bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal 2025: Sanders right at home

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• The outskirts of Grândola set the scene for stage 1 of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal and provided the backdrop for a series of vicious duels on a 425 km loop course (302 km against the clock).
• The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing factory riders Daniel Sanders (RallyGP) and Edgar Canet (Rally2) followed up their prologue victories with new successes and padded their overall leads after dispatching the Honda and Hero contingents.
• Thomas Zoldos also picked up a repeat win in Rally3, but Gaëtan Martinez (CFMoto Thunder Racing) shook up the quad hierarchy and stormed into the lead.
• Next stop: Spain! Stage 2 will take the race convoy from Grândola to Badajoz in the longest stage of the week (655 km in total and 429 against the clock). Follow it live on the Race Center from 7:30 am (local time: UTC+1).

Daniel Sanders had already clinched the 2019 International Six Days Enduro in Portugal, but this is the first time that he competes in a rally raid here. Some sections remind him "of the terrain we race on in enduro back home", as he put it before the start. He dominated the stage from A to Z, racing on dry, slippery terrain and keeping his cool despite the pressure from Honda's Adrien Van Beveren (+58″) and Tosha Schareina (+1′22″), who spent much of the special within a minute of the man from Oz.

"Chucky" produced a ride as solid as a rock from the Australian bush to secure his 21st W2RC triumph, adding to his own record and extending his bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal lead to 1′11″ over VBA and 1′32″ over Schareina. The world champion, Ross Branch, placed his Hero in fourth (+2′58″) and Luciano Benavides rounded out the top 5 for KTM (+4′29″). Sanders will face the arduous task of opening the road tomorrow, but he has already won from the front several times, most recently in stages 3 and 4 of the South African Safari Rally.

RALLY2: VENTURA'S PAIN IS CANET'S GAIN

Honda HRC's new Rally2 signing, Martim Ventura, seemed poised to take his maiden victory. The national baja champion spent most of the day at the front before a broken clutch near km 231 sent him careening down the standings and gave Edgar Canet a clear run to the stage win, the tenth of his short career. His title rival Tobias Ebster (Hero MotoSports) finished second at 2′45″ and Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM) crossed the line third at 3′19″. Portugal's Bruno Santos (BS Frutas Patrícia Pilar), fourth at 5′43″, flew the flag for the host nation. Canet leads Ebster by 2′58″ as the race heads to his home country, Spain, where Ventura will be out for revenge.

RALLY3: ZOLDOS TAKES A RIVETING VICTORY

Seldom has a Rally3 stage been as closely fought as the duel between Gonçalo Amaral (Wingmotor) and Thomas Zoldos. The local hero and 2024 champion spent most of the special in the lead, a mere 27 seconds (km 49), 10 seconds (km 163) or 18 seconds (km 265) ahead of the Frenchman. Yet Zoldos snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by 1′20″, assisted by the one-minute penalty for speeding handed down to his opponent. The Italian Carlo Cabini (RS Moto) rounded out the podium at 16′21″.

QUADS: CFMOTO DOMIN8

CFMoto Thunder Racing remain undefeated since the start of the South African Safari Rally, adding a new triumph in Portugal. Gaëtan Martinez emerged victorious from a duel with Antanas Kanopkinas, defeating his teammate by 1′16″ and handing the Chinese marque its eighth consecutive W2RC success. Senegal's Alexis Varagne (Drag'On Distribution) is third overall, 35 behind the Frenchman.

SCHEDULE:

4:30 pm: final press conference
7 pm: prize-giving

Portugal: UTC+01:00 / Spain: UTC+02:00

Source: W2RC / A.S.O.
Photo: ImagensDesportivas.com

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