MADRID, 18 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish driver Cristina Gutiérrez has confirmed her participation in the Sonora Rally, the third round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) and which will take place from April 22 to 28 in the state of Sonora (northwestern Mexico).
Gutiérrez, who was World Rally-Raid T3 Champion in 2021, will start during the third round of this year as the fifth absolute classified. The woman from Burgos has 52 points, just three points behind the Chilean Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López.
In the first place of the qualifying table is his partner in the Red Bull team, the American Seth Quintero; Thus, Quintero is followed by fellow Americans Austin Jones (122 points) and Mitchell Guthrie (81 points).
“This is the third round of the World Championship, we are right in the middle and the objective is to continue adding points to see how far we can go”, Gutiérrez stated through a press release.
“Obviously, with the abandonment of Abu Dhabi, because in the end there are many points that we have not achieved and it will be difficult to come back, but, in reality, you never have to give up until the last stage”, added the Red rider Bull about his situation in this edition of the W2RC.
The woman from Burgos would have a disadvantage in the eastern Sonora Rally due to the incidents that occurred in the previous round of the W2RC 2023. In that Abu-Dhabi Desert Challenge, she had to retire due to problems unrelated to driving based on new interpretations of the regulations.
“It is a car that must continue to evolve, without a doubt; and, furthermore, we always like to bring it up to date with our driving style. It is true that we have had performance problems but also, above all, we are a little concerned about the issue of consumption of the cars: we see that they are very high consumption and the truth is that there have been several times that we have run out of gasoline…”, commented Gutiérrez.
“This makes us lose a lot of time, although the team is already solving it. Although in the last stages of the Abu-Dhabi Desert Challenge the team made a lot of progress, it is true that it is a main issue that worries us greatly and, I think , we must solve as quickly as possible to be competitive”, explained the woman from Burgos.
“I am very excited to return to South America to compete and even more so in the World Championship. It has been several years since we have set foot in Latin America and, to be honest, I always have good memories both for the fans and for the stages that we crossed with the car”, he underlined.
“I think it’s a step forward in the championship to go to Mexico… which means opening that market and, above all, having the opportunity to race for the people there. Probably the Latino fan is one of the most passionate in the world of the motor, he supports us a lot and a large part of all the followers we have are from there. I am delighted”, concluded Gutiérrez.