Under bright blue skies in Grândola, the Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally 2 duo of Martim Ventura and Preston Campbell launched their Rally-Raid Portugal campaigns.
The challenge began with a short but unforgiving 3.5 km prologue near the bivouac. The distance was minimal, but the sandy terrain demanded precision from the outset, leaving no margin for error in a run that would be over in just a few minutes.
Smooth and composed on the slippery surface, Preston Campbell delivered a sixth place finish, just five seconds shy of the fastest Rally 2 time set by Jeremy Knuiman. His teammate, local favourite Martim Ventura, pushed hard in front of home fans and despite a small crash on his Honda CRF450 RALLY RX, Ventura quickly remounted to complete the prologue in 11th place.
Stage one sets off from the Grândola bivouac, with a 12 km transfer leading into a demanding 177 km timed section through forest tracks. Sand will remain a constant challenge, while riders must stay sharp for unexpected hazards such as deer and hidden tree stumps lurking off-line. The stage will then loop back to Grândola, where a final 3 km sprint will bring the day’s action to a close.
Ruben Faria - General Manager
This prologue wasn’t our best, first rider for the team was Preston in sixth. He was a little bit scared of the sand as it was quite slippery. Martim had a small crash and he finished in eleventh. The times were close and I think they’re in a really good position for tomorrow’s stage one.
Martim Ventura 84 - Prologue: 11th
I'm happy to be in good shape as it wasn’t the best prologue and I had a small crash, but I remounted quickly so that was good. The race starts tomorrow, so let’s go.
Preston Campbell 85 - Prologue: 6th
The prologue was OK for me, super short, just over three minutes. It was sandy but a pretty slippery base and then there was some hard pack. I’m happy to get the race started and excited for tomorrow.
Source: Monster Energy Honda HRC
Photo: Rally-Raid Network / ImagensDesportivas.com
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