Old Friends Rally Team duo leads the World Championship

Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira, leaders of the World Rally-Raid Championship in the SSV Category, had a very positive debut today at the South African Safari Rally. Driving the Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR entered by the Old Friends Rally Team and bearing number 401, the young Portuguese duo were the fastest among the SSVs in the 9 km prologue held today in Sun City. This result will allow them to start at the front in the first stage of the South African event, which takes place tomorrow.

“We had a really good prologue and came out on top among the SSVs. Our goal is to finish each stage without issues and to score as many points as possible. We want to maintain our lead in the Championship. We've never raced in South Africa before—it’s a new country for us. There's a strong connection with nature and wildlife here. The race is also a new addition to the World Championship, and we’re very motivated. Yesterday was dedicated to scrutineering and the briefing. We also had the chance to do a shakedown to fine-tune the final details, and now the race has officially started. We're focused on making sure everything goes well,” said Alexandre Pinto, commenting on the first day of the event, which in its debut brings together the most renowned drivers in the discipline, including several Dakar Rally winners.

Tomorrow, the first stage of the South African Safari Rally will take place, heading toward Lichtenburg. The stage, which both starts and finishes in Sun City, covers a total of 557 km, 262 of which will be timed.

More information about the South African Safari Rally at: https://sasafarirally.co.za/

Automatic / IA translation of the Portuguese version
Source: Old Friends Rally Team / A2 Comunicação