It is today that many of the “stars” of the Dakar start the fight against the clock in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The municipalities of Grândola and Santiago do Cacém host the inaugural stage of the Automóvel Club de Portugal race, the third on the World Rally-Raid Championship calendar. Until Sunday (April 7), names like Carlos Sainz (winner of the Dakar), Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah, in cars, and Adrien Van Beveren or Pablo Quintanilla, on motorbikes, promise a huge spectacle, on the sand tracks and of land from Alentejo, Ribatejo and Spanish Extremadura.
Grândola is once again on the world’s lips, as it hosts the operational base for the third event on the World Rally-Raid Championship calendar. A kind of European version of the Dakar, but with the Mediterranean landscape replacing the endless dunes of Saudi Arabia.
Yesterday, Grândola was the stage for technical and administrative checks for the 169 teams, of 30 nationalities, registered. The fight against the clock begins today, April 3rd, with a 3.53-kilometer Prologue, held in an area adjacent to the Grândola Fair and Exhibition Park. The results of this qualifying-show will define the competitors’ starting order for the two sectors on Wednesday afternoon: the first begins and ends in Santiago do Cacém; the second starts in Santiago do Cacém, but takes riders back to Grândola. In this part of the country, competitors will face a 100-kilometre course on sand surfaces, in the style of Rally-Raids held on other continents.
But this is just the first of five challenging stages, of a total route of more than 1,800 kilometers, of which more than 1,000 are timed. An excellent spectacle in perspective, with a visit to the municipalities of Grândola, Santiago do Cacém, Abrantes, Alcácer do Sal, Almeirim, Chamusca, Coruche, Mação, Ponte de Sor, Salvaterra de Magos, Sines and Badajoz.
Sainz defends leadership
The participation of Carlos Sainz, driving the new X-Raid MINI JCW Team, adds even more interest to the fight for the W2RC title, which will intensify in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The Spaniard’s historic triumph with Audi in the last Dakar gave him command of the World Championship, even without having participated in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, where Nasser Al-Attiyah and the Prodrive Hunter T1+ outperformed the competition. Only nine points separate the top two ahead of the Portuguese round, a terrain that is familiar to both, despite the unprecedented nature of the Automóvel Club de Portugal race.
But Sainz and Al-Attiyah are not alone in the fight for the title. Five of the next six places in the W2RC table are occupied by Toyota drivers, split between Toyota Gazoo Racing and Overdrive Racing. Guerlain Chicherit, who, in Portugal, teams up again with navigator Mathieu Baumel, is third in the World Championship, 12 points behind Sainz and just ahead of Guillaume De Mévius, who shone in the last Dakar, with second place.
The Hilux T1+ of Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Lucas Moraes, Seth Quintero and Juan Cruz Yacopini are also candidates for the first places, with expectations to see what Tiago Reis and João Ramos, the first two classified in the Portuguese All-Russian Championship, can do. o-Terreno, with similar machines.
João Ferreira among the favorites
A surprise addition to the ‘queen’ of the Ultimate category, young João Ferreira is another strong candidate for victory, after having given up the SSV category to anticipate his return to the X-Raid MINI, similar to the one he used to achieve his second victory in Baja Portalegre 500, in 2023.
Also among the Ultimate, highlights include the Brazilian brothers Cristian and Marcos Baumgart, with the Prodrive Hunter, the South African Saood Variawa, a bet from Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, and Denis Krotov, in another Toyota Hilux T1+.
As usual, the Challenger category could also place some of the best ex-T3 prototypes in prominent positions, in a World Cup that is led by the young Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska (Can-Am). North American Austin Jones (Can-Am) won in Abu Dhabi and is close behind, but there is luxury opposition to the best Can-Am representatives. On the side of Taurus, the brand that won the Dakar, Cristina Gutierrez – only the second woman to win the Dakar – and the multi-time World Rally champion, Sébastien Loeb, although neither of them scored for the W2RC.
In the SSV of the former T4 category, the championship is led by Saudi Yasir Seaidan (Can-Am), ahead of Ecuadorian Sebastian Guayasamin (Can-Am).
Several candidates on bikes
The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal motorcycle race features the participation of the factory teams from Honda, Hero and Sherco, whose stars join the best Portuguese riders for a competition that promises to be spectacular.
Led by Ruben Faria, Monster Energy Honda has several candidates for victory in its ranks, despite the absence of Ricky Brabec, who has his continuation in the team in doubt. The Spaniard Tosha Schairena, normally very fast in this type of race, the Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren, who was on the podium in the last Dakar (3rd place), and the former Cross-Country Rallies world champion, Pablo Quintanilla, form a trio of Honda ‘spearheads’, which also includes the North American Skyler Howes.
Despite the power of the HRC team, it is Hero Motorsport that arrives in Portugal leading the World Rally-Raid Championship, both among drivers and constructors. Ross Branch, driver from Botswana, came close to winning the Dakar (2nd place) and moved to the front of the World Championship in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, appearing naturally motivated in the ACP race.
The Portuguese-German Sebastian Bühler is another bet for the Indian brand in the premier class, RallyGP, and can take advantage of his knowledge of the terrain to enter the fight for the top spots.
The official Sherco team brings to Portugal the Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino and the Indian Harith Noah, two more names to take into account.
And, despite the quality of the field, drivers like António Maio (Yamaha), Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) or Martim Ventura (KTM) will try to use the ‘home factor’ to surprise the world’s Rally-Raids elite.
In the quads, Argentine Manuel Andujar (Yamaha) will defend his World Championship lead against a dozen opponents.
