Due to safety concerns, Buggyra ZM Racing decides to withdraw from the Baja Hungary

Buggyra ZM Racing team principal Martin Koloc behind the wheel of the Red-Lined REVO T1+ participated for the first time in the Hungarian Baja rally.

MONACO, FRANCE, August 12, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- However, despite high expectations and detailed preparation, the event was cut short for the team due to concerns about the safety of the crew. As a consequence, Koloc withdrew from the offroad baja after the first day. His concerns became reality the following day with two serious crashes and the organizers cutting short part of the rally.

" We only partially fulfilled our mission that we came to Hungary with. Unfortunately, we didn't finish the whole rally. We had been reporting problems with navigation since the technical checks. The GPS wasn't working; it wasn't giving us any data. The navigation device was not registering the points passed or the meters traveled, and in the end, we ended up doing the first stage of 120 km on sight," Martin Koloc described the difficulties occuring right from the start of the Hungarian Baja.

The organizers tried to solve the problem. "They kept us in the first neutralization zone after 30 km of the initial timed test for 34 minutes instead of the mandated 20 minutes. They tried to solve the issue but they didn't. They then instructed us to continue driving on sight. We had to overtake all the cars again we had already passed," Martin Koloc explained the situation that led to the decision to withdraw from the event early.

"I understand that the organizers had problems with the track marking until the last moment due to the fact that the race was held in a military area. But it is an extremely difficult event to navigate; there was a lot of dust in the evening when you couldn't see at all against the sun setting. Due to the fact that we were given a non-functioning GPS, I had no idea where we were going. The navigator didn't show any meters, totals, or bearings, and we were probably going in the opposite direction several times. That's why we decided we didn't want to take any more risks," Buggyra’s team principal said.

Koloc explained that the car's development will continue in view of the FIAWorld Rally-Raid Championship and the Dakar Rally. "The car worked well in Hungary. We will evaluate all the data we have collected and also look at how the new features on the car worked. We will choose the next test program accordingly," Koloc added.

The 57-year-old driver replaced his daughter Aliyyah Koloc at the weekend’s event, who had undergone scheduled surgery with Czech navigator Vlastimil Miksch by his side.

Martin Koloc will race another offroad rally – the Baja Poland - taking place from 21 to 23 August.

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