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Rally-Raid Portugal 2024: Al-Attiyah and Boulanger lead W2RC after win in Portugal
The finish of the third round of the FIA World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) season in Portugal this weekend saw Nasser Al-Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger claim back-to-back victories with their Prodrive Hunter. After success in Abu Dhabi last month, it means the pair leave Portugal in the lead of both the Driver’s and Co-Driver’s championships respectively.
On their way to the top step of the podium of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal in Grândola, as well as finishing first in the Prologue the duo claimed two out of the five stages outright. Arriving in Portugal for the only European leg of the series, the Nasser Racing by Prodrive driver was 9 points behind rival Carlos Sainz, but now leads on 112 points, 12 points ahead of the Spaniard. Édouard Boulanger now sits in the lead of the Co-Driver’s championship on 107 points, a gap of 28 points over his nearest competitor.
Al-Attiyah, who finished with a winning margin of 2min 49sec, said: “Portugal is almost my second home. I have a lot of friends here and I’m really happy to win this fantastic race. Thank you to all the fans and thanks to the organisation. It was a very technical race and we had to be smart. After the win in Abu Dhabi, winning here is very important because it enabled us to take the lead in the World Championship.”
The gap at the top of the Manufacturer standings has also been reduced. Nasser Racing by Prodrive (120 points) remain in second place, behind Toyota Gazoo Racing (143 points) but the gap is now just 23 points with two rounds to go.
X-Rally’s Cristian Baumgart and Gustavo Gugelmin brought their Prodrive Hunter home in a strong 7th place overall, after top 10 finishes on every stage in Portugal. That result means Cristian now lies in 10th position in the Ultimate category of the overall W2RC championship as the X-Rally team heads next to their ‘home’ leg in South America.
Round four of the World Rally Raid Championship takes place from 1st to 7th June 2024 in Argentina, with the Desafío Ruta 40.
Source: Prodrive
Photos: Rally-Raid Network / ImagensDesportivas
Helder