Baja Portalegre 2024 image gallery available here
A great end to a dream season. Teo and Roberto Viñarás crowned in the best possible way a year they will never forget. To the title won a few weeks ago in the Spanish single-brand was added last Saturday the victory in the European SuperFinal of the Yamaha YXZ1000R Cup held in Portugal.
The Baja Portalegre 500 was once again a talisman for the Spaniards, who for the fourth time in the last five editions managed to bring the victory back to our country in front of the best Yamaha riders and co-drivers in Europe. On this occasion, the Viñarás brothers once again showed the high level we have in our country and starred in a fascinating duel for the win in the SSV (Stock) class with the British William Buller, which was decided in the last kilometers of the last timed special stage.
Before this epic outcome, the riders from Toledo had shown a great pace from the start of the prologue and SS1, which were held on Friday. But in the last and final SS2, the longest timed stage of the Portuguese event with 287 kilometers, Buller went all out and launched a furious attack to which the Spaniards reacted intelligently. The speed was maximum, and in a race as hard for drivers and machines as the Baja Portalegre 500, a setback was just around the corner. Finally, less than two kilometers from the finish line, the British rider broke the steering of his Yamaha when he went off the track, which left the victory on a silver platter for the champions of the YXZ1000R Cup Spain 2024.
Teo and Roberto Viñarás closed in this magical way a dream year for them, in which they have demonstrated their speed and ability to adapt to all types of tests and terrains. At the wheel of their Yamaha, reliable and competitive in equal parts, they reached the finish line with an income of more than eight minutes over the second classified, Buller and his navigator, Jonathan Knight, who were very close to achieving their ambitious goal. The third step of the podium was for the duo formed by Chris McPhee and Kerr Giltanan.
In addition to the success of the Viñarás brothers, the Spanish delegation was the largest of all those who participated in the great Yamaha end-of-season party at European level. A total of eight Spanish teams were present in Portalegre, including the sixth place in the SuperFinal of Joan Llangostera / Francisco Márquez, followed by Santiago Vallejo / Eduardo Paz and Toni Vingut / Toni Vingut, seventh and eighth respectively. Also completed the very tough Portuguese test with their Yamaha YXZ1000R duo Jordi Esteve / Francisco José Pardo and Fernando Mesa / Ivan Cano, who finished just off the podium in the SSV TT2 class. Worse luck had Edesio Caamaño who, co-driven by Carmelo Moliné, had a great prologue in which he set the best time, but could not complete the Portuguese race after abandoning in SS2.
With the victory of Teo and Roberto Viñarás in the European SuperFinal of the Yamaha YXZ1000R Cup, the Toledans were awarded a lustrous prize of 15,000 euros for being the best among the Yamaha teams and further consolidated the dominance of Spanish riders in this competition who had previously won in 2019 with Pedro Delgado, in 2021 with Luis Sainero and in 2022 by the hand of the rider currently supported by Yamaha Europe, Miquel Prat. A string of successes at continental level that reaffirm the great commitment to this specialty of the Spanish subsidiary of Yamaha and that grows year by year with more victories and titles.
Final results:
1. Teo Viñarás / Roberto Viñarás 5h 18’17’’ (STOCK)
2. Luis Caseiro / Joao Azeiteiro +2’18’’
3. William Buller / Jonathan Knight +8’04’’ (STOCK)
4. Chris McPhee / Kerr Giltanan +12’19’’ (STOCK)
5. Ian Donaldson / Bárbara Luís +12’52’’ (STOCK)
6. Allan Stirling / Logan Stirling +20’02’’ (STOCK)
7. Gil Ferreira +30’12’’
8. Jordi Esteve / Francisco José Pardo +33’28’’ (STOCK)
9. Joan Llangostera / Francisco Márquez +33’50’’ (STOCK)
10. Santiago Vallejo / Eduardo Paz +34’07’’ (STOCK)
11. Toni Vingut / Toni Vingut +49’34’’ (STOCK)
12. Vasco Melo +1h 02’03’’
13. Fernando Mesa / Iván Cano +1h 05’39’’
Automatic translation of the Spanish version
Source: Yamaha RV / Mediagé Comunicación
Photo: Rally-Raid Network / ImagensDesportivas.pt
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