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Team Manager Sven Quandt Satisfied After Test-Runs in Morocco.
The newly developed X-raid BMW X3 CC (Cross Country) completed its first African test from the 12th-19th of September in Morocco.

The prototype BMW X3, powered by a 3.0 liter BMW bi-turbo diesel motor, exhibited its potential. The X3CC, which has been developed specially for the premier T1 class in Cross Country Rallying, has already been able to demonstrate the success genes it inherited from its “big brother”, the X-raid BMW X5. During its 150 kilometer debut at Erzberg in Austria, near the base of X-raid’s main by development partner Magna Steyr the car performed well. Before the Team headed to Morocco, a further 450 kilometers of testing took place in Ales in southern France. This was followed in North Africa by a program that included mainly short suspension runs as well as some long runs on stony gravel tracks and over trails with camel grass, as well as through sandy dune passages. The intensive eight day test session was another important part of the X-raid Team’s preparation for the 2006 Dakar Rally, which starts in Lisbon in late December.

The drivers also took time to get used to the car. Desert specialist and newly crowned FIA Middle East Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) and the South African off-road bike expert Alfie Cox, took turns behind the wheel of the new BMW X3 CC. “The comments that both Nasser and Alfie have made have given the engineers and mechanics important clues as to where things need to be adjusted. Our main focus here was to optimize the suspension and some tire testing”, said Team Manager Sven Quandt. “Thanks to the teamwork with our partner Magna Steyr, we were able to critically analyze all of the data right as the car was being test driven. That’s how we made such quick and noticeable advancements in the fine-tuning of the X-raid BMW X3 CC,” Sven Quandt explains the procedure used during the test runs. The suspension collaboration with exclusive X-raid partner, Dutch based suspension specialists Reiger Racing Suspension, enabled the X-raid technicians to determine the base setup of the of the vehicle under the supervision of Gerard Seesing head of Reiger Racing Suspension. “The car is very responsive and all the major components are functioning well. The drivers tested various setups during the last part of the test and, in doing so, set up the car to their own personal settings. Still there is a lot to do in the next 3 months until the Dakar”, remarked X-raid Project Manager Robert Vanbellingen who was satisfied with the results of the first week in Africa for the X-raid BMW X3 CC. Magna Steyr Project Manager Walter Schimpl was clearly very pleased with the new vehicle and added: “This is the first time I’ve supervised a project such as this and the advancements we’ve made in the last weeks are just huge. But we’re also aware that there’s still a long way to go before we’ve got all of the components 100% right and they meet our expectations.”

The newly signed test driver Guerlain Chicherit made a solid debut during the test weeks in Morocco. The young Frenchman, 2002 world-champion in extreme skiing, will be sharing the testing with the regulars Nasser Al-Attiyah and Alfie Cox in the future. Chicherit won the French Citroën Saxo-T4-Trophy in 2003 and drove the following year with factory support in the Junior World Rally Championship. In January this year he celebrated his successful debut as a talent highlight of the Dakar Organization A.S.O. at the renowned marathon classic.

X-raid is based in Trebur near Frankfurt in Germany. The team is a multi-national squad that has participated in Cross Country rallies since 2002 with the BMW X5 Diesel. The composite bodies of X-raid’s BMW X5 and BMW X3 CC vehicles conceal state of the art technology developed in accordance to FIA T1 regulations. The independent suspension four-wheel drive cars have a tubular space frame chassis, low fuel consumption BMW Diesel engines that give the team a distinct mileage advantage in comparison to the gasoline engines of the competitors.

Led by managing director Sven Quandt, a former Cross Country World Cup winner himself, X-raid is no stranger to results around the globe. The X-raid BMW X5 came fourth in Dakar Rally in 2004 and in 2003 won the Cross Country World Cup round in Spain and Baja Germany. In 2004 Khalifa Al-Mutaiwei (UAE) won the FIA Cross Country World Cup in the X-raid BMW X5, storming to overall victory in the Por las Pampas Rally in Argentina en route to the title.

X-raid’s partners include, BMW Motoren, Magna Steyr, Lear Corporation, Reiger Racing Suspenion, BF Goodrich Tires, and MAN Trucks