The Baja de Lagos, the seventh and final round of the Portuguese Cross-Country Rally Championship (CNTT), held under the auspices of the FMP, features an entry list of 79 competitors: 28 Motorbikes, 8 Quad, 39 SSV and 4 Hobby participants.
With the championship title already secured, Micael Simão (GasGas) aims to close the season with yet another victory at this year’s Baja de Lagos. His main opponents in this final round will be Bernardo Megre (KTM) and Gustavo Gaudêncio (Honda), 2nd and 3rd in the CNTT standings, separated by only two points.
With Simão already crowned TT3 champion and Megre taking the TT2 title, Gaudêncio leads TT1 and will battle Fernando Ferreira (Kawasaki) for the crown. Still to be decided are the Junior Trophy — between João Duarte and Tomás Dias (both Honda) — and the Veteran Trophy, contested by Fernando Ferreira and defending champion Christophe Lajouanie (Honda). The Juniors are separated by 22 points and the Veterans by 21.
It should also be noted that Nelson Cunha (Kawasaki) in Promotion and Daniela Mateus, now riding Husqvarna, in the Ladies category, have already secured their respective titles.
In the Quad category, where Tomás Paulo has already been crowned champion after winning all six rounds contested so far, the main point of interest at the Baja de Lagos is whether the young Yamaha rider can achieve an unprecedented clean sweep of victories. His strongest challenger will be fellow young rider Rodrigo Alves, currently 2nd in the standings, also on Yamaha. Another Yamaha rider, Martim Pedroso, will try to capitalise on the absence of 2024 national champion Luís Fernandes to secure 3rd overall in the CNTT.
In SSV, where Nelson Caxias / André Lopes have already secured the overall championship, there is still plenty of interest. First, a wide-open fight for the overall win involving the newly crowned champions plus Roberto Borrego and André Carita, 2nd and 3rd in the CNTT separated by just one point, as well as Pedro Pinha (2024 winner), Sérgio Palminha and Vasco Martins — all driving Can-Am.
Several titles remain undecided:
• Stock Category — leader Arnaldo Monteiro (now in Can-Am) faces pressure from Alexandre Silva (Polaris) and Rodrigo Melancia (Can-Am), nine and eleven points behind respectively.
• SSV TT2 Category — extremely close fight: leader Micael Vitória holds a three-point advantage over tied contenders Tito Sousa and Luís Lourenço, all driving Segway vehicles.
• Junior SSV Title — duel between Tomás Antunes and Gonçalo Guerra, both in Can-Am and separated by nine points.
The female presence at the Baja de Lagos includes two riders and five co-drivers. In Motorbikes, the competitors are Daniela Mateus and Maria Taranto. In SSV, navigator entries include Barbara Pereira, Ana Lopes, Anette Fjeld (Norway) and Silvine Terrasse (France).
Organised by the Clube Automóvel do Algarve, the Baja de Lagos covers 458 km in total, of which 369 km are timed, divided between a prologue and two legs with two passes over a 181-km selective sector.
The event begins on Friday, 21st, with a new feature: a 7.48 km prologue held in Bensafrim. Another novelty is the inclusion of the municipality of Aljezur in the race route.
Souce; FMP / CNTT official press release
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