RALLYGP: SANDERS RIGHT AT HOME
Daniel Sanders had already clinched the 2019 International Six Days Enduro in Portugal, but this is the first time that he competes in a rally raid here. Some sections remind him „of the terrain we race on in enduro back home“, as he put it before the start. He dominated the stage from A to Z, racing on dry, slippery terrain and keeping his cool despite the pressure from Honda’s Adrien Van Beveren (+58″) and Tosha Schareina (+1′22″), who spent much of the special within a minute of the man from Oz.
„Chucky“ produced a ride as solid as a rock from the Australian bush to secure his 21st W2RC triumph, adding to his own record and extending his bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal lead to 1′11″ over VBA and 1′32″ over Schareina. The world champion, Ross Branch, placed his Hero in fourth (+2′58″) and Luciano Benavides rounded out the top 5 for KTM (+4′29″). Sanders will face the arduous task of opening the road tomorrow, but he has already won from the front several times, most recently in stages 3 and 4 of the South African Safari Rally.
RALLY2: VENTURA’S PAIN IS CANET’S GAIN
Honda HRC’s new Rally2 signing, Martim Ventura, seemed poised to take his maiden victory. The national baja champion spent most of the day at the front before a broken clutch near km 231 sent him careening down the standings and gave Edgar Canet a clear run to the stage win, the tenth of his short career. His title rival Tobias Ebster (Hero MotoSports) finished second at 2′45″ and Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM) crossed the line third at 3′19″. Portugal’s Bruno Santos (BS Frutas Patrícia Pilar), fourth at 5′43″, flew the flag for the host nation. Canet leads Ebster by 2′58″ as the race heads to his home country, Spain, where Ventura will be out for revenge.
RALLY3: ZOLDOS TAKES A RIVETING VICTORY
Seldom has a Rally3 stage been as closely fought as the duel between Gonçalo Amaral (Wingmotor) and Thomas Zoldos. The local hero and 2024 champion spent most of the special in the lead, a mere 27 seconds (km 49), 10 seconds (km 163) or 18 seconds (km 265) ahead of the Frenchman. Yet Zoldos snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by 1′20″, assisted by the one-minute penalty for speeding handed down to his opponent. The Italian Carlo Cabini (RS Moto) rounded out the podium at 16′21″.
QUADS: CFMOTO DOMIN8
CFMoto Thunder Racing remain undefeated since the start of the South African Safari Rally, adding a new triumph in Portugal. Gaëtan Martinez emerged victorious from a duel with Antanas Kanopkinas, defeating his teammate by 1′16″ and handing the Chinese marque its eighth consecutive W2RC success. Senegal’s Alexis Varagne (Drag’On Distribution) is third overall, 35 behind the Frenchman.
ULTIMATE: LATEGAN TAKES THE FIGHT TO AL ATTIYAH
Henk Lategan is discovering Portugal through the road book for the first time of his career. Before starting the rally yesterday, the South African Safari Rally winner identified some points in common with his home region, Southern Africa: „Going by what I’ve seen here, it could resemble a race in Botswana among the trees and vegetation. I know the others will be faster. I like following a track instead of having traces all over the place, I like rally-style races, so I ought to enjoy this.“ His prediction was spot on, although the first special of the day was a merry-go-round in which as many as four drivers took over the reins of the race: Nasser Al Attiyah seized the early lead, only to relinquish it to João Ferreira, who in turn surrendered it to Seth Quintero, who lost it after spending more than 17 minutes fixing a brake disc, with Lategan hitting the front when it mattered the most.
The Qatari, who claimed the trophy last year but has been struggling with „overly aggressive settings“ for slippery terrain, spent most of the stage knocking on the door of the podium before making a late recovery to finish second. However, a triple whammy of penalties for a false start, speeding and a failure to respect his transfer time, totalling 3 minutes and 20 minutes, relegated him to eighth place, 4′57″ off the pace. Toyota locked out the top 5 in Grândola: Lategan scooped up his fourth W2RC win and surged to the top of the race standings, where he now leads Lucas Moraes by 1′51″, Ferreira by 1′52″, Saood Variawa by 3′03″, and Yazeed Al Rajhi from Overdrive Racing by 3’52“. The first two men out of the gate this morning, Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport) and Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders), paid the price for opening the road. The Spaniard is tenth at 6′09″ and the Frenchman sixth at 4′15″.
CHALLENGER: THE SWEDE TASTE OF VICTORY
Mattias Ekström may not be a bush baby, but he adapted to the local terrain perfectly to bounce back from yesterday’s defeat by 1 second at the hands of Gonçalo Guerreiro (Nasser Racing) and nab victory by over a minute over the homegrown talent. This is the Swede’s sixth championship triumph in Challenger, equalling his Ultimate tally and bringing his total to 12. Ekström holds the overall lead with 1′07″ in hand over the Portuguese driver and 4′54″ over Pim Klaassen (DaklaPack Rallysport).
SSV: PINTO FOR PORTUGAL
Alexandre Pinto followed up his win in the prologue with another victory over his new teammate, Enrico Gaspari. Today’s gap and overall gap: 13’54“. This is Portugal’s 27th SSV win, which makes it the most prolific country ahead of Poland (26) and Lithuania (22).
