Info: Automatic translation
The countdown to Baja TT Montes Alentejanos 2022 has started. This event is organized by CPKA - Clube de Promoção de Karting e Automobilismo, which starts on the 18th of February in Beja.
The Baja TT Montes Alentejanos will be the first racey of this 2022 season of the National Cross-Country and will have again the Fair and Exhibition Park of Beja as the general headquarters of the competition. The competition will start on Friday, the 18th, with the document and technical checks and that evening, the starting ceremony will take place and will include a parade to introduce the participants.
It is worth noting that the assistance park this year will debut in a new and larger space, next to the Fernando Mamede Sports Complex, where competitors will benefit from better conditions.
In terms of sports, the race will start on Saturday morning with the dispute of a prologue with 5.56 km timed. Also on Saturday, a Selective Sector will be held with 154.83 km and on Sunday the pilots will run the same course. In total 315.45 km will be covered on the clock.
This year, as in previous editions, the panel of registered pilots is very diverse and with a quality and quantity of machines never seen before, confirming that Portugal is the world's best national off-road championship. With the number of participants approaching 170 registered, an excellent competition in all categories is assured.
At this moment, the participation of the main pilots and teams who usually compete in the Portuguese Cross-Country Rally Championship (FPAK - auto and FIA T3 and FIA T4) and the National Cross-Country Championship (FMP - motos, quads and ssv) is confirmed, with the highlight being the national champions of the last season.
In the car competition, champion Tiago Reis' main opponents will be not only the usual names - João Ramos, Alejandro Martins, André Amaral, Nuno Madeira, Alexandre Franco, Pedro Grancha, but also some newcomers, including young João Ferreira, who debuts a Mini Jonh Cooper Works Rally, Brazilian drivers Cristian and Marcus Baumgart, with two Toyotas Hilux Overdrive, as well as the Spaniards Luis Recuenco in a Mini JCW Rally and Javier Rivera with a GPR 22, and in this fantastic group of pilots we can also count on David Spranger, João Dias, Francisco Guedes and Alexandre Pinto in Can-Am and also Rui Madeira who, driving a Can-Am from JB Racing, makes his debut in the Portuguese Cross-Country Championship.
In SSV, the champion Roberto Borrego will have as main opponents João Monteiro, Gonçalo Guerreiro, Nelson Caxias, Luís Cidade, Sebastian Guyette, Filipe Cameirinha, Nuno Fontes, Pedro Santinho Mendes and Hélder Rodrigues among many others who fight for the best places in the general classification by second!
On the bikes Gustavo Gaudêncio, Daniel Jordão and Martim Ventura are the strongest opponents to the champion António Maio.
In Quad racing, the only discipline where the champion will not defend his title, the biggest highlight is the large number of participants, which almost doubled compared to last year.
Those responsible for the CPKA are preparing for this year a race with some limitations imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic, but they believe it will be a very well disputed race: "Seeing that with the enormous quality and quantity of pilots and machines that will be at the start of the first race of the best Cross-Country Championship of Portugal ever... the expectation is huge, not only for the public, but also for the pilots who are eager to start competing in the fast tracks of Baixo Alentejo", said Humberto Silva president of the CPKA.
Registration for the race closes on February 11.
Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version available here
Source CPKA official press release
Photo: Rally-Raid Network
