Torres Vedras rider remains among the world’s best
After two stages battling wheel-to-wheel with the top riders competing in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, the European round of the W2RC (World Rally-Raid Championship), Bruno Santos saw his performance in stage four affected by a crash that damaged his navigation instruments. Despite this setback, the rider from Torres Vedras managed to retain the Rally2 class lead after this stage, which featured 317 timed kilometres across a route split between Spain and Portugal.
“It was a tough day for me. Around kilometre 70 I had a crash at very, very high speed on a section that didn’t seem particularly dangerous, but the ground was like ice. When my wheels hit a certain patch, I lost control, slid for many metres and the bike took quite a beating. I had to manage the race and pushed to the finish as fast as I could, but I was always losing some time to my closest rivals. This wasn’t what I had planned for today, but I’m very grateful and very happy to have come away unhurt from such a big crash. It was the highest-speed crash I’ve ever had and I went past a lot of trees. I can only be happy to be here, to have finished the stage, to still lead Rally2 and to have lost just one position in the overall standings,” said the Husqvarna rider at the bivouac in Loulé, where he is supported by Frutas Patrícia Pilar and Momento TT.
The final stage of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, starting and finishing in Loulé, will feature a short 101-kilometre timed special, plus an additional 190 kilometres of liaison.
Official press release
Photo: Todoterreno.pt / ImagensDesportivas.pt
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