One day to go until the prologue of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, which will take place just outside the bivouac tomorrow afternoon. 111 entries have been cleared to start, including 50 FIM riders (48 W2RC entrants, click here) and 61 FIA crews (27 W2RC entrants, click here).
Every RallyGP competitor will be starting the rally in the motorbike category. Behind the pros, the Rally2 class is set to welcome a new Honda HRC squad to its ranks.
Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC) won the maiden edition in April 2024, but the returning champion faces a wholly different scenario this time round. Unlike last season, when some of his opponents had to sit out the rally, he will have to contend with all his rivals (see his quote), chief among them the championship leader, who has completed a clean sweep of the three rounds held so far this year. Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has never raced here before, but he already proved in the South African Safari Rally that he has no trouble conquering uncharted lands. A podium finish in Lisbon would net him the title regardless of where his adversaries end up in the standings. Yet the reigning world champion, Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports), is aware of how things can change in this rally, where he almost let the title slip through his fingers in 2024 (see his quote).
In Rally2, Edgar Canet (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) made his championship debut in the 2024 bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, claiming the prologue in his class and third place overall. The Spaniard, now 20, will line up tomorrow clad in the KTM factory kit he has been wearing since the Dakar. His meteoric rise illustrates the effervescence of the current Rally2 scene. He trails Tobias Ebster (Hero MotoSports) in the championship after sustaining an injury in the second round of the season.
Honda have not appeared in the Rally2 ranking since the Dakar, but that ends now. Ruben Faria has hand-picked two 26-year-old talents who will make their first appearance with the HRC Rally2 team under the direction of their newly appointed manager, Rui Gonçalves (see his quote). The current Portugal Bajas number one, Martim Ventura, got his first taste of the W2RC series here last season (see his quote). Preston Campbell will get to grips with the championship following his Baja victories in America.
Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC): "Before South Africa, things went badly with the surgery on the collarbone I broke at the Dakar. I ended up under the knife three times in as many days. I was unable to shake off that bad luck in the race, where I hurt my wrist. I was glad to have the summer break, but I also trained hard and came away with victory at Sertões in Brazil. It feels great to be back in the championship after all that, and so close to home. I have fond memories of my victory here last year, but I'm keeping my feet on the ground. There are plenty of riders capable of winning."
Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing): "I was in Portugal last summer for the International Six Days of Enduro and the sand in some of the specials was similar to what I've seen here. It also reminds me of the terrain we race on in enduro back home, but it's not going to be 100% sand, more of a mix with some harder sections. I'm expecting something along the lines of the Andalucía Rally, my first rally raid back in 2020. I know there'll be trees, roots, shade… It'll be a different kind of race again, but I feel confident. I'm going to focus on locking into my rhythm as early as possible."
Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports): "Last year, I went down in stage 1 and bit my tongue open. I clenched my teeth and pushed through to finish sixth overall because I knew I had to if I wanted any chance of holding on to the championship lead. This summer, I clocked up three thousand kilometres of testing in Namibia and spent a month flying over the Okavango Delta. I can't wait to get back on the saddle!"
Rui Gonçalves (Honda HRC): "The goal for the Honda HRC Rally2 team is to catapult two new riders into the Dakar in the short term. They've only just started getting to grips with the bike. One of them has a long history with the brand, the other is discovering it for the first time. Their mission here is to find their pace before heading to Morocco, where they'll face a race much closer to the Dakar in terms of organisation and desert terrain."
Martim Ventura (Honda HRC): "My race here last year was tough. I wanted to do well, but it was also my very first rally raid. I was getting to know the bike during the race itself and ran into electrical issues. I've prepared much better this year. I spent time in Morocco working on navigation and achieved my goal of winning the Portuguese Bajas Championship. Then, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to ride for Honda came along."
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)
Source: W2RC / A.S.O.
Photo EdoPhoto / DPPI
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