2022 Baja de Loulé: Excitement until the end at Baja de Loulé

Tiago Reis/Valter Cardoso wins in the Algarve

Taking place in the Caldeirão Mountain, Baja de Loulé gathered the Portuguese competitors for the final race before the summer break.
Baja de Loulé 2022 started on Saturday morning with a 5.4-kilometer prologue, set around the Algarve Football stadium, which also hosted the Operational Centre and the Assistance Park. The "main event" took place on a special stage nearing 159km that was raced twice over the two days of the competition, totaling about 300 kilometers against the clock, including also a 40-kilometer section that has not been used for many years.

On the first day, João Ramos was soon out of the race due to gearbox problems in his Toyota Hilux, while Alexandre Ré, last year's winner in this race, also retired due to brake problems in his Can-Am. The fight was mainly between the Toyota of Tiago Reis and Cristian Baumgart, the Mini of João Ferreira, and the Can-Am of Pedro Carvalho, with the latter finishing between the two Toyotas of Team Transfradelos. The race was also marked by the accident of the Nuno Madeira/Filipe Serra duo, which required medical intervention and evacuation to the hospital. The Ford Ranger ended in a complicated position, blocking the road, which lead the organizer to stop and neutralize the stage and send all the competitors that were behind the SGS Car team in liaison to the Algarve Stadium.

On the second day, there was a great fight between Tiago Reis, João Ferreira, and Pedro Carvalho for the lead. The young Mini driver lead the race during most of the selective sector, but in the final part, two punctures in the rear wheels allowed Tiago Reis/Valter Cardoso to overtake him to achieve their first triumph in Algarve. João Ferreira/David Monteiro finished second, followed by João Dias/João Filipe, who were the fastest in the final stage and also managed to grab the first place in group T3. Highlight also the winners in groups T2 (João Franco/Pedro Inácio), T4 (Alexandre Pinto/Fausto Mota), and T8 (Michael Braun/Ivo Santos).

The Loulé Baja 2022 was organized by Clube Automóvel do Algarve, under the aegis of the Portuguese Car and Karting Federation and the Motorcycling Federation of Portugal, with the support of the Loulé, Tavira, and Alcoutim municipalities and the active collaboration of the Parish Councils of Salir, Ameixial, Martim Longo and Cachopo, as well as our partner Medronhito do Caldeirão.

You can consult all the information about the race at www.clubeautomovelalgarve.pt

Info: Automatic translation 
Source: Clube Automovel do Algarve