As you might expect, the debut of the World Rally-Raid Championship in Portugal has attracted competitors from all over the world, who will be concentrating next week on Grândola and the trails of the Alentejo, Ribatejo and Spanish Extremadura.
The impressive list of 169 entries for the car, motorcycle and quad races has competitors from 30 different countries: in addition to Portugal, also South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Czechia, Chile, Ecuador, Slovakia, Spain, United States of America, France, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Seychelles and Switzerland are represented.
Naturally, the Iberian competitors will feel right at home, but there are more... exotic origins on the list. One such case is the young Aliyyah Koloc, just 19 years old, who is competing in the car race in a spectacular Red-Lined Revo T1+ in the Ultimate category! The daughter of Martin Koloc, owner of the Buggyra Racing team, the young Aliyyah represents the Seychelles, but has triple nationality: she was born in Dubai, her father is Czech and her mother has origins in the Seychelles and Sudan. Sailed by a Frenchman, Sébastien Delaunay, and assisted by a Czech team, the Revo T1+ with the number 212 is a true society of nations!
Also in the Ultimate category, one of Overdrive Racing's Toyota's has a duo of Russian origin, but who race with licenses from other federations, due to the international sanctions imposed on Russia in sport as well. Denis Krotov now represents Kyrgyzstan and his navigator, Konstantin Zhiltsov, has an Israeli passport and license.
The pride of a nation
In motorcycles, World Rally-Raid leader Ross Branch is one of Botswana's rare representatives in motorsport at the highest level. Branch represents an Indian manufacturer, Hero, and bikers from that Asian giant are also starting to emerge, such as Harith Noah, an official Sherco rider, or Jatin Jain, who rides for a Chinese brand, Kove.
Portugal is, of course, the most represented country on the entry list, but around 65% of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal teams are from abroad.
Source: ACP Motorsport
Photo: ImagensDesportivas / Rally-Raid Network
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.