Bruno Santos brought his participation in the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal to a fantastic conclusion by taking the overall podium in this, the third World Championship event in the sport, and also achieving the much sought-after victory among the riders competing in the Rally 2 class. It was five days of pure competition in which the Momento TT-backed rider stood out against a field of riders that included some of the world's best in the sport.

The Torres Vedras driver, who had already made his international debut at the beginning of the year when he took part in the Dakar Rally (the opening round of the World Championship), lived up to his experience in navigation competitions and, with determination, achieved victory in all the stages (all five in this competition) in the Rally 2 Class in this third event of the FIM World Rally Raid Championship and the absolute podium in three of them. Bruno Santos took the podium in the general classification on the third stage and didn't let go until the end.

In all, there were around 1,000 technical kilometres, from the vast sandy beaches of the Alentejo coast to the Ribatejo roads and the tracks of Extremadura in Spain, tough and demanding, which the rider, at the controls of a Husqvarna 450 Rally, completed in 10h11m42s.

Bruno Santos is visibly satisfied and fulfilled and says that the goal he set for this competition even exceeded his expectations. "I was aiming for the Rally 2 podium, but this competition went better than I thought. It was a fantastic rally. The ACP did a great job. The stages were very different. We had the privilege of driving in Spain yesterday in areas unknown to us. I'm amazed and very happy with my result. To come third amongst all these drivers is great for me, it exceeded my expectations and I couldn't be happier about it. It's a privilege for me to be at this point in my career and I'm very happy, I hope I can continue the work we've been doing. I'd like to thank the public who have always been there for me these days, they've represented me in different ways: both on the track and through messages they've sent me. I can see that everyone has been emotional throughout this week. I'm grateful for the work of everyone who helped me and enabled me to compete in this race and achieve this result. Momento TT, Tiago did an excellent job here. I was able to have my motorbike in impeccable condition every day, Husqvarna was always very good. After the Dakar I was able to ride here without any problems and have a brilliant race here, as I think I did. Thanks to everyone for that."

It should be noted that at the beginning of the year Bruno Santos had already finished the Dakar Rally in second place in the Rookie Ranking, and also achieved a top 20 finish in the Rally 2 Ranking and the absolute top 30.

Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt

Source: Bruno Santos official press release
Photos: Rally-Raid Network / ImagensDesportivas

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