BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal takes place from April 3rd to 7th

The World Rally-Raid Championship continues its 2024 season with what will be the third round of the year. After Dakar Rally and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, it’s time for the best rally-raid drivers and teams to take on the Portuguese route at BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal.

From the 3rd to the 7th of April (Wednesday to Sunday), dozens of riders will face each other in the Moto competition, with the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal attracting some of the big names in this “off road” discipline to our country.

With the competition headquarters installed in Grândola, the competition organized by the ACP begins today to ‘move’ with the first administrative checks and technical pre-checks, but it is only from Wednesday, April 3rd, and until On Sunday, April 7th, engines will be heard along the Alentejo and Ribatejo tracks, with an incursion through Spain, totaling more than 1700 km, including a thousand kilometers of timed selective sectors.

On two wheels, with a list of 64 entrants, the highlight is the Honda-HRC team captained by Ruben Faria, which fields a strong quartet of riders made up of Pablo Quintanilla, Skyler Howes, Adrien Van Beveren and Tosha Schareina Quintanilla.

In the Monster Energy Honda team, the highlight was the absence confirmed at the last minute of the winner of the Dakar Rally. Ricky Brabec, due to issues and commitments related to sponsors that require him to be present at an event in the United States, will not be present at the Portuguese event of the World Rally-Raid Championship.

Hero Motorsports now has 2nd place in the 2024 Dakar Rally, Ross Branch, alongside ‘our’ most Portuguese German ever, Sebastian Bühler. As for Joaquim Rodrigues, a regular Hero MotoSports rider for several seasons, after announcing his retirement from competitions as a driverwas recently confirmed as the team’s new sporting director, meaning he will make his debut in this new role at home.

Sherco presents itself with Lorenzo Santolino and Harith Noah, while the official bikes of the KTM group are conspicuously absent, although we can count on the formation of the Bas World KTM Rally Team, with Bradley Cox and Matthieu Doveze, among several other international teams with bikes from KTM and Husqvarna.

Portuguese drivers at BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal

Also present are several of the best national riders, such as António Maio (Yamaha), Martim Ventura, registered here with a KTM, and Bruno Santos (Husqvarna), in a group that also includes the Hondas of brothers Gonçalo and Salvador Amaral and Pedro Bianchi Silver.

Martim Ventura, who has competed on a Husqvarna in other championships, will make his debut here in this type of international competition. The young pilot confesses that “This Rally Raid will be something new for me and will be my debut in international races. It is a pride to share the tracks with the great drivers of the Dakar and the World Rally-Raid Championship. It is a race that allows for easier adaptation as it is held in Portugal and I believe it will be well contested. I want to appeal to the Portuguese public to go to the courses to support the national riders because it will truly be a great party. I am very happy to start my international experience in this race and I hope it will be the beginning of a long career in international rallies.”.

The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal route

For motorcycles, the Prologue will take place in Grândola from 8:35 am on Wednesday, April 3, with the start of the 1st stage taking place in Santiago do Cacém at 12:30 pm and return to the bivouac in Grândola.

On Thursday, the 2nd stage begins and ends in that Alentejo city, with the 3rd stage the following day, the longest of the race, 613 km (300 km selective sector) connecting Grândola to Badajoz, where the caravan will spend the night , returning to Grândola at the end of the 4th stage after a stage of 550 km (270 km timed) that includes an incursion into Spanish territory.

The fifth and final stage, on Sunday, features a 130 km special stage held north of Grândola, which concludes this first edition of the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal.

It should be noted that at the end of all stages, the public will have access to the Bivouac in Grândola, in what will be a more special moment for fans, who can see the bikes and other machines up close, while they are prepared for the following day.

To closely follow all incidents of the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal You can click here and access the official event page.

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