If the competitors thought the hardest part of the Sertões Petrobras 2026 was already behind them, Friday quickly proved otherwise.
The sixth stage, from Minaçu to Niquelândia, delivered 319 kilometres against the clock and 448 kilometres in total, combining narrow mountain roads, badly worn tracks, rocks, deep fesh-fesh and a roadbook packed with references. Add temperatures reaching 37°C and a second crossing of the Rio Bagagem, and simply reaching the finish became an achievement in itself.
There were memorable moments away from the stopwatch too, including an enthusiastic welcome from the people of Colinas do Sul as the bikes, UTVs, cars and Production crews passed through.
At the front, however, the main championship contenders remained firmly in control.
In the Cars category, Lucas Moraes and Kaíque Bentivoglio once again showed why they are the crew to beat.
Driving the MEM Motorsport prototype, the three-time Sertões champions initially found themselves behind Marcelo Gastaldi and Cadu Sachs in the Toyota GR Hilux DKR during the opening splits.
But Moraes and Bentivoglio turned the stage around in the closing kilometres, using their experience to claim the fastest time of the day.
It was Moraes' 26th Sertões special-stage victory, while the result also pushed their overall advantage beyond the 24-minute mark.
Gastaldi and Sachs finished second, 2m33s behind, with Carlos Ambrósio and Luiz Poli bringing the Century CR7 home in third.
For Moraes, the difficulty of the stage was unquestionable.
“Without doubt, this was the toughest stage of the rally. There were so many twisty sections, which are difficult for a car like ours that was designed for the desert. Kaíque did an incredible job with the navigation — I don't think he has ever spoken so much to me during a special. Once again we brought the car home intact and took another step towards Goiânia.”
The battle in the Bikes category produced a Portuguese stage winner.
Martim Ventura, riding the Honda CRF450RX Rally for Monster Energy HRC, took the Stage 6 victory ahead of Honda Racing Brasil team-mate Bruno Crivilin.
The terrain suited Crivilin's enduro background particularly well. A 12-time Brazilian Enduro champion, he was able to maintain a strong pace without taking unnecessary risks.
Ventura eventually caught and passed him, but Crivilin was able to follow the Portuguese rider for much of the stage while staying clear of the dust and, crucially, protecting his commanding overall advantage.
Crivilin therefore remains at the head of the rally with 23m38s in hand over Ventura.
Guilherme Bissotto continues to lead the Moto 2 category and holds an impressive third place overall.
Ventura admitted that the day had taken its toll.
“Another extremely hot day. There were moments when the kilometres seemed to take forever. I'm really tired. It was a very technical stage — the Sertões is not an easy rally. I didn't make any mistakes, everything came together and I'm very happy with the result.”
Crivilin, meanwhile, was satisfied with a calculated ride.
“This was the most technical and twisty stage of the rally so far — lots of mountains, corners, rocks and fesh-fesh. I had to take a lot of care with the bike to avoid a crash. Martim caught me and passed, and I followed outside his dust. It was a safe, controlled special with no mistakes and the bike finished in perfect condition. We just have to keep doing the job. Every day that passes is one day less between us and Goiânia.”
There was no easing off for Deni Nascimento and Gunnar Dums.
The Can-Am Maverick R crew from Bompack Rally claimed their second stage victory of the 2026 Sertões and dramatically strengthened their grip on the UTV lead.
They began Friday only 6m22s ahead of their nearest challengers. By the finish, that picture had changed completely.
Problems for Bruno Varela and Ari Fiúza allowed Pedro Mac Dowell and Daniel Spolidorio to move into second overall, but they are now 24m25s behind Nascimento and Dums.
Douglas Carassa and Caio Boscolo enjoyed an excellent stage to finish second, while Jean Azevedo and Idali Bosse completed the top three.
Nascimento described the stage as exceptional even by Sertões standards.
“For me, this wasn't just the hardest stage of this year's Sertões — it was the hardest of the last five years. It was extremely technical and demanded a lot from us and from the cars, but it was also great fun. Our advantage was small, so we had to push. There was no room to manage the gap. Now the strategy changes a little, but we can't lose focus. We have to make sure the car remains perfect for these final two days.”
The Production competitors completed a much shorter stage than originally planned.
A UTV became stuck in a section of fesh-fesh, and the surface conditions continued to deteriorate. With grip becoming increasingly difficult, the organisers decided to stop the Production special at the first refuelling point, around kilometre 60 of the originally planned 240-kilometre competitive section.
Brothers Felipe and Gustavo Lorenci, driving their Mitsubishi Triton ER for Promacchina Motorsport, set the fastest time.
Overall Production leaders José Carlos Cardoso and Frederico Zettel, in a Mitsubishi L200 RS, finished second and retained control of the category.
Minaçu → Niquelândia
Liaison in: 79 km
Special Stage: 319 km — Cars / Bikes / UTV
Production: 241 km originally scheduled
Liaison out: 50 km
Total: 448 km
1. Martim Ventura (POR) #84 — Honda CRF450RX Rally — Monster Energy HRC — 5h01m57s
2. Bruno Crivilin #11 — Honda CRF450RX Rally — Honda Racing Brasil — 5h05m15s
3. Adrien Metge (FRA) #10 — Yamaha WR450F — IMS Yamaha Rally — 5h08m01s
4. Guilherme Bissotto #22 — Yamaha WR450F — Txai Experience — 5h20m13s
5. Marcelo Medeiros #18 — KTM 450 Rally — Meds Racing — 5h29m20s
1. Lucas Moraes / Kaíque Bentivoglio #323 — Prototype MEM — MEM Motorsport — 5h00m54s
2. Marcelo Gastaldi / Cadu Sachs #302 — Toyota GR Hilux DKR — Baja Tek — 5h03m27s
3. Carlos Ambrósio / Luiz Poli #349 — Century CR7 — Baja Tek — 5h22m01s
4. Mauro Guedes / Humberto Ribeiro #314 — Toyota GR Hilux DKR — 5h24m18s
5. Marcos Moraes / Fábio Pedroso #308 — Prototype MEM — MEM Motorsport — 5h25m15s
1. Deni Nascimento / Gunnar Dums #103 — Can-Am Maverick R — Bompack Rally — 5h04m15s
2. Douglas Carassa / Caio Boscolo #126 — Can-Am Maverick R — Pro Tork / Araucária Florestal — 5h15m15s
3. Jean Azevedo / Idali Bosse #112 — Can-Am Maverick R — T+A Rally — 5h17m02s
4. Pedro Mac Dowell / Daniel Spolidorio #105 — Can-Am Maverick R — QI Racing — 5h17m02s
5. Francesco Franciosi / Egon Franciosi #121 — Can-Am Maverick R — Cotton Racing — 5h17m54s
1. Felipe Lorenci / Gustavo Lorenci #482 — Mitsubishi Triton ER — Promacchina Motorsport — 40m25s
2. José Carlos Cardoso / Frederico Zettel #407 — Mitsubishi L200 RS — Promacchina Motorsport — 41m55s
3. Gabriel Boff / Vitor Boff #440 — Mitsubishi TR4 ER — Mepel Cacil Rally Team — 44m05s
4. José Carlos Schorr / José Carlos Bondan Schorr #402 — Mitsubishi Triton Sport R — 44m07s
5. Fábio Cadasso / Marcos Vinícius #442 — Mitsubishi L200 ER — 46m34s
1. Bruno Crivilin #11 — Honda CRF450RX Rally — Honda Racing Brasil — 30h47m01s
2. Martim Ventura (POR) #84 — Honda CRF450RX Rally — Monster Energy HRC — +23m38s
3. Guilherme Bissotto #22 — Yamaha WR450F — Txai Experience — +1h54m20s
4. Marcelo Medeiros #18 — KTM 450 Rally — Meds Racing — +2h52m06s
5. Ricardo Martins #7 — Yamaha Ténéré 700 — IMS Yamaha — +2h58m41s
1. Lucas Moraes / Kaíque Bentivoglio — Prototype MEM — MEM Motorsport — 30h32m37s
2. Marcelo Gastaldi / Cadu Sachs #302 — Toyota GR Hilux DKR — Baja Tek — +24m43s
3. Flávio Lunardi / Fred Budtikevitz #331 — Toyota Hilux V8 IMA — Bulldog Rally — +1h30m55s
4. Fernando Possetti / Weidner Moreira #315 — Toyota Hilux V8 IMA — Promacchina — +3h08m26s
5. José Silmar / Alyson Antunes #332 — Ford Ranger V8 — Sizmic Racing — +3h11m13s
1. Deni Nascimento / Gunnar Dums #103 — Can-Am Maverick R — Bompack Rally — 30h53m11s
2. Pedro Mac Dowell / Daniel Spolidorio #105 — Can-Am Maverick R — QI Racing — +24m25s
3. Bruno Varela / Ari Fiúza #102 — Can-Am Maverick R — Monster Energy Varela Rally — +38m52s
4. Francesco Franciosi / Egon Franciosi #121 — Can-Am Maverick R — Cotton Racing — +41m12s
5. Vinícius Castro / Breno Rezende #107 — Can-Am Maverick R — RMattheis Off-Road — +1h08m42s
1. José Carlos Cardoso / Frederico Zettel #407 — Mitsubishi L200 RS — Promacchina Motorsport — 15h46m50s
2. Gabriel Boff / Vitor Boff #440 — Mitsubishi TR4 ER — Mepel Cacil Rally Team — +1h43m24s
3. Felipe Lorenci / Gustavo Lorenci #482 — Mitsubishi Triton ER — Promacchina Motorsport — +2h09m56s
4. Youssef Haddad / Vinícius Marcon #467 — Mitsubishi Triton Katana R — Mitsubishi Spinelli Racing — +2h52m36s
5. José Carlos Schorr / José Carlos Bondan Schorr #402 — Mitsubishi Triton Sport R — +4h35m24s
There will be little opportunity to recover.
Stage 7, the penultimate day of the Sertões Petrobras 2026, takes the field from Niquelândia to Goianésia over 345 kilometres, including a 279-kilometre special for Bikes, Cars and UTVs.
Production competitors will race 147 kilometres against the clock.
The terrain will once again feature narrow and winding roads together with heavily rocky sections — a particularly dangerous combination now that both competitors and machines are carrying almost a full rally's worth of fatigue.
Stage 7 – August 29
Niquelândia → Goianésia
Liaison in: 48 km
Special Stage: 279 km — Cars / Bikes / UTV
Production Special: 147 km
Liaison out: 18 km
Total: 345 km
The final stage on Sunday will take the surviving competitors from Goianésia to Goiânia, with 127 competitive kilometres standing between the leaders and victory in the 2026 Sertões Petrobras.
Victoria Kimie/Fotop/Sertões
Source: Sertoes Rally
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