Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira, leaders of the World Championship in the SSV category, will compete from September 22 to 28 in the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, the fourth and penultimate round of the World Rally Raid Championship. It is the only W2RC event held in Europe, with the Old Friends Rally Team duo now closer than ever to their goal of becoming world champions in their category.
Now at the wheel of a powerful and highly reliable Polaris RZR Pro, a machine they debuted with great success at the Baja España Aragón, Alexandre Pinto faces another challenge on familiar rally-raid tracks. He arrives with a 19-point lead over his closest rival.
“We will be fighting for the top places, but the main goal is to defend the World Championship lead. We’ll approach the race in a conscious way, always with the World Championship in mind. That’s our focus, and the relevant opponents are those competing in the W2RC. We’re with the new car, we’ve already done several tests. Aragón was also important to feel the pulse of the Polaris and to see what needed adjusting — and those adjustments are now done. The team is ready, we are ready, and I believe it’s going to be a great race,” said Alexandre Pinto, the 26-year-old who took the lead in the W2RC SSV standings after his brilliant victory at the Dakar Rally last January.
The bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, organized by the Automóvel Clube de Portugal, unfolds over six days, covering around 2,300 km, with 1,400 km timed. It features five stages plus a prologue, across Alentejo, Ribatejo, and Spain’s Extremadura. The rally starts in Grândola, crosses Badajoz, and finishes at the Doca de Pedrouços in Belém, Lisbon.
More information about bp Rally Raid Portugal: https://rallyraidportugal.com/
Source: Alxeandre Pinto official press release
Translation and adaptation by Rally-Raid Network.
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