Baja 2010: Aprilia creates a vacuum around itself in motorbikes. Accident for Dutto

Mechanics in fibrillation, thirsty tanks, virgin tires unloaded from the assistance trucks, thumbs ready on the stopwatches, engines eager to unleash horsepower, drivers struggling with the road book: a scene awaited for months, ever since the curtain fell on the European Championship Baja 2009, concluded on 22 August in Hungary, on the very fast Veszprém track. 2010 opens with the Pordenone classic, held on the Friulian magredi, between treacherous riverbeds, endless straights along the vineyards of Refosco and Grave del Friuli, and the usual wings of the public leaning from the bridges over the Cosa torrent and from the banks of the Tagliamento. As many as 58 registered for the 17th edition: 37 quads and 21 motorbikes, with the big names from last season arriving in the paddock hosted by the Pordenone Fair with the intention of giving a large group of rookies in the Baja formula a hard time.
As usual, the organization is the responsibility of TOP srl of Pordenone, coordinated by the tireless Mauro Tavella, in collaboration with the Fuoristrada Club 4×4 Pordenone and the Moto Club QuadForQuad.
Unfortunately, the enthusiasm and desire to win at the first European event were dampened by the serious accident that struck Nicola Dutto, the outgoing Italian Champion and second in the 2009 European Championship, to whom friends, riders and enthusiasts dedicated a "go Nik!" shouted at the top of his lungs.

After the lightning-fast prologue played on Friday with some times under 5', the PS2 clocks start on Saturday morning at 10:00, under a sky that promises only rain and transforms the course into a monochromatic and deceptive landscape. The stony riverbeds of the Cosa and Tagliamento are flattened by an ashen light, which hides obstacles and depressions from the pilots. Compromised visibility could be one of the contributing factors to the serious accident that occurred to Nicola Dutto, who was thrown from the saddle after the first half of the special, on a straight between the bends of the Tagliamento. The impact is extremely violent: the man from Cuneo falls on his head and rolls onto his back, among the stones, a few meters from his vehicle. Alex Zanotti, who is chasing Nicola, immediately helps his colleague. Shortly afterwards Massimiliano Masante also arrives, on a quad, and collaborates with Zanotti in the first assistance operations. The intervention of the Udine air ambulance was very rapid, where Dutto urgently underwent surgery. The latest medical dispatches are however comforting: Nicola will remain under observation at the Udine hospital, before being transferred to a specialized rehabilitation centre. Drivers, friends and fans are rooting for his return to competition. Go Nik!
In the meantime, the riders remaining in the race close the special stage and head for assistance, evidently upset by their colleague's fall. PS2 sees the following overall ranking: Alberto Basso, from Pordenone and expert of the local tracks, surprisingly leads on TM 530, with a time of 44'00”. At 44”, after a duel at the last corner, he chases Mauro Sant, on TM 450, while Ceci, Filosa and Zanotti (whom the jury credits 5' for the help given to Dutto), suffer delays of more than a minute. The German Zahn, Passigato and Burioli go beyond 5'. “Chaleco” starts very badly, and falls behind at 9'12”, followed by Manenti, Ghitti, Paulitti and the others. Manuel Lucchese (Husqvarna TE 450) and Sebastiano Demurtas fall: the former withdraws from the race, the
second he manages to start again. The Chilean digested the lesson and took revenge on SS2: he moved up eight positions and inflicted a minute of dust on Zanotti. Followed by Alberto Basso and Mauro Sant, just over a minute later, then Ceci, Filosa, who falls and loses precious minutes, then Zahn, Paulitti, Burioli, Passigato and the others behind.
Final ranking in leg 1: Sant, with 1:28'46”, precedes Basso, penalized by one minute for being late at the CO, at one second, and Ceci, at 48”. Then Zanotti, “Chaleco” and Zahn.

The following morning the PS3 retraces the same route, in the reverse direction, starting near the Ponte della Delizia. The first pilot reads the countdown at 8:00. With one minute intervals, all the others enter the special stage, knowing that they will immediately have to face the hardest part of the test: the treacherous riverbed of the Tagliamento, immediately followed by the passages under the three bridges over the Cosa stream, which is completely dry. A final leap to exit the riverbed and open the throttle in the flat countryside of San Giorgio della Richinvelda and Rauscedo, among vineyards, plowed fields and hay bales to delimit the dangerous curves.
“Chaleco”, well adapted to the type of terrain, attempts the challenge at 40', and dominates the special with a 1'42” gap on Basso and 1'45” on Sant. The two, very regular on their blue TMs, do not give up when thinking about the score for the Italian Championship. Zanotti and Ceci are behind, over two minutes. The track, demanding on the "straights" and not very "guided", favors fast drivers and powerful vehicles, which is why, beyond the 6 minute gap, De Piccoli, Passigato, Paulitti and the others remain behind. Erika Burioli falls badly, but she stubbornly exits the special. She will retire following the shoulder dislocation, discovered by the paddock doctors. Same fate for Filosa, who suffers severe pain in his wrist following the fall on PS3: withdrawal also for the generous
Neapolitan centaur. Assistance, replacement of the tear-off (the sky threatens rain), reorganization, transfer, back to the start, for the PS5, the penultimate special scheduled. Same script as the previous test: in order Chaleco, Basso, Sant, Zanotti and Ceci. Only below fifth place is there a reshuffle: Demurtas and Zahn recover, while Ghitti ends up at the back. SS6, identical to the previous one, was suspended by the Race Direction for safety reasons: the threat of rain and poor visibility suggested to the stewards to let the drivers return. The safety of the competitors always comes before the podium.
Final of the second day: “Chaleco” in the lead, followed by Basso, Sant, Zanotti, Ceci, De Piccoli and Passigato. Alberto Basso (2:55'01”) wins the race, climbing to the top step of the podium, followed by Sant (2:55'36”) and Zanotti, very regular on his Aprilia (2:58'09”). Then Ceci (2:58'55”) and “Chaleco”, who curses the first unfortunate special.