The biggest and best Portuguese race is once again on the move, for the 38th time in fact. The city of Portalegre has once again been transformed into the capital of Portuguese off-road racing, bringing together hundreds of participants eager to tackle the tracks from tomorrow until Saturday.
The 400-strong caravan is made up mostly of Portuguese, with a small number of foreigners coming to Portalegre to take on the challenge.
The absence of foreigners, especially the best-known names, is easily explained by the fact that the Morocco Rally took place last week and by the proximity of the date on which vehicles are due to leave for the Dakar Rally, which leaves very little room for maneuver for the teams, who prefer not to take the risk of taking part in a two-day event notoriously known for being difficult and complicated and which also has as an “extra bonus” the extremely strong “local team," which leaves little room for others to shine. On the other hand, Portugal is also in the far southwest of Europe, which makes it difficult and expensive for teams from other parts of the continent to travel to this country to take part in the race. So it's not surprising that all the favoritism falls on the local drivers, in whatever category: car, motorcycle, quad, or SSV.
The Baja Portalegre exerts a kind of attraction on the Portuguese comparable to what the Baja 1000 does on Americans, the Sertões does on Brazilians, or the Dakar does on international drivers. Although it's not easy to explain, it's easy to demonstrate through the huge entry list of more than 4 hundred participants, and with a diversity that is probably unique in the world since this event will be attended by men and women, adults, some already old, and children (Mini Baja), in 2 or 4-wheeled vehicles, more prepared or almost standard, professional drivers and amateur drivers, who will cover hundreds of kilometers through the regions of Alentejo and Ribajeto, divided into different routes depending on the category they are in. The public is no exception to this "virus,” and this is the race that attracts the most crowds in Portugal and most probably in the whole of Europe.
Starting tomorrow, all the participants will face the challenge of the Baja Portalegre 2024, which will apparently have the most traditional edition possible. Over the years, the mystique that has grown up around this race and elevated it to an incomparable status in this country has been based on the enormous sporting challenge it posed, amplified by the difficult conditions of a terrain that is almost always muddy, with dozens of large and small river crossings and thousands of water points. Some previous editions, especially from the 1990s, are still a topic of conversation among those who follow the race. This year Portugal has experienced another very dry summer, with almost no rain, but in the last few days that same rain that had been absent has returned in force, reviving the rivers and streams that had been dormant for months. The truth is that the organization has once again been faced with a huge logistical challenge, trying to ensure that the race is run as normally as possible and that the route that was chosen can be maintained as much as possible. The weather forecast for the next few days predicts rain, but not much, so the impact on the race should be nil. Even so, the ground conditions are already those of a “Traditional Baja Portalegre," with mud and water and no dust.
Today the checks and ceremonial start took place in the city of Portalegre, and tomorrow the real race begins. A short prologue at sunrise, followed by a 60-kilometer stretch between Ponte de Sor and Crato, to the west of Portalegre. On Saturday there are several different race programs depending on the category, but basically the bikes will have a 300-kilometre section to compete in, while the cars will have two sections of 150 kilometers each.
You can find a huge image library from this race on our portal www.imagensdesportivas.com . Images will be posted on Sunday.
Rally-Raid Network
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