Portuguese champion on motorcycles was the fastest in the prologue
João Vale and Luís Fernandes separated by less than four seconds (quads)
Gonçalo Guerreiro beats Hélder Rodrigues by 3,3 seconds in SSV
Baja Oeste 2022 has already started. Today, May 6th, motorcycles, quads and SSVs entered the competition in this second edition of the race organized by Escuderia Castelo Branco. The pilots started exploring the tracks in the Western region in a prologue won by António Maio, on motorcycles, by João Vale, on quads, and by Gonçalo Guerreiro, on SSVs.
On two wheels, the national champion in title imposed himself at the controls of the Yamaha WR 450. The pilot from the Alentejo was the fastest over the 6.5 km of the opening course, and left Gustavo Gaudêncio (Honda), the second fastest, 4.5 seconds behind. Also on a Yamaha, Martim Ventura closed the day in third position.
João Vale, with his Yamaha YFZ 450R, managed to beat, but only gained 3.9 seconds to the second ranked, Luís Fernandes (Yamaha). In the quads, the Japanese manufacturer is revealing a great superiority. Fernando Cardoso closed in third with a machine similar to the first two. Curiously, the 11 fastest were all on Yamaha.
Tighter was the SSV confrontation. Gustavo Guerreiro was present and showed he has his eyes on victory. The young Can Am XRS pilot was the only SSV to go under the five-minute mark. He left Hélder Rodrigues, on the Can Am Maverick XRS RR, 3.3 seconds behind. Sébastien Guyenne, on the Can Am XRS, narrowly missed finishing in Rodrigues' place. But he was forced to give up that place and take third place. The difference between the two was only 0.1 seconds.
"The prologue went very well. It was very nice. A technical layout. Initially, I thought I had more traction than I actually did. I realized it was quite slippery right after the first few turns. I had a clean prologue. I wanted to win so I could get out in front tomorrow and avoid the dust. It will certainly be very dusty. This is a totally new race for me. In fact, I've only ridden very few times here in the West. I'm anxious to know what awaits me tomorrow," said the leader, António Maio.
"It's my first time in Torres Vedras. It went well. I like these curvy courses. We're going to have a lot of kilometers. It's the longest race I've ever done. We'll have to manage the pace to try to win," said João Vale.
"Apparently, it was a good prologue. I wasn't expecting to win because the terrain was quite slippery and I think I lost a lot of time in the tight corners. I think I also lost by a mistake of my own because I went with lower tire pressure. It was an important point for those who want to fight for the championship", said Gonçalo Guerreiro
Baja do Oeste continues tomorrow. The motorcycles, quads and SSV have two selective sectors ahead, while the cars start the competition with the prologue in the morning and continue with a selective sector in the afternoon. In total, bikes, quads and SSVs will cover 225 kilometers against the clock, while cars will compete over 166.5 kilometers.
Automatic translation from the original Portuguese version, available here
Source Escuderia de Castelo Branco
