Jutta Kleinschmidt - Rally Blog

Jutta Kleinschmidt started very successfully in two runs of the FIA Cross Country World Cup to develop a rally vehicle.

The most well-known German rally team X-raid is developing a rear-wheel-drive, cost-effective rally buggy. This is intended to enable more talented motorsport enthusiasts to participate in cross-country rallies. X-raid is venturing into completely new territory with this project. Up until now, only all-wheel-drive vehicles have been developed and built in the workshop in Trebur. After the buggy had to be unexpectedly withdrawn from the last Dakar Rally, the development of the two-wheel-drive vehicle continues. X-raid was able to enlist the highly experienced driver Jutta Kleinschmidt for this task. She proves that the new 50-year-olds are right in the middle of life. They have gained valuable experiences and are composed. Their mental and physical fitness allows them to explore new paths and support the team with their experiences. Jutta took the wheel at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar to gather more important racing kilometers. With her insights as a physics engineer and her years of racing experience, she was able to significantly contribute to the development and tuning of the new racing vehicle. Jutta Kleinschmidt, who became the first woman to win the Dakar Rally overall in 2001, can look back on several years of buggy experience. Jutta: "Developing a vehicle is always something special, as it requires a lot of focus on the technology and processes. The two rallies in Abu Dhabi and Qatar are a perfect combination: In Abu Dhabi, we will mainly encounter sand and dunes, while in Qatar we will face hard ground and stones."

Class victory at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2016

Jutta Kleinschmidt and Tina Thörner successfully completed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2016 with their new X-raid Buggy CBRA. Despite facing several issues such as tire changes, digging out, and gearbox damage in four of the five stages, the female team experienced time losses. The final stage, however, went smoothly, and they were thrilled to secure an 8th place in the overall ranking of that stage. Due to a penalty time of 13:30 hours due to gearbox damage, the German/Swedish team finished the rally in the 23rd place out of 45 teams that reached the finish line. Jutta: "The rally brought us many new insights. We knew that there is still work ahead of us. Surely, we need test drives to fine-tune the chassis properly. It's challenging during the race, as we can only try one setting each day. We are very satisfied with the cooling system regarding the engine, gearbox, and fuel supply. The engine ran perfectly, and the chassis is very robust." The experiences from this race are crucial for the further development of the rear-wheel-drive X-raid Buggy CBRA and will help initiate the next steps.

Class victory and 5th place overall at the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar

After the start in early April in Abu Dhabi, Jutta Kleinschmidt, accompanied by navigator Philipp Beier, competed in her second race in the FIA Cross Country World Cup, this time in Qatar. In this competitively strong race, Jutta Kleinschmidt was able to demonstrate her skills on different terrains excellently. Since Jutta's Swedish navigator Tina Thörner was unable to participate due to work commitments, German Philipp Beier took over the navigation duties. In the toughest rally on the calendar, he mastered the challenging navigation requirements excellently. Philipp shows that with motivation, one can achieve a lot and prove themselves in new tasks. The terrain in Qatar is much more diverse than in the United Arab Emirates. After mainly soft dunes in Abu Dhabi, the ground in Qatar was mostly significantly harder. Hard, fast track changes alternate with rocky and undulating tracks. But the dunes there also pose a great challenge. This profile closely resembles the requirements of the Dakar Rally. Nearly 1,700 km of timed special stages and a total distance of about 2,500 km were a great endurance test for the rear-wheel-drive X-raid Buggy. Jutta: "I am pleased that we could master the challenges in Qatar so well and thus showcase the potential of the new X-raid Buggy. The entire team worked very well together. My navigator Philipp did an incredibly good job. This was the first time we sat in the car together, and we quickly found a 'common language' in racing. I am very satisfied with the placement in such a strong field of participants. This success could not have been achieved by one person alone. The whole team was challenged here, and in harmony, we mastered the challenge. The many experiences from the last two races will now flow into the further development of the buggy. I am confident that we can take another good step forward as a result." About Jutta Kleinschmidt's profile: https://www.speakers-excellence.de/redner/jutta-kleinschmidt-rednerin-buchen.html