Nasser al-Attijah for the fourth or Mikko Hirvonen for the second time? Or anybody else could win HunGarian Baja? This is the most important question before the start of the Hungarian cross-country World Cup race.
The factory drivers, who have already proved themselves at Dakar, will fight against each other again around Veszprém, so tense battle is guaranteed.
The Hungarian World Cup race will be held next weekend from Friday to Sunday, the official starting ceremony will take place at 4pm at Óváros Square in Veszprém, where the band called Animal Cannibals will also play.
‘After the spectacular starting ceremony the competitors could do what they like the most, pedal to the metal’ said Zoltán Garamvölgyi, chief organiser of HunGarian Baja. ‘This year we are glad to welcome world famous stars again, namely two-time Dakar winner Nasser al-Attijah or Mikko Hirvonen, who had gained his experience at World Rally Championships, but has been performing better and better in cross-country as well, or Kuba Przygonski, who started his career as a motorbike racer and now goes very fast on four wheels either. It is obvious that very fierce battle can be expected between them and not only for the World Cup points, but because this race can be considered as one of the last stops of the Dakar preparation for them. This year we have set out fans’ points again and we really ask the fans to watch the race at these points, namely Hajmáskér, zero point and Jutaspuszta.’
Last year’s edition was won by Mikko Hirvonen, the technical stages around Veszprém suited him perfectly and since he got used to drive between trees at the World Rally Championships, he was not scared by the forest roads. It might be the secret for Nasser al-Attijah either to be extremely fast at HunGarian Baja, so it will be interesting to see what they could do against each other. It could also be an issue how the Hungarian drivers enjoying the home soil at least due to their local knowledge might get into the great bigs’ battle.
The local authorities of Veszprém certainly give warm welcome either to foreign or home competitors and not only they were glad that the race returned to the city, but the drivers as well. Especially that the winners will get their hands on world famous Herendi Porcelain trophies.
At the press conference held on Thursday at the Town Hall of Veszprém – where 3x Hungarian Champion Károly Fazekas (car) and 2x Hungarian Champion Richard Hodola (bike) were also spoken –, Péter Ovádi, member of the Municipal Council emphasized that he was pleased to participate again at this prestigious international race.
‘I had lots of nice memories from last year’s HunGarian Baja and not only me, but every people who came to the race – said Péter Ovádi. – This can be one of the many reasons that the City of Veszprém is very proud to host this event again. During this period of the year everybody has an eye on Veszprém, the hotels are full, many tourists arrive to the city and spread abroad our fame and world-class competitors come to visit us, namely Nasser al-Attijah or Mikko Hirvonen. We could say that HunGarian Baja has been linked to Veszprém such as street music or Veszprém Fest and, for our great pleasure, it has found home in our city. Nowadays the whole country has proved to be able to host even the biggest sport events and I am sure that Veszprém also be equal to it and we could see another great race.’
