Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova:  The Chronicles of an SSV Rookie

Very used to racing, our guest writer Joaquim Serrão is a man with a huge experience in cross-country rallies, mostly in the co-driver seat but also a lot driving. In fact, he is one of the proud fathers of what should be one of the most, if not the most famous team in Portugal: Tem Team Peugeot 504, that everybody knows from Fronteira 24 hours race and that had become this race's icon. 

This time our good friend got challenged by his brother-in-law to something he never experienced - Racing in an SSV.  The vehicle choice was a Can-Am, and the stage for this new adventure was Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova, where they shared the track with 80 other devils.  This had come to our knowledge, so we thought:  "What if we also challenged him to tell us about his adventure? For someone used to the comfort of the traditional 4x4, it should be quite interesting to know how it felt with his "bottom" flying dangerously close to the gravel of the road. So, here it is, in his own words how it was to enter in the amazing world of SSV racing in Portugal.

"My bother-in-law Americo Rolo invited me to race at Baja TT Idanha-a-Nova 2019 in an SSV. This was my debut in these vehicles, and on Friday prior to the race we got introduced... There it was #386 for my "world premiere". 
We did a short test on Friday afternoon to "know the beast", and on Saturday morning we raced the prologue.   We were one of the very last, starting as 78th but we did a good time, finishing in 58th. It could have been better, but we caught a slower crew and they blocked us for more than 1km..."
The prologue let us understand a little bit better this vehicle and how it is on the road.  In the afternoon we started the 160km SS1 decided to tame our lion. We finished in a very good 40th place.  On Sunday we had to race the final SS3, with only 84km and we finished 29th.  Our final result was a very decent 33rd place overall.
The car is amazing, with a very good suspension and an engine full of power that can take you over everything. Cornering is very easy, and it has something that surprisingly is far better than all the cars I know. That is the comfort, it doesn't tire us, and we don't feel most of the irregularities of the road... Top!! The biggest problem is that since the SSV in an open vehicle, dust, mud, water and even bug come from everywhere and reach places that I didn't even know that existed before...
For my driver Americo Rolo, this was a dream come true: 'It was an old dream to race an SSV, finally the opportunity came and it was a very good experience at all levels, with a lot of adrenaline, with an amazing "speed sensation" that these vehicles give and fun... lots and lots of fun. I only regret that my physical training was not the best, as it demands a lot of work especially from the arms.'
The assistance of our adventure was made by "Filipe Sport", led by the effective and professional Carlos Lopes. And this all was only possible with the support of Américo R. Rolo Construções, Lda 
And now, let’s re-start and repeat..."

The Rally-Raid Network thanks to Joaquim Serrão for sharing his adventure with our readers.