Baja Portalegre 2019: Tiago Reis's race for 2019 Portuguese Championship title

Before last weekend's Baja Portalegre 500 2019, the decisive race for Portugal's Cross-Country Rally Championship, two drivers were fighting for the 2019 Champion title.  Alexandre Ré (VW Amarok) was leading with 85 points in front of Tiago Reis (Mitsubishi Racing Lancer) and Pedro Dias da Silva (Ford Ranger) both with 65 points.  The mathematics was favorable to Alexandre Ré, but with such a hard and long race ahead none was in a position of "relax and enjoy the ride". The rules say that one result should be dropped, and Pedro Dias da Silva already got his four results while Tiago Reis was still missing one valid result for his personal account and in a much better position to still be in contention.

To make things a bit more complicated in the fight for the title, Baja Portalegre still acts as a magnet to many drivers and this year was no exception with an incredible and long entry list, full of top cars both FIA World Cup and the Portuguese Championship. While FIA participants don't affect the Portuguese mathematics, the many "outsiders" and regular participants all want to shine at this race, and they were the real danger for drivers running for the local title.

At the start of the final stage, Alexandre Ré was only 4 seconds ahead of his rival leading in the fight for the championship. But all hopes and dreams vanished at Km80 when the gearbox of the VW Amarok failed, leaving Ré stoped and waiting to see Tiago Reis pass at full speed towards the 2019 Portuguese title.

This was Tiago Reis's second full season in the Portuguese Cross-Country Rally Championship.  The new champion is an accomplished driver with several titles in other motorsport categories. At the end of the race, he said: "I knew it will be hard, but I race for several years and I always conquered titles in the disciplines I've raced."

With all the titles delivered, the 2019 Portuguese Championship comes to an end, but the season continues, with yet one event to be raced: The 24 Hours endurance race, where most the cross-country rally championship will join again for a very particular event, that is the annual celebration of this sport both for the Portuguese and for many foreigners.

Rally-Raid Network

Baja Portalegre 500 image galery:  www.imagensdesportivas.com