Ferreira wins the stage and Loeb remains in the lead; Schareina didn't get lost during the stage and took the win.
The fourth stage marked the return to Portugal. The teams left Badajoz towards Loulé, with a demanding 317-kilometre selective sector causing changes in the standings. João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (Toyota) were the big winners of the day. The Portuguese duo moved up to third place overall in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal.
Second on the stage, 18 seconds behind the Portuguese crew, Sébastian Loeb and Edouard Boulanger (Dacia) strengthened their lead, while Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena (Toyota) finished third, 1m18s behind, after leading most of the selective sector.
In the bikes, the winner was Tosha Schareina (Honda), with Daniel Sanders (KTM) keeping the overall lead and Portuguese rider Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) losing positions after a crash left him without his navigation device.
At the end of the selective sector, Ferreira was pleased with the performance, but unsure about the outcome:
“We won the stage and scored points for the championship. The rally only ends tomorrow and I don’t know where we stand overall. We still have the Algarve stage, so we’ll see”, he said.
Regarding the final day of racing, Ferreira promised to attack:
“We have raced in tomorrow’s area before, but I don’t know what kind of tracks they will put us on. We will try to attack and take stage points”, he concluded.
For his part, the overall leader, Sébastian Loeb was also satisfied with his performance:
"It was difficult, with a lot of mud on the tracks and plenty of water, but I had a very good stage. I tried to push the pace and do the best possible. Since I don’t have the times, I don’t know where Quintero is, but we’ll see”, said the Frenchman.
Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira (Taurus) won another stage in the Challenger category – finishing eighth overall – ahead of Charles Munster/Xavier Panseri (KTM) and teammates Pedro Gonçalves and Hugo Magalhães (Taurus). In SSV, Luís Cidade and Valter Cardoso (Can-Am) proved the saying that success comes in threes and won their third stage in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The Portuguese duo led the national armada that continues to dominate the category.
This time, they were followed by João Monteiro and Nuno Morais (CAN-AM) and by Miguel Barbosa and Joel Lutas (Polaris), who move into first place in the category. A day to forget for Luís Portela Morais and David Megre (Polaris), who were forced to retire while leading the standings due to electrical problems in their car.
In Stock, the duo Sara Price/Sean Berriman (Defender) repeated the victory, while Stéphane Peterhansel and Michael Metge (Defender) keep the lead despite losing more than three minutes to Rokas Baciuska (Defender), who is second.
Navigation troubles hit main contenders
In the bikes, Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) and Edgar Canet (KTM) had navigation difficulties and lost time. Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) could not avoid a crash at kilometre 61 – which caused him to lose the bike’s navigation device – and he was also out of contention for the stage win.
Without losing direction, Tosha Schareina (Honda) started the day attacking. The Spaniard reduced the gap to Daniel Sanders (KTM), who at the end of the timed sector lost 1m29s to him but kept the overall lead. Van Beveren was the best of the unlucky riders and finished only 2m13s behind the day’s winner.
After reaching the time control, Sanders regretted the time lost:
“It was another wet day. At the end I made mistakes, missed some waypoints and had to go back to find them. I lost some time which was certainly used by Tosha [Schareina], so I had to push in the last 100 [km] to avoid losing more”, he said.
Looking ahead to the final day, Sanders was relieved not to open the track:
“It’s good not to open the track, in a new area for me. With the rain it’s easier to see the lines and understand if the rider ahead is losing traction or not. That helps judge corner speed and gives confidence. I will make a big effort tomorrow and I’m very excited. I’m sure it will go down to the last kilometre and I’m ready”, said the number one rider.
After winning for the second time in this edition, Tosha Schareina explained his plan:
“Today was the day to attack, and it wasn’t easy. I opened the track and it was very slippery. My goal was to gain as much time as possible. I managed almost one and a half minutes. Tomorrow will be flat out and then we’ll see what happens”, said the Honda rider.
Today’s result practically takes Santos out of the overall podium fight, but it is still enough to keep him leading Rally2, ahead of Martim Ventura (Honda) – who won the stage – and Neels Theric (Kove). In Rally3, Gonçalo Amaral (Honda) won the day ahead of Murun Purevdorj (KTM) and his brother Salvador Amaral (Honda). In Quads, Adomas Gancierius (CFMoto) won the stage and strengthened the lead.
Final stage in the Algarve promises a close fight
The 101-kilometre stage, to be held in the Algarve, promises challenging tracks and possible changes in the standings. The public will have several spectator areas where it will be possible to watch the action live.
Schedule for March 22:
- The first bike goes to the stage at 7:30; the first car at 9:55.
- Arrival at the finish is expected at 12:00 for bikes; 13:50 for cars
- The podium ceremony takes place at 13:00, at Vilamoura Marina
Do not forget to check the broadcast schedule for the final day of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal.