Presentation at the new event of the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal All-Terrain World Championship
From April 2nd to 7th, the only stage of the All-Terrain World Championship held in Europe brings the stars of the Dakar to the trails of Alentejo, Ribatejo and Spanish Extremadura. An organization by the Automóvel Club de Portugal in a competition of cars, motorcycles and quads over more than a thousand kilometres.
The guidelines for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal are already known, a new event that marks Portugal’s debut among the elite of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), organized by the FIA and the FIM. The race with more than 1,700 kilometres of route (more than 1,000 timed) will bring the great machines and figures of the Dakar to Portugal, in a competition for cars, motorcycles and quads.
From the 2nd to the 7th of April, the Alentejo village of Grândola hosts the operational base and the Prologue of the race, made up of five stages – from Wednesday to Sunday – and which crosses the regions of Alentejo and Ribatejo, with an incursion into Spanish Extremadura and the city of Badajoz.
Dakar stars confirmed
The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal is the third event of the World Championship, which began in January, with the Dakar Rally, in Saudi Arabia, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Registration only closes on March 18th, but it is already possible to anticipate some of the big names that will be in Portugal.
In the car and SSV field, the two-time Rally-Raid world champion and five-time Dakar winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Prodrive Hunter T1+), will face strong opposition from drivers from the official Toyota team, such as Brazilian Lucas Moraes and the North American Seth Quintero, but also the Overdrive Racing drivers, such as Guerlain Chicherit, Guillaume de Mévius and Yazeed Al-Rajhi, driving the Toyota Hilux T1+. The brothers Christian and Marcos Baumgart are also named to take into account when discussing the top places, with the Brazilians lining up at the controls of two Prodrive Hunter T1+.
The Spanish Cristina Gutiérrez, brilliant winner of the Dakar in the Challenger category (ex-T3), is another name to take into account in the ‘side-by-side’ prototype race, as is the Portuguese João Ferreira, official driver of Can- Am in the SSV category (ex-T4), the Americans Austin Jones (Challenger) and Sara Price (SSV), or the Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška (Challenger), among others.
The ACP race is also eligible for the Portuguese Off-Road Championship, currently led by defending champion Tiago Reis, followed by João Ramos, both with Toyota Hilux T1+. The CPTT score is awarded at the end of Stage 2, with national competitors then able to continue in the competition, in direct competition with the best in the world.
On motorcycles, there is a lot of expectation for the clash between the official Honda teams, Sherco and Hero, which bring to Portugal two-wheel talents such as the North American Ricky Brabec (Honda), double winner of the Dakar, Ross Branch (Hero), the current World Championship leader, Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), former Cross-Country Rally World Champion, Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Honda), Adrien Van Beveren (Honda), Skyler Howes (Honda), Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) and Harith Noah ( Sherco), among others.
In direct speech
Carlos Barbosa, president of the Automóvel Club de Portugal
“It’s a difficult race to organize, there are more than 1,700 kilometres of route, with everything that involves, but with the experience and quality of our team, we managed to do it. I think the ACP will do a great job and demonstrate, once again, that we are excellent organizers. We will have all the world’s best car, motorcycle and quad drivers who were at Dakar, plus national drivers and teams from Europe who didn’t have the opportunity to go to Dakar. It will be a race with a lot of people, with great drivers and above all very interesting, because the route is completely different from what they have done to date. It’s important to take these events to the interior of Portugal, because they fill hotels, fill restaurants, attract the public… The interior needs a strong economy and events like this.”
Carina Batista, Vice-President of the Grândola City Council
“It is, at the same time, a challenge for Grândola, but a very important event for the local economy, due to the drivers and teams that will visit us, as well as a way to promote our municipality.”
Inês Rodrigues, BP Portugal
“ACP is one of BP Portugal’s main partners and we are proud to be able to support another global event. The BP Ultimate team was formed two years ago and boosts the image of our premium fuels, not only in Portugal but on the international off-road circuit.”
Santiago Amaro Barril, Junta de Extremadura
“We want to put Extremadura in the spotlight on the national and international scene. The relationship with Portugal is that of brothers, we are united by a sharing of culture, heritage and tourism. We worked on both sides of the line and for us, it is very important to take this step forward in major motorsport events as well.”
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