Starting from tomorrow (Wednesday) many ‘stars’ of the Dakar Rally will begin 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 event, round three of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) calendar.
Until Sunday (April 7th), names like Carlos Sainz (four-time winner of the Dakar), nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah (five-time winner) in the car category and Adrien Van Beveren or Pablo Quintanilla on motorbikes, promise a huge spectacle across the sandy tracks of rural land from Alentejo, Ribatejo and the Spanish Extremadura region.
Grândola is, once again, on the world's lips, as it hosts the operational base for the third event in the W2RC calendar - a kind of European version of the Dakar but with Mediterranean landscapes replacing the endless dunes of Saudi Arabia.
Today (Tuesday), Grândola was the base for technical and administrative checks for 169 registered teams and competitors from 30 nations.
The fight against the clock begins tomorrow (Wednesday, April 3rd), with a spectacular 3.53km Prologue held in an area adjacent to the Grândola Fair and Exhibition Park. The results of this qualifying test will determine the competitors' starting order for the two sections on Wednesday afternoon: the first begins and ends in Santiago do Cacém and the second starts in Santiago do Cacém, but takes riders back to Grândola.
In this part of the country, competitors will face a 100km route on sand surfaces in the style of Rally-Raids held on other continents. But this is just the first of five challenging stages in a total route of more than 1,800 kilometres, of which more than 1,000 are timed against the clock.
The event will be an excellent spectacle with visits 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 his W2RC lead
The participation of Carlos Sainz, driving for the 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 at the last Dakar gave him an early lead in the W2RC Drivers’ Championship, even though he didn’t participate 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 over 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 points’ standings are occupied by Toyota drivers, split between Toyota Gazoo Racing and Overdrive Racing.
Guerlain Chicherit teams up again with navigator Mathieu Baumel in Portugal and is third in the World Championship, 12 points behind Sainz and just ahead of Guillaume De Mévius, who shone at the last Dakar with second overall. The Hilux T1+ machines of Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Lucas Moraes, Seth Quintero and Juan Cruz Yacopini are also candidates for overall victory, with local expectations also to see how Tiago Reis and João Ramo - the first two classified in the Portuguese All-Terrain Championship – can perform in similar machines.
João Ferreira is also among the favourites after becoming a surprise addition to the Ultimate class. Ferreira has switched from the SSV category and returned to the X-Raid MINI team to drive a car similar to the one he used to achieve his second victory in Baja Portalegre 500 in 2023.
Also among the Ultimate cars are the Brazilian brothers, Cristian and Marcos Baumgart, with a pair of Prodrive Hunters, the South African Saood Variawa in a Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Hilux, and Denis Krotov in another Toyota Hilux T1+ prepared by Overdrive Racing.
As usual, the Challenger category could place some of the best ex-T3 prototypes in prominent positions in the overall standings. The class is led by the young Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am). North American driver Austin Jones (Can-Am) won in Abu Dhabi and is close behind, but there is plenty of opposition for the Can-Am Factory Team.
The Taurus brand won the Dakar with Cristina Gutierrez becoming only the second woman to win the event and the nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb is also entered, although neither are registered for the W2RC.
In the SSV category (formerly T4), the championship is led by Saudi Yasir Seaidan (Can-Am), ahead of Ecuadorian Sebastian Guayasamin (Can-Am).
Several top challengers on bikes
The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal’s motorcycle race features the participation of factory teams from Honda, Hero and Sherco and they line up against the best Portuguese riders for what promises to be a spectacular contest.
Led by Ruben Faria, Monster Energy Honda has several candidates for victory in its ranks, despite the absence of Ricky Brabec, whose continuation in the team is in doubt. The Spaniard Tosha Schairena is normally very fast in this type of race and is joined by Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren, who was on the podium in the last Dakar in third place. The former Cross-Country Rallies World Champion Pablo Quintanilla completes a trio of Honda riders in a list which also includes the North American Skyler Howes.
Despite the strength of the HRC team, Hero Motorsport arrives in Portugal leading the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship in both the Riders’ and Manufacturers’ categories. Botswana rider Ross Branch came close to winning the Dakar with second place and moved to the front of the W2RC points’ standings at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The Portuguese-German Sebastian Bühler is another bet for the Indian brand in the premier class, RallyGP, and will be hoping to take advantage of his knowledge of the terrain to enter the fight for the podium.
The official Sherco team arrives in Portugal with the Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino and the Indian Harith Noah, two more names to take into account.
Despite the quality of the field, riders like António Maio (Yamaha), Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) or Martim Ventura (KTM) will try to use the 'home factor' to surprise the world's riding elite.
In the quad category, Argentine Manuel Andujar (Yamaha) will defend his World Championship lead against a dozen opponents.