15 September 2009

Rui Cabaço and Juanjo Llidó achieved the goal they had set themselves prior to the competition with a better position than they themselves had hoped for. The challenge was to complete the 2,000 kilometer route through Morocco without mishaps and with the best possible result, and so they did. Pilot and copilot, both residents in Jávea (Alicante), were able to overcome all obstacles to obtain a well-fought triumph in the buggy class and a commendable eighth position in absolute classification. The route was long, winding and complicated.

The difficulty consisted in navigating over the rock strewn tracks that make up a large part of the Moroccan territory with a standard, factory equipped buggy and covering the fewest kilometers possible between the obligatory way-points.

According to Cabaço, “It is perhaps difficult to imagine the challenge that preparing for a competition covering 350 kilometers a day supposes. Seated a mere hands-width from the ground in a relatively simple vehicle,without doors nor windows, and a far cry from being a car, you soon realize that finishing, and winning,especially without mechanical failures, apart from a broken front suspension, is a formidable success”.

The PGO Bugracer 500i held out very well for the entire competition, showing its great reliability and toughness, qualities that most buggies on the market cannot boast. As Cabaço himself enthusiastically stated: “What most surprised us was the sheer resistance of this buggy. During the competition we pushed the vehicle at top speeds and over a very tough landscape, but never encountered any problems. What is more, unlike others, when we arrived at the camp at the end of the day we had virtually no maintenance to carry out, we simply changed the air filter and tightened a few bolts. After the tough riding we put it through I can truly say the PGO is indestructible”.

 The only mechanical problem they had with the buggy was a broken front, right suspension due to oil overheating. Otherwise the buggy returned to Spain intact and in perfect condition. The competition turned out tougher than Rui Cabaço had counted on, especially as he suffered viral gastroenteritis just after arriving in Morocco which sapped his strength right through to the fourth day.“Throughout the second and third day I had to drive with a fever and vomiting, but I persevered and tried to make as many way-points as possible. Even then I had to give some of the more difficult ones a miss as otherwise I wouldn’t have had been able to stand the physical exertion” the pilot admits.

Despite this setback the Espíritu Aventura was the only team in the buggy class to complete the Second stage, winning them the first position which they would not surrender for the rest of the competition. Their main competitors, the Masia Pelarda team, was right behind them and the victory was not decided until the Fifth leg. “They had mechanical problems and couldn’t finish some of the legs but their penalizations

were relatively small, meaning that they could have caught up with us in the Fifth, Special stage. Luckily for us, we managed to maintain our lead”

There was still a Sixth, final leg ahead but the organizers decided to cancel it due to the terrible state of the terrain after heavy storms in the Northeast of the country during the week. Cabaço and Llidó managed therefore to obtain a well disputed victory and an excellent eighth Scratch position.

“After the hardships and accumulated exhaustion, this victory feels glorious, it felt great to push the PGO to the limits in such adverse terrain and demonstrate its possibilities. The Panáfrica is a very selective competition that demands many skills, good navigation and both physical and mechanical resistance, we are therefore very satisfied with the results”.

Cabaço also mentions the “special” relationship they have with their rival team: “Competing with the Masia Pelarda team was very stimulating, as they have a lot of experience of navigation in Morroco. We have a good relationship with them, and despite them being our direct rivals there was a lot of complicity between us on the course”.