The Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally 2 team enjoyed the perfect start to the Desafío Ruta 40, securing a commanding one-two finish on the opening prologue with Martim Ventura leading teammate Preston Campbell in San Juan, Argentina.
Making their debut appearances at Desafío Ruta 40, the Honda Rally 2 riders wasted no time adapting to the demands of the World Rally-Raid Championship event. The rally began with a short but technical 9km prologue held just after lunchtime on the gravel tracks surrounding San Juan.
Ventura delivered an outstanding ride aboard his Honda CRF450RX RALLY, completing the stage in just over five minutes to set the fastest Rally 2 time. Competing in Argentina for the first time, the Portuguese rider’s performance provided an ideal confidence boost ahead of the remaining five days of racing. His impressive pace also placed him fourth overall, ahead of several Rally GP competitors.
The result marked Honda’s tenth Rally 2 victory in the World Rally-Raid Championship, with Ventura responsible for half of those wins.
Teammate Preston Campbell also impressed on his Desafío Ruta 40 debut, particularly enjoying the riverbed sections as he secured second place in Rally 2, just 14 seconds behind Ventura. The American also broke into the overall top ten with ninth place.
New team recruit Bruno Crivilin started to gain experience in his first-ever rally-raid event, finishing seventh in the Rally 2 category as he got to grips with the terrain.
Stage one promises a very different challenge, with the region’s dunes set to test the riders’ sand-riding abilities. Competitors will tackle a demanding 511km route around San Juan, including 340km of timed special stage action, as the battle starts among the 50 riders entered in the Rally 2 category.
Ruben Faria - General Manager
It was a great day for Rally 2. Martim finished first in Rally 2 and 4th overall; he set a very fast pace. Preston finished 2nd, marking a strong start for him on a course he really enjoys.
Bruno finished seventh in Rally 2 in his first rally outside Brazil. He didn’t have a good starting position and had several riders in front of him that obstructed his visibility, but that’s not a problem. It’s the start of the adventure for him and he had a good prologue.
Tomorrow is the first stage - a stage that’s going to be long, like the old Dakar stages, with all kinds of terrain.
Bruno Crivilin 69 - Prologue: 7th
It was really nice riding in the river and then back on the WRC-style roads, but I caught up to two riders ahead of me and I didn’t see them. The bike is working so good, so let’s go for the big race tomorrow.
Martim Ventura 84 - Prologue: 1st
I’m super happy, my last prologues haven’t been good to me so I tried training a bit after Portugal on my rhythm. I feel good, the race starts tomorrow and I have a good starting position, so I will try to stay with the riders up front and have fun in Argentina.
Preston Campbell 85 - Prologue: 2nd
The prologue was good, I feel super comfortable on the terrain, it was up the rio (river), down the road, which feels like at home so I’m super happy. I’m excited to get the week started. It was super fast, pretty much straight up one rio and then flip around 180 back down the road. So full gas the whole time.
Source: Monster Energy Honda HRC
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