Ruben Faria about Portugal: "It's a unique challenge"

General manager of Monster Energy Honda, Ruben Faria says that the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal is a completely different challenge for the World Rally-Raid Championship riders, who started the season on the sands of the Dakar and Abu Dhabi. The former Portuguese star points out the main contenders for victory on the bikes.

Ruben Faria has built one of the most impressive careers among Portuguese riders in bajas and rally-raids, even reaching the Dakar podium in 2013 with 2nd place. Exactly 25 years ago, he won the Baja Telecel 1000, in a race format that has similarities with the modern BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal.

"The main characteristics of this race must be the diversity of terrain and the fact that, in Portugal, we usually have much more technical and 'closed' sectors than in the Dakar or Abu Dhabi, which are races in the desert or on 'open' terrain. Even compared to Andaluzia, which was in the W2RC a few years ago, this race shouldn't be as fast, it should have more technique and the riders will have to adapt to different 'dangers'. For example, when we ride between trees, there are two major dangers for bikers: the roots of the trees, and the rapid transitions between light-shadow-light, which are real flashes when you ride at these speeds. That requires a lot of concentration," says Ruben Faria, who is a fan of the variety of types of racing on the W2RC calendar.

That's also why North American riders such as double Dakar winner Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes aren't as comfortable in these European races. "Yes, it's more difficult for a rider who lives in California, for example, to find terrain similar to ours to train on. In that respect, riders like Tosha (Schareina), Adrien (Van Beveren) or Pablo (Quintanilla) might be more comfortable in this area. Then there's (Sebastian) Bühler, who knows the terrain well, Ross Branch, who is leading the championship, and Lorenzo Santolino, another rider who could be in contention. I think it's going to be a unique challenge and a very tight race," said the former Baja Portalegre 500 winner, who in January won the Dakar with Brabec and Honda.