The pre-event picture of the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura 2026 promised Spanish strength, Portuguese ambition and a useful dose of Quattro nostalgia. After the prologue, one part of that story has already moved from theory to stopwatch: Portugal is right at the front.
João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro were the quickest crew in the opening prologue, putting the Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Hilux T1+ on top with a time of 2:14.8. It was only a short opening test, but it was enough to set the first reference point of the weekend — clean, sharp and exactly the kind of start expected from one of the strongest names on the entry list.
Behind them came another Portuguese highlight, with Ricardo Porém and Nuno Sousa taking second place in the Kaizen S1, just 2.6 seconds away from the leaders. If Ferreira confirmed his status as a clear contender for overall victory, Porém made sure the Portuguese challenge would not be a one-car conversation.
The first Spanish crew appeared in third, with Juan Gassó Sarrias and Ion del Cid Odriozola placing the G-Rally Team OT3 at 5.3 seconds from the lead. Their result keeps the Spanish presence firmly in the fight and underlines the depth of the CHG1 field, where several crews are already packed into a very narrow margin.
Fourth place went to Santiago Carnicer Colomer and Sergio Peinado Jiménez, in the Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+, 7.1 seconds behind Ferreira. It was a useful start for one of the strongest Spanish T1+ entries, close enough to keep pressure on the front and well positioned before the longer stages begin.
Completing the top five, Roberto Rodríguez Gamboa and Herman Rodríguez Gamboa took their Herrator Inzane 901 to fifth overall, only 7.7 seconds from the lead. With less than eight seconds covering the first five crews, the prologue did not decide the rally — but it certainly sharpened the knife.
Further down the order, the field remains tightly grouped, with several SSV, CHG1 and T4 crews separated by tenths of a second. The nostalgia element that helped give this year’s entry list part of its flavour may still attract attention, but after the opening stopwatch battle, the sporting story is already clear: Ferreira leads, Porém confirms Portuguese strength, and the Spanish crews are close enough to make tomorrow very interesting indeed.
Saturday will be the real test. The short prologue has given the crews their first order, rhythm and confidence check, but tomorrow the Baja moves into its decisive terrain: longer selective sections, navigation, dust, heat, tyre management and the kind of small mistakes that do not look small once the classification sheet arrives. Extremadura has only just opened the door; tomorrow, it starts asking questions properly.
Rally-Raid Network
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