Meet Pietro Cinotto and Alberto Bertoldi, CST Polaris Xtremeplus Team2021-12-31 11:42The Xtremeplus Team is a family business with two families racing: Jean-Claude and his son Jerome Pla, Michele and Pietro Cinotto at the steering wheels of two CST Polaris. Pietro inherited the passion from his father Michele, a legend in WRC and with six Dakar participations under his belly. “Since I was a kid, we were following dad at the races and soon me and my brother were on a go kart. Growing up, I also had the chance to be my dad’s navigator at Montecarlo Rally. It was an honour but I prefer to be driving myself”. While Pla senior and junior will share the same cockpit, in the Cinotto family there is a fair competition. “Finishing is the number one goal for both of us and we will support each other in the stage. Then, of course, there is a race in the race between us. The game is to finish in front of dad!”, confesses the 35-year old Italian, smiling . “This time we will compete with the same vehicle, the Polaris RXR Pro XP prepared by Xtremeplus. Doing well is an extra motivation for both of us”. For Pietro it will be the first time to compete in Saudi Arabia. “After two Dakar Rallies in South America, I look forward to explore the Saudi terrain. My dad says that the landscape is amazing. I’m a bit worried only for the cold temperatures, especially early in the morning”. Cinotto jr will team up with Alberto Bertoldi who returns on the Dakar rally two years after his last participation. With a solid background on the enduro and rally bike, Alberto is ready for a new adventure. “It’s a pleasure to be at the start of the Dakar as Pietro’s navigator. This incredible adventure started after I won the Transanatolia. I was contacted by Marco Piana and he gave me this opportunity”. Alberto had the chance to get familiar with this new role at the Tunisia Desert Challenge alongside the experienced Roberto “Checco” Tonetti. “It was a great experience”, confesses Bertoldi. “It took me a bit to adapt to the new perspective in the cockpit, but shortly we could find a good pace. I’d like to thank the Xtremeplus team for this chance, because it helped to build my confidence to face this great adventure”. There will be several challenges this year, starting from a competitive line up of almost 60 Side by Side. Then to make things more complicated, this year we will see the introduction of the electronic roadbook. “We have never used this system and we will need to understand it quickly together with the philosophy of the road book. It’s an extra challenge, and we are very motivated, added Bertoldi, who competed in the bike category when the Dakar was in South America. “The philosophy of the navigation has changed in the last editions, with an increase of information in every note. The idea is to slow down the rhythm”, concludes the Italian who will make his debut as a navigator on a Polaris. Source: MG communication Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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