Involved in organizing off-road events since 1988, Orlando Romana highlights the special character of the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The event director emphasizes the varied route, with over 1,000 timed kilometers on different types of terrain, and the valuable collaboration of local authorities in Portugal and Spain.
Portugal's debut in the Rally-Raid World Championship represents a huge logistical and organizational challenge for the team. However, the experienced team from the Automobile Club of Portugal managed to design a route with unique characteristics in the championship, due to the diversity of surfaces and roads that competitors will face in the regions of Alentejo, Ribatejo, and the Spanish Estremadura.
"We have everything, from sandy sections on the Alentejo coast to Ribatejo dirt roads, mountainous areas in Mação, faster specials on the Spanish side, with clay and stone. We only lack dunes, but I think the pilots coming from Abu Dhabi might even prefer it," said the event director.
Among the elite
With over 1,700 kilometers of route and more than 1,000 kilometers of selective sectors, preparing the terrain hasn't been easy over the past few months: "Yes, it's been very difficult and demanding work. We have to negotiate with landowners, ask for permission to pass, obviously take responsibility for some things, but the help of the Municipal Chambers has been fundamental because they have a much more direct knowledge of the regions."
ACP organizes two of the three FIA World Championship events held in Portugal: the Vodafone Rally de Portugal (WRC) and the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal (WRC). "It's difficult to compare the two; they're different organizations, although the ACP team and structure are similar. This is a very specific event; we have to deal with a lot of people, over 1,000 timed kilometers, over 1,700 kilometers of road book. A new road book, because out of these 1,000 kilometers timed, there's hardly any repetition, meaning the drivers don't pass the same location twice, except for the Prologue route in Grândola. At that level, it's much more challenging to do," revealed Orlando Romana.