A dreamy start for Buggyra Academy at Rally Hail!
The first results of the Saudi Arabian Rally Hail event brought a shock. Téo Calvet dominated the Trucks category on his debut with a Tatra Phoenix special, while Aliyyah Koloc took her first win in the T3 category, with her sister Yasmeen finishing 3rd, and it was the first start for both girls as well. The current T3 category Dakar champion Josef Macháček set the 2nd fastest time.
We definitely did not expect anything like that – that is probably what was the first reaction of the team following the results.“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I’ve probably never got a birthday present before,” confirmed David Vršecký, who celebrated his birthday today. “When I saw that Aliyyah was the fastest driver in today’s stage, and even set a faster time than T1 category vehicles, I couldn’t believe it at first. And Yasmeen also did a fabulous job. I don’t think we’ve ever seen two 17-year-old twins doing so well on their debut. And Téo was also exceptional, I’m curious to know what Josef Kalina is going to say about his performance.”
The team principal Martin Koloc, as a biased father of the twins, tried to focus mostly on the young French driver. “The deal was that he’s going to do first real kilometres and then we’ll see. And Téo managed to win a stage right away. Anyway, the deal remains the same. The results are not our priority for our drivers here, the Buggyra Academy is here primarily to gain experience.”
And the 2nd place finish for Josef Macháček confirms the team strategy. “Josef came here to test, and he did absolutely well,” added Martin Koloc.
First reactions
Aliyyah Koloc (Buggyra Can-Am DV 21): “Considering how much testing we’ve done, I felt really well. I won, so it wasn’t bad I guess!”
Yasmeen Koloc (Buggyra Can-Am DV 21): “I was telling myself that if anyone could beat it, it’s only Aliyyah! I’m just joking, but it’s great.”
Téo Calvet (Tatra): “I had a good time driving. After the finish line, they told me that I’d won the stage, so pretty good I guess.”
