Sporting his signature grin, Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) went through administrative scrutineering today in his twin roles as bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal title holder and championship leader. The Qatari will have to adapt to two major changes: his first W2RC outing with the navigator Fabian Lurquin (after Édouard Boulanger joined his teammate Sébastien Loeb) and the rise of a new generation.
Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC), 31, has been breathing down the old rocker's neck in the championship ranking since the previous round. The Dacia factory driver, who turned 54 this year, outmuscled the local star João Ferreira (Toyota Gazoo Racing) to claim the trophy last season. Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport), well into his sixties, is the oldest of the factory drivers and sees the Portuguese ace as one of the favourites to clinch the win (see his quote). Ferreira recently inked a deal with Toyota Gazoo Racing at the tender age of 26 and is gearing up for his first championship round behind the wheel of a Hilux Evo.
Over in the Challenger class, Gonçalo Guerreiro (Nasser Racing) will be turning 25 next month. Second in his first Dakar in the class, the Portuguese is keen on snatching the win from Nicolás Cavigliasso, the man to beat in the championship, as well as taking the fight to the Ultimate drivers (see his quote) and carving a niche as soon as possible among the likes of Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Eryk Goczał (Energylandia), the two under-20 drivers in the Ultimate race this week. Records for precocity are being smashed left, right and centre in the W2RC, heralding a changing of the guard. The countdown has begun. Follow tomorrow's prologue live on the W2RC social media accounts from 3 pm (motorbikes) and 4:25 pm (cars).
Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders): "I'm returning to a rally-style terrain I enjoyed. I have experience in this race, but the level of competition is going to be very high this year. The new torque meter has tightened up performance across the cars, and everyone is here, including some young guns. It's going to be a fierce and wide open fight for everyone."
Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders): "I came here last year and saw that the terrain is very much about pure driving, but it's often narrow and demands precision, with a few tricky spots. Finding the right rhythm straight away will be key. We haven't done much mileage yet with Édouard, just a short test in Morocco, so we'll need to settle in quickly. Driving conservatively makes no sense here. You need to avoid losing time at the beginning because these aren't the kinds of specials where you see ten-minute gaps."
Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing): "My knowledge of this race is limited to what I've been told about it. From what I've heard, it's nothing like South Africa, but going by what I've seen here, it could resemble a race in Botswana among the trees and vegetation. I know the others will be faster. I like following a track instead of having traces all over the place, I like rally-style races, so I ought to enjoy this. Does not taking part last year put me at a disadvantage? A bit, probably, but I hope we can make up for this with our past experiences."
Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport): "Just like in South Africa, we have strong cars, strong drivers, and I'm expecting some very close battles. João Ferreira is at home here, he just won the Baja last weekend on similar terrain and I think this is going to be an interesting race."
João Ferreira (Toyota Gazoo Racing): "It's a privilege to hear Carlos Sainz talk about me like that. Last year, it was an honour to team up with him here. I learned a huge amount from this legend who, in my eyes, is the best driver in the sport. Yes, I have the home advantage, and I understand people might see that as an edge, but anything can happen. I just want to take it stage by stage. This will be only my third international race with the car. I won the first two, but this one is longer and is also my first W2RC outing with the team."
Gonçalo Guerreiro (Nasser Racing): "We want to win the Challenger class and I think we can also get a strong result among the Ultimate vehicles. This is Portugal, my home country, with my fans, so I won't be leaving anything in the tank. Cracking the top 10 with our Challenger would be a solid result. I know the Taurus well, and this one is brand new. Nasser Racing have given me the opportunity to come back, take on the best drivers in the world and try and catch lightning in a bottle."
SCHEDULE:
• 23 September:
12 pm: general and prologue briefing
1:30/2:15 pm: FIM/FIA pre-race press conference
3/4:25 pm: FIM/FIA prologue (5.15 km)
7/8:15 pm: FIM/FIA start position selection for stage 1
7:30/8:30 pm: FIM/FIA ceremonial start
• 24 September: stage 1 — Grândola–Grândola (total: 425 km / special: 302 km / road section: 123 km)
• 25 September: stage 2 — Grândola–Badajoz (total: 655 km / special: 429 km / road section: 226 km)
Disclaimer:
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