The Dutch Quattro Legends raced for the first time in 16 months at the Baja Lorca – Ciudad del Sol last weekend. Unlike the regularity tests of the Dakar Classic, the fastest man won here.
Erik van Loon, Hans Stacey, and Peter van den Bosch were teammates at the 2025 Dakar Classic who raced Audi Quattros. With van Loon having to cancel his plans of running the ELE Rally after regulation changes made his Subaru Impreza ineligible to race, he reunited with his former comrades in Spain instead. Marcel van Vliet, who finished third in Truck at the 2010 Dakar Rally, joined the crew in the fourth Audi since its original driver Frits van Eerd was sentenced to two years in prison. QFF Racing’s Adventures division prepared their cars.
Given an ’80s-spec Quattro doesn’t comply with usual FIA cross-country rally regulations for obvious reasons, the four competed in the Open class. There was also an Open SSV entered in Juan López Arias’s Yamaha YXZ1000R, though that was in its own category.
Van Vliet got the ball rolling as the fastest of the quartet in the Prologue, finishing 13th overall and five seconds ahead of van Loon in 15th; Stacey was 29th and van den Bosch 37th. It was a relatively slow start for van den Bosch, who was 70 seconds behind van Vliet.
Van Loon was pleased with his Prologue time, calling it “quite impressive for an Audi among all the modern cars.” His fortunes continued as he won his class in SS1 despite a flat tire and oil leaking out of the jack, finishing 24th while the other three were between 29th and 31st.
Things continued swimmingly into the next two stages. Van Loon was 13th overall in SS2, clearing 26th-placed van den Bosch by 11 minutes while Stacey was 32nd, then was 14th in SS3 to the 29th and 30th of Stacey and van den Bosch. Stacey was 14 minutes back for the penultimate leg. Van Vliet retired during the second stage.
Even in an old-school ride, van Loon was sitting pretty in 14th after three while van den Bosch was 24th and Stacey 26th.
Unfortunately for van Loon, his luck ran out on the final special. Just 75 kilometers from the finish, the car broke down. Van den Bosch caught up to him and helped bring his car to the finish.
Van den Bosch won the stage by four minutes over Stacey. Van Loon’s final time for SS4 was over two hours and 15 minutes, 38 minutes behind the winner. As such, van den Bosch took home the Open overall with a final time of 6:40:45 ahead of van Loon’s 6:48:35 and Stacey’s 6:54:57.
“In total, we were on the road for 14 hours,” said van Loon. “We finished just seven minutes behind Peter, so we did well. We enjoyed it a lot; it was a beautiful and tough baja. Hein navigated great, and it’s a joy to drive this car.”
Santiago Carnicer won the overall in his Toyota Hilux.
Credit: Kico Moncada Carrasco / Real Federación Española de Automovilismo
Credit: Kico Moncada Carrasco / Real Federación Española de Automovilismo
Credit: Kico Moncada Carrasco / Real Federación Española de Automovilismo
Credit: Kico Moncada Carrasco / Real Federación Española de Automovilismo
Credit: Kico Moncada Carrasco / Real Federación Española de Automovilismo
Results
| Finish | Class | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Vehicle | Category | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 201 | Santiago Carnicer | Sergio Peinado | GPR Sport | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ | 5:28:05.0 |
| 2 | 1 | 301 | Jesús Fuster | Pol Ros | Nasser Racing | Taurus Evo Max | CHG1 | 5:30:27.8 |
| 3 | 2 | 200 | Luis Recuenco | Daniel Cámara | GPR Sport | Toyota Hilux Evo | T1+ | 5:30:42.3 |
| 4 | 1 | 404 | Enrique Reyes Medina | Carlos Ruiz Moreno | Gedeser XXI | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 5:34:16.5 |
| 5 | 2 | 309 | José María Naranjo Gutiérrez | Jose Antonio Alvarez Guerrero | JMP Racing | JMPR T3 | CHG1 | 5:36:03.0 |
| 6 | 3 | 304 | Edesio Caamaño | Carmelo Moliné | Motor Club Sabadell | Taurus T3 Max | CHG1 | 5:37:46.6 |
| 7 | 4 | 308 | Fernando Mesa Pozuelo | Ivan Cano | MI Motorsport | Herrator HRX-3 | CHG1 | 5:43:51.1 |
| 8 | 1 | 402 | Oscar Masó | Pedro López | Pedregà Team | Can-Am Maverick X3 | T4 | 5:44:14.0 |
| 9 | 5 | 305 | Roberto Rodriguez Gamboa | Herman Rodriguez Gamboa | RR Racing | Herrator Inzane 901 | CHG1 | 5:44:34.8 |
| 10 | 2 | 400 | Rafael Muñoz | Raquel Cecilia | Federación Andaluza de Automovilismo | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | T4 | 5:45:46.1 |
| 11 | 3 | 407 | Juan Manuel Mañá Benarroch | Giovanna di Blasi | Etcetera | Polaris RZR Pro R | T4 | 5:47:56.0 |
| 12 | 4 | 401 | Fede Mogni | David Jesús Nieto | Federación Andaluza de Automovilismo | Polaris RZR Pro R | T4 | 5:51:29.8 |
| 13 | 6 | 311 | Philip McVay | Santiago Costa | Escuderia Motor Terrassa | Taurus Evo Max | CHG1 | 6:04:05.6 |
| 14 | 1 | 500 | Alberto Dorsch | Marcos Martinez Gonzalez | RACE | Toyota Land Cruiser KDJ120 | T2.2 | 6:21:27.3 |
| 15 | 1 | 501 | Lluís Rodríguez Boldú | Gerard Ribas | Escuderia Lleida | Toyota Land Cruiser VDJ200 | T2.1 | 6:26:58.3 |
| 16 | 1 | 202 | Mónica Plaza | Marta Plaza | Santana Racing Team | Santana SUV | T1.1 | 6:34:00.0 |
| 17 | 7 | 306 | José Carlos Vidal Garcia | Patricia Ada Henar Palacin | MI Motorsport | Can-Am Maverick X3 | CHG1 | 6:35:15.6 |
| 18 | 2 | 206 | Julian Regidor Yunta | Daniel Mesa Rodríguez | Cuenca Motor | Ford Ranger | T1.1 | 6:38:14.0 |
| 19 | 1 | 722 | Peter van den Bosch | Hans Brand | QFF Adventures | Audi Quattro | Open | 6:40:45.4 |
| 20 | 5 | 405 | Domingo Román | Alberto Herrero | TH-Trucks Team | Polaris RZR Pro R Sport | T4 | 6:41:48.2 |
| 21 | 1 | 710 | Juan López Arias | Patricio Perez Avila | Juan López Arias | Yamaha YXZ1000R | Open SSV | 6:44:25.5 |
| 22 | 2 | 720 | Erik van Loon | Hein Verschuuren | QFF Adventures | Audi Quattro | Open | 6:48:35.4 |
| 23 | 3 | 207 | Laura Bonillo Alcalá | Miguel García Jarque | GPR Sport | Mitsubishi Pajero V78 | T1.1 | 6:49:34.2 |
| 24 | 3 | 723 | Hans Stacey | Serge Bruynkens | QFF Adventures | Audi Quattro | Open | 6:54:57.7 |
| 25 | 6 | 403 | Fernando Castillo Martínez | Marcos del Saz Martinez | Cuenca Motor | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | T4 | 6:59:13.9 |
| 26 | 7 | 406 | Pedro Caparrós García | Abel Montoya Caparrós | Automóvil Club Almería | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR | T4 | 7:00:13.0 |
| 27 | 8 | 312 | Luis Albert Castaño Pastor | Javier Prieto | GPR Sport | GPR 24 | CHG1 | 7:05:55.9 |
| 28 | 8 | 408 | Alfonso Javier Gonzalez Reyes | Miguel Ángel Perez Cejas | TH-Trucks Team | Polaris RZR Pro R | T4 | 7:11:04.9 |
| 29 | 4 | 204 | Remigio Rovira | Rosa María Delicado Ferrera | Club ProGT Arafo | Toyota Hilux | T1.1 | 7:30:23.0 |
| 30 | 2 | 711 | Josep Fallada Pouget | Abel Carmona Delis | JMP Racing | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Open SSV | 7:43:05.9 |
| 31 | 9 | 307 | Raúl Guijarro del Río | Julian Angel Villarrubia Garcia | Cuenca Motor | Herrator Inzane X3 | CHG1 | 9:38:41.1 |
| DNF | DNF | 203 | Jose Luis García Molina | Manuel Navarro DOminguez | Gamace MC Competición | Mini John Cooper Works Rally | T1.1 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 300 | Eduard Pons | Alejandro Lopez | Nasser Racing | Taurus Evo Max | CHG1 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 303 | Juan Gasso | Ian Del Cid | Motor Club Sabadell | G Rally OT3 | CHG1 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 310 | Luis Climent | Ricardo Ranero Gonzalez | MI Motorsport | Can-Am Maverick X3 | CHG1 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 313 | Alex Sabater Casals | Joan Rubi Montserrat | ASM Motorsport | Oryx T3 Evo2 | CHG1 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 700 | Javier Espada Valbuena | Sara Espada Herraiz | Cuenca Motor | Toyota Land Cruiser KDJ120 | T8 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 701 | Matías Rodríguez Martín | Sandra Guasch Planells | Automovil Club d’Eivissa i Formentera | Toyota Hilux | T8 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 702 | Xavier Juncosa | Guillem Godayol Rovira | Pedregà Team | Toyota Land Cruiser KZJ95 | T8 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 703 | Jose Vidaña Moyano | Carlos Vilamitjana Tost | Pedregà Team | Mitsubishi L200 | T8 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 704 | Dominik Ben | Nicanor Francisco Villar Altarejos | Dominik Ben | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ100 | T8 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 705 | Raúl Ortiz Correa | Raúl Ortiz Navas | Automóvil Club Sol y Nieve | Toyota RAV4 | T8 | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 721 | Marcel van Vliet | Marcel Pronk | QFF Adventures | Audi Quattro | Open | DNF |
| DNF | DNF | 806 | Josep Trinidad | Álvaro Sánchez Izquierdo | GRS Team | Can-Am Maverick X3 | T4 | DNF |
Featured image credit: Kico Moncada Carrasco / Real Federación Española de Automovilismo
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