After a less successful prologue, Bruno Santos continues to climb positions and today, in the 2nd stage, he maintained the second place he already held in the Rally2 standings, while improving two places in the overall classification, ending the day just 12 seconds behind the 6th place rider. The rider from Torres Vedras, supported by Frutas Patrícia Pilar and Momento TT, also remains the best privateer competing in the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, the Portuguese round of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC), with only professional factory-backed riders ahead of him.
“Today was a long day, with more than 600 km covered in total during this stage. We started in the Coruche area, then headed up to Mação, passed through Ponte de Sor, and after crossing the border we tackled another timed section of about 100 km in the Cáceres region. It was a day that started really well for me, through the Ribatejo tracks that I love. I was very strong in the morning, even running 2nd overall. Since I was among the top 10 riders starting at three-minute intervals, while I had space I managed to push, ride fast, and gain time. Unfortunately, from around km 80 onwards I caught up with American Skyler Howes, who was clearly slower than me, but despite my attempts I just couldn’t get past him. There was a lot of dust, and I couldn’t move forward, and I realized I was losing time. In the Mação area I even had two small crashes while trying to close in on him — I actually had him in my line of sight — but with so much dust and the course winding through the trees, it was really difficult. In any case, I managed to climb back up in the standings, and that means tomorrow I’ll be starting a bit further ahead, which will allow me to attack the race differently,” said Bruno Santos, who competes on a Husqvarna.
Tomorrow, competitors will face the third stage of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal: a 511 km loop starting and finishing in Badajoz, including 308 km against the clock. The bivouac remains in Badajoz.
Source: Bruno Santos official press release
Photo: ImagensDesportivas.com
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