Nasser Al Attiyah is both the championship leader and the race title holder in the car category. His team, The Dacia Sandriders, is also fielding Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez. The Spaniard will be spending three days on home turf, as will the national hero Carlos Sainz, the sole factory representative of Ford M-Sport. His fans are already hyped up. X-raid Mini is lining up with two cars.
Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC), who has emerged as Nasser Al Attiyah's closest rival following his home win in South Africa, is at the helm of an awe-inspiring Toyota armada. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) is returning to competition. The Portuguese driver João Ferreira, second in 2024, will be part of the squad for the first time this season.
Featuring an extra day in Spain, the second edition of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal stands ready to welcome swarms of Carlos Sainz fans along the tracks, especially around the second bivouac, set up in Badajoz for two days. "El Matador" will be the only man in the arena for the American manufacturer.
Sainz, who finished just outside the podium in a Mini in 2024, will not be the only Spaniard under the spotlight, as Cristina Gutiérrez is returning at the wheel of a Dacia after her Dakar outing in January. The Sandriders are therefore bringing all their firepower to bear in their first appearance in the rally. Last year, Nasser Al Attiyah bagged victory in a Prodrive Hunter, while Sébastien Loeb and his future teammate used the rally to get dialled in with BBR's Challengers ahead of their 2025 starts.
By placing two Minis inside the top 4 in 2024, X-raid have already shown just how sharp their machine can be on Iberian soil, so expectations are sky-high for Denis Krotov and Lionel Baud!
Over at Toyota, the tide is bringing in the familiar Hilux armada, with a whopping eight pick-up trucks on the W2RC start list. Henk Lategan, who eked out a home win over Sébastien Loeb in South Africa, is their natural choice for leader as the second-placed driver in the championship ranking. The South African will get his first taste of this event and make his debut in a European W2RC round.
For Yazeed Al Rajhi, who came out on top in the Dakar before a subdued performance in Abu Dhabi and a heavy injury in competition, this will be a comeback outing after sitting out a round. Fifth in Portugal last year, the Saudi also holds fifth in the championship and has a good shot at clawing his way back onto the podium. Standing in the way are Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC), sitting third and fourth overall in their Hiluxes. A podium finisher in Portugal in 2024 and more recently at the South African Safari Rally, the Brazilian should be at the sharp end of the race.
Following their Ultimate outing at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Eryk Goczał and his father, Marek, are back behind the wheel of Hilux T1+ machines in Energylandia livery.
Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing) will have a new teammate at his side: João Ferreira, the young Portuguese number one, who went head to head with Nasser Al Attiyah for victory last year, has recently joined the ranks of TGR. For the local favourite, this will be his first ongoing championship appearance at the controls of the Hilux Evo.
Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) completes the Toyota line-up as the eighth driver.
Finally, Daniel Schröder (PS Laser Racing), who impressed with seventh place on home soil in South Africa, will continue his exploration of the championship at the wheel of his WTC-designed VW Amarok.
There are seven Challenger entrants in the fourth championship round. The overall leader, Nicolás Cavigliasso, racing in a Taurus in his own personal colours, is up for a rematch with the usual suspects, BBR Motorsport's Pau Navarro and Dania Akeel, as well as Adam Kuś (Akpol Recycling). The Portuguese ace Gonçalo Guerreiro, who turned heads with second place in the Dakar, is back in the game in his first appearance with Nasser Racing. Pedro Gonçalves is also gearing up with his debut with a new team, BBR Motorsport.
Mattias Ekström is swapping his works Ford Raptor for a Can-Am, as the Swede has been known to do to stay in contention for the championship.
There are four SSV crews on the start list. The Portuguese leader, Alexandre Pinto, and his championship arch-rival, the Italian Enrico Gaspari, will both be flying the colours for Old Friends Racing. The other contenders are Pim Klaassen (DaklaPack Rallysport) and the local star João Dias (Santag Racing).
SCHEDULE:
• 19 September at 12 pm: opening of the bivouac in Grândola
• 21 September at 10:30 am: opening of the Media Center
• 21 September from 3 pm – 22 September: administrative and technical scrutineering
• 23 September:
12 pm: general and Prologue briefing
1.30/2.15 pm: FIM/FIA pre-race press conference
3/4:30 pm: FIM/FIA prologue (5.15 km)
7/08.15 pm: start position selection for FIM/FIA stage 1
7.30/8.30 pm: FIM/FIA ceremonial start
• 24 September: stage 1 — Grândola–Grândola (total: 426 km / SS: 299 km + 5 km)
• 25 September: stage 2 — Grândola–Badajoz (total: 650 km / SS: 423 km)
Source: W2RC / A.S.O.
Photo: Dacia
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