siwa bivouac in Egypt and had to be airlifted to the bivouac.
Emergency surgery followed to remove her ruptured spleen, but the brave Patsy was soon back in the saddle and riding competitively on events like the Dakar and Qatar Baja. She should be one of the favourites for a maiden Baja success when the three-day event gets underway from Llandrindod Wells at 18.30 hrs on Friday, August 18th.
~Now that the regulations have been finalised for the bike and quad categories, we have received a terrific response for more information about the event,~ said Chris Tomley, Chairman of the MSA’s Cross-Country Committee and Clerk of the Course for Baja GB 2006. ?We have extended the entry deadline to August 10th for bikes and quads and are hoping that we will get a late rush for entries after the popular summer holiday fortnight in the UK.?
One of the first entrants in the quad category is the Shipston-on-Stour rider Richard George at the helm of his 450 cc Honda quad. The Warwickshire rider is keen to pick up the award for the leading quad runner after two legs and six tricky special stages in the Radnor forest complex on Saturday, August 19th and Sunday, August 20th.
The organising team are also waiting for final confirmation that the former Bahrain national rally champion Hassan Al-Sadadi will enter the event in a hired T1 or T2 car. Al-Sadadi has been a regular competitor in rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship and the UAE Desert Challenge – a round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup – and is frantically trying to piece together a deal to run a competitive car on the Baja GB.
?I am trying to finalise a deal to obtain support from the Bahrain Federation here in Manama,? said Al-Sadadi. ?This event really appeals to me.? The Manama businessman is better known to UK viewers of Sky Sport?s World Motorsport programme as the driver of the stricken Land Rover used in the opening title sequence to the programme for several years. The Baja GB will, of course, be covered by World Motorsport and shown on the Sky Sports network.
Also confirming their intention to contest the inaugural Baja GB are the Northern Ireland crew of David Johnston and Tim Hamilton in a diesel-engined Bowler Wildcat 300 and Ray and Vonnie Kempster, from Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds, at the wheel of a Milner Protruck.
They will be joined on the entry list by the son and father duo of Ryan and Chris Cooke. The Leicestershire duo, from Burbage near Hinckley, intend to use a powerful 5.2-litre Land Rover in the Radnor forest complex. Avon will also be represented on the entry list by Bristol?s Nic Tidboald at the wheel of a Bowler Wildcat, while Derbyshire?s Jeremy Fearn, from Beeley, should be a sight to behold in his powerful Bowler Wildcat 300.
The event has the full backing of the Motor Sports Association (MSA), the Forestry Commission Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government and Andrew Davies, the Welsh Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.
Regulations and entry information for the motorcycle, quad and car categories are available from the Baja GB office, 31 Market Street, Newtown, Powys, Wales, SY16 2PG, Tel: + 44 1686 626641, Fax: + 44 1686 626218, e-mail: secretary@BajaGB.co.uk and www.BajaGB.co.uk.
Entries for the car category close on Friday, July 28th, although bike and quad entrants have until August 10th to register their entry with event officials.
Ends
For further media information:
Neil Perkins, Baja GB Press Officer, NDP Publicity Services, NCH Building, Upper Bar, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 7EH, United Kingdom, Tel: +44 1952 825078, Fax: +44 1952 825001, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@compuserve.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).