A day that will be marked by the duel between Brazilian Lucas Moraes and South African Henk Lategan, both in Toyota Hilux T1+ EVO, but also by the likely conquest of the SSV world title by Portuguese driver Alexandre Pinto. Today, Saturday, Dacia imposed
After five days of competition and more than 1,400 kilometres raced against the clock, across dirt tracks in Alentejo, Ribatejo and Spanish Extremadura, the top two car drivers head into the final stage of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal separated by just 34 seconds. A day that will be marked by the duel between Brazilian Lucas Moraes and South African Henk Lategan, both in Toyota Hilux T1+ EVO, but also by the likely conquest of the SSV world title by Portuguese driver Alexandre Pinto.
Today, Saturday, Dacia imposed its law, with Nasser Al Attiyah prevailing over Sébastien Loeb, while Daniel Sanders (KTM) returned to the lead in the bikes. It was yet another day in which the Portuguese stood out: Luis Cidade (Can-Am Maverick) won among the SSV and Martim Ventura (Honda) was the fastest in the Rally2 category of the bikes.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the decisive final stage of the event organised by the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) will take place – the only European event that is part of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC). One hundred and three kilometres against the clock, across the municipalities of Coruche and Salvaterra de Magos, with the main highlights being the fight for victory in the cars, but also the likely consecration of three Portuguese riders: Gonçalo Guerreiro is in an excellent position to win the Challenger category, the same for João Dias among the SSV. Meanwhile, Alexandre Pinto could even secure the world title in the SSV category.
Historic double for Dacia
Today (Saturday) was the fourth stage of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, linking Badajoz to Lisbon and featuring a highly diverse and technical special stage of 274 km.
Although out of the fight for overall victory, Dacia was, for the third day, the fastest on the road, thanks to the three-time world champion, Nasser Al Attiyah, also the winner of the prologue held in Grândola. “Finally, I’ve solved the brake problem. Unfortunately, tomorrow’s stage is very short and won’t allow me to change anything for me,” said the Qatari driver, who claimed his 47th stage win in the W2RC. Sébastien Loeb reinforced Dacia’s dominance and climbed to third overall: “I had a good stage, but the course was not easy at all. The strategy for tomorrow is to go as fast as I can,” said the Frenchman.
Fight to the second between the two contenders for victory!
If, at the start of the day, Lucas Moraes and Henk Lategan (both in Toyota Hilux T1+ Evo) were separated by 57 seconds, by the time they reached Lisbon, the gap had been cut to 34 seconds! An excellent battle between the two Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC drivers, still in favour of the Brazilian. “It was a stage done with a lot of focus, where I tried to keep up with Henk’s pace,” said Moraes.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ford Raptor T1+), who began the stage in third place, was forced to retire at km 140. The same fate befell Seth Quintera (Toyota Hilux T1+ Evo), as well as João Ferreira. The Portuguese driver was forced to withdraw at km 51 due to a transmission problem. It was an unlucky debut for the driver with the Toyota Hilux T1+ Evo in the W2RC, but one that once again confirmed he is one of the great world talents in the sport.
Fastest Portuguese
Gonçalo Guerreiro (Taurus Evo Max) continued to set an impressive pace, finishing 11th overall, a result that allowed him to maintain the lead in the Challenger category. He heads into the final stage 36 seconds ahead of Cristina Gutiérrez (Dacia Sandrider) and the top 5. “We had a good stage, despite the difficulties in Spain with the road book and a small hit to the left rear wheel that bent the rim. We’re in front with a good advantage, now it’s just about finishing the race,” said Gonçalo Guerreiro.
Alexandre Pinto (Polaris) is second among the SSV (16th overall) and is very close to securing the world title: “A clean stage without problems. I’m closer to the final goal, but until the last minute a lot can still happen, although everything is going well,” he said.
In the bikes, Daniel Sanders (KTM 450 Rally) and Tosha Schareina (Honda CRF 450 Rally) engaged in an intense duel throughout the stage. The KTM rider was always faster, won the special stage, and regained the lead of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal. “It was an intense day. I pushed too hard and destroyed the tyres. I had to concentrate a lot on my riding and avoid the stones to finish the stage,” explained the Australian, who heads into the final day with a 3m12s lead over the Spaniard.
Tosha Schareina kept up with his rival’s pace and had the race under control, but a mistake on the route cost him precious minutes. “Very bad stage. I had a good rhythm, but 20 km from the finish I came across a farmer who pointed me the wrong way. I didn’t pay much attention to the road book and lost time. Tomorrow I’ll attack,” said the Honda rider.
Martim Ventura was the fastest in the Rally2 category and won a stage in the Rally-Raid World Championship for the first time. “It was a great day. I finally managed to do a stage without problems and had a lot of fun,” said the rider, who is making his debut with the official Honda team. With Martim Ventura’s victory, Portuguese riders achieved the feat of winning stages in almost every category – the only exception being the quads.
Bruno Santos (Husqvarna FR450 Rally) was once again among the fastest in the Rally2 category. He finished 8th in the stage and maintained second place overall. “Very fun stage. The roads in Spain were very slippery and others were degraded, so I didn’t feel very comfortable. In the last part I pushed hard, I did the best I could. Tomorrow I’ll try to do even better,” he said.
Classification after Stage 4 – Cars
1st Lucas Moraes (Toyota Hilux T1+ Evo), 11h11m40s
2nd Henk Lategan (Toyota Hilux T1+ Evo), +34s
3rd Sébastien Loeb (Dacia Sandrider), +10m42s
4th Christian Baumgart (Toyota Hilux T1+ Evo), +16m33s
5th Cristina Gutiérrez (Dacia Sandrider), +23m17s
6th Gonçalo Guerreiro (Taurus Evo Max), +23m53s (1st Portuguese)
Classification after Stage 4 – Bikes
1st Daniel Sanders (KTM 450 Rally), 11h39m36s
2nd Tosha Schareina (Honda CRF 450 Rally), +3m12s
3rd Luciano Benavides (KTM 450 Rally), +12m51s
4th Ricky Brabec (Honda CRF 450 Rally), +13m42s
5th Edgar Canet (KTM 450 Rally), +21m15s (1st Rally2)
8th Bruno Santos (Husqvarna FR450 Rally), +26m49s (1st Portuguese)
The big decisions of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal will be made in the fifth and final stage, covering 287 km, with 103 km against the clock. The riders will once again encounter forest (with many eucalyptus trees) in the municipalities of Coruche and Salvaterra de Magos. The special stage finishes at the iconic Casa Cadaval. The public can watch the podium ceremony in a setting of rare beauty and history, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, between 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Link to watch the fifth stage of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal here.
Programme
September 28 – Stage 5 Lisbon-Lisbon (103 km) 06:30 – Start of 1st Bike from Doca de Pedrouços
08:40 – Start of 1st Car from Doca de Pedrouços
12:50 – Podium ceremony for the bikes at Padrão dos Descobrimentos
13:20 – Arrival of 1st Bike at bivouac in Doca de Pedrouços (estimated)
15:00 – Podium ceremony for the cars at Padrão dos Descobrimentos
15:30 – Arrival of 1st Car at bivouac in Doca de Pedrouços (estimated)
19:00 – W2RC Medal Ceremony