The parallels between the sport of rally and watchmaking cannot be overlooked: Technology, innovation and modern design play a deceive role in both areas. Rally driver Stephan Schott and Co-pilot Holm Schmidt of the X-Raid Mini All4 Racing Team want to win the race against the time – and Hanhart sets the pace.
Only few more days to go and the waiting finally will be over. Then, the drivers will start into the first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally! While the vehicles already are on their way to South America, the drivers and co-drivers just have executed special trainings to be perfectly prepared when starting into the season highlight. At first, a team-building week held in mid-November on Tenerife was supposed made for the necessary team spirit. The programme comprised canyoning, mountain biking, sailing, and a mountain hike.
Right afterwards, the pairings travelled to the workshop in Trebur. There they trained and practiced on the cars to be able to change some parts of the MIINI ALL4 Racing themselves if it doing so should prove to be necessary. Should something go wrong, during a stage, the drivers have to cope with a lot of pressure and stress,” explains X-raid engineer Joan Navarro. “If they have practiced changing parts in advance they will approach the problem with a more relaxed attitude and consequently will be quicker.”