There are those who, at 80 years of age, exchange the comfort of the sofa for the discomfort of a racing all-terrain car to – imagine! – To drive around on a dirt track for 24 hours without interruption. With the same objective, some make a trip of almost two weeks and more than 8,000 kilometres.
These are just two of the amazing stories from this year’s edition of the 24 Hours TT Frontier. More than a sporting event, an immense adventure that motivates and impassioned professionals and amateurs, different generations of men and women, many thousands of enthusiasts and this for more than a quarter of a century. The 26th edition of bp Ultimate 24 Horas TT Vila de Fronteira was an example, having consecrated, for the ninth time, the Portuguese-French team of the Andrade Competition.
The many respectful 80-year-olds, as well as the knowledge and experience acquired in participation in the legendary Paris-Dakar, Paris-Moscow-Beijing and Paris-Cape Town, value even more the words of Yves Morize. A successful French automotive entrepreneur who, for the umpteenth time, did not resist the challenge of the 24-hour border TT: “To me, this track is the most beautiful in the world. It is an extraordinary track, with a wide variety of curves, climbs and descents. Breathtaking landscapes, with variations of colour and light make the atmosphere magical. The organization is perfect, it does an amazing job without flaws. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the audience is spectacular”.
But the appeal and irresistible challenge of Fronteira is also explained in numbers. For several years, a team has travelled more than 8,000 kilometres just to compete in the 24-hour Frontier TT. A trip of almost two weeks, between Latvia and the village of Alto Alentejo and vice versa, just to participate “in the best race we have done so far”, is worth highlighting one of its responsibilities. And in the curriculum of this Latvian training are several participations in the Dakar.
Even in “only” 1,440 minutes it would be impossible to tell the many incredible stories lived by those who have already had the privilege of participating in the 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira, an organization of the Automóvel Club de Portugal. A test in which there are no vanquished or defeated. Everyone, without exception, just by accepting the challenge are winner, although some are happier than others to fulfil the goal of seeing the checkered flag.
Francophone teams confirm favouritism
For the ninth time in the history of the 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira, the Andrade Competition team has climbed to the highest place on the podium, through the Portuguese-French Alexandre Andrade and the French Cédric Duple, Yann Morize and Florent Charvot. A quartet that combined speed with consistency, despite not having had an uneventful race in the M.M.C. Proto Nissan. “Another victory. It’s always the same feeling. I’m very happy for the whole team. Cedric did a top job. Throughout the race, we had several mechanical problems. The engine is not working well. The alternator also failed and we had problems with the gasoline. It’s a very difficult win, but we are here. Winning in Fronteira is always very special. It’s my father’s land” said Alexandre Andrade, who did not hide the emotion and ended the statements with a blocked voice.
The second place was taken by the French: Louis Lauilhé, Pierre Lauilhé and Lucas Lambert. This was the fourth podium won by the formation. “We are very happy, we came with a great friend in honour of my father. This result is beautiful! I want to thank everyone who helped us in this adventure. Doing all this and ending with this result is magical, but our main goal was to have fun and we also managed. Regarding the car, it was not perfect, but the only problem we felt was related to the clutch and the steering,” explained Louis Lauilhe, the driver who saw the chess flag.
The Latvian team of drivers Igors Skoks, Rudolfs Skoks and Arvis Pikis took third place in a Mitsubishi Pajero, and this was their fourth time on the podium at Fronteira. “The race was not easy, so this third place is an excellent result. The car was very good and we were able to be consistent. But we also had problems with the grip and the engine. The track was amazing this year. It was much better than last year. It was a lot of fun,” said Rudolfs Skoks.
In fourth place and with the victory in the Challenger category ended the first 100% Portuguese team, consisting of Filipe Marques/ Ricardo Martins/ André Serrano/ Gonçalo Oliveira, at the command of a Can-Am. An unexpected result, since it was inherited precisely in the last turn. “First of all, I want to give a hug to the team of Amândio [Alves], who led the last lap. They were better than us and I do not want to hug them. But of course, I am very proud of my team and what we have built over the years to reinforce the culture of the Momsteel company. This is the off-road party and we are very proud to participate in it”, said Filipe Marques.
The training: Marco Martins/Marco Marques/José Martins (Nissan Proto), Jorge Cardoso/Alexandre Cardoso/Marco Cardoso (Can-Am), Denis Olivet/Patrice Couillet/Pierre Couillet/Fernando Malatesta/Fernando Ferrand (Can-Am), Jérome Destringuez/Charles Roches/Hervé Crevecoeur/Benoit Pepe (Can-Am), Sébastien Guyette, Stephane Gilissen/Killian Gilissen/Alexandre Beaujon (Can-Am) and Gaston Hanot/Maxime Hanot/Mathéo Hanot closed the group of the top ten overall.
Reference, also, for the successes, in their respective classes, of the teams João Lourenço/Américo Santos/Carina de Castro/Igor Santos (Stock), Tony Salvatore/Patrick Martin/Pascal Genty/Jerôme Naquar (SSV), Johannes Senders/Stijn Van Erp/Marcelo Paulino/Sjoerd de Bij (Promotion C), Diogo Rogério/André Luís/Luis Ferreira/Bruno Custódio/Lucas Subtil (Promotion A) and Joaquim Serrão/Luis Silva/Diogo Silva/Luis Lino/João Pinheiro (Promotion B), the latter behind the wheel of the famous Peugeot 504.
SSV also gave the show
It is recalled that on the eve (Saturday), the bp Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Vila de Fronteira opened the program of the great national off-road party, with the competitive SSV to provide an excellent spectacle to the many thousands of spectators spread in the 16,4 kilometres of runway extension. Luís Cidade’s victory, a return to the highest place on the podium after his triumph in 2019. “I had a good race. I always like coming to Fronteira. I like the track and the terrain was spectacular”, said the young driver of Can-Am Off-Road Portugal.
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