With sunshine and pleasant temperatures for the season, the first competitive day of the national off-road marathon is complete.
In the timed training of the 26th edition of the bp Ultimate 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira, just 1,218 seconds separated the two fastest teams, with an advantage for the French Portuguese team of Andrade Competition, Alexandre Andrade/Cédric Duple/Yann Morize/Florent Chavot. A difference that allows us to foresee an exciting duel for tomorrow’s race (Saturday), with a match scheduled for 15:00. Six hours earlier, at 09:00 in the morning, Wilson Galo will start from the “pole position” for the race reserved to SSV, which will last four hours.
For the 26th year, the village of Fronteira in Alentejo is once again decorated for the great national off-road party. A race lasting 1,440 minutes without interruption, held on a hard and selective track, with 16.41 kilometres of length, which counts on the participation of 105 teams (75 in cars and 30 in SVCs), in a squad with about 350 pilots from nine nationalities.
Portuguese-French team with the “pole position” for the 24-hour race
The fight for pole position was discussed at the second, which shows an exciting duel for the 26th edition of the bp Ultimate 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira. The Andrade Competition team, consisting of Alexandre Andrade, Cédric Duple, Yann Morize and Florent Chavot was the fastest in the session and secured first place on the starting grid. “This was our goal. To leave first place is the best way to start the race,” says Alexandre Andrade. But the French Portuguese has no doubts: “Opponents, like Laurent Poletti, are speedy. However, the plan is to walk at our own pace, without going crazy”. The goal is clear: consolidating the team’s status with more triumphs in Fronteira.
The second half was for the team of Rui Carneiro, Laurent Poletti, Ronald Basso and Claude Fournier in the MMP T3 Rally, who gave up 1,218 seconds to AC Proto. Laurent Poletti admits that the strategy for the race is well-defined. “We want to get first at the start, go very fast in the first three laps and then start managing the pace and the race,” said the Gaul.
The second MMP T3 Rally, piloted by Adrien FAVAREL, Manuel AIRES, Jeremiah WARNIA and Alexandre RÉ from Aveiro, was third best, almost half a minute away.
The top places on the starting grid were set at the beginning of the timed practice session. Cédric Duple, from Andrade Competition, was the rider chosen to record the best time of the Portuguese-French team. It took one lap to get the best time and then the team put the car in the box waiting to see what the competition would do. The two MMP T3 Rally that were placed just behind the AC Proto also rode very little, in a clear strategy of saving their mechanics. In addition, the teams know that as time goes by, the track becomes slower and it is essential to try to go as fast as possible in the early minutes.
The match for the 26th bp Ultimate 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira is scheduled for this Saturday, December 7 at 3 pm.
Cock Entry to bp Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Frontier 2024
Wilson Galo, in Can-Am Bombardier, secured the pole position for the bp Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Vila de Fronteira 2024. Luís Cidade, in Can-Am Maverick R, and Pedro Santinho Mendes, in the same car, secured second and third positions respectively on the starting grid. The race, which will last four hours, is scheduled for 9:00 tomorrow, Saturday.
At the wheel of a Can-Am Bombardier, Wilson Galo was the fastest in timed practice and secured first place for the 2024 bp Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Frontier, being the only one to need less than 9m30s to complete a lap at the Fronteira Fronteira. “It went well. We had been looking for this for a while. Fortunately, today, all the conditions were met and the result finally appeared. In a sprint race, it’s always good to start in the front. We manage more of the race. But I have big opponents by my side and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. The car is fine. He behaved well and we’ll see if it continues during the race. We’re here to try to win and we will fight for that,” said the driver.
Despite complaining that “the helmet visor fogged with ease”, Luís Cidade was the second fastest in this session, giving 11.544 seconds to Galo. The national champion, Pedro Santinho Mendes, lost 20.598 seconds to the fastest of the squad.
On a day that dawned with a cloudy sky, the pilots entered the track with the sun giving some air of its grace, finding, in the ground, very good conditions for the practice of the modality. The absence of rain in recent days made the terrain fast and with good levels of traction.
Once this final test is completed, the teams will return to the Fronteira Arena tomorrow, Saturday, for the Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Fronteira bp, with a departure scheduled for 09:00.
Schedule:
- Saturday, 7 December
09:00 – Departure from bp Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Vila de Fronteira
13:00 – Arrival of bp Ultimate 4 Hours SSV Vila de Fronteira
15:00 – Departure from bp Ultimate 24 Horas TT Vila de Fronteira - Sunday, 8 December
15:00 – Arrival of the bp Ultimate 24 Hours TT Vila de Fronteira
16:15 – Podium ceremony
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