The fourth stage of the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal further intensified the overall standings. On the route from Badajoz to Loulé, competitors faced a long and treacherous special where rhythm, consistent pace and mistake free driving made the difference. In several categories, the outcome was not only decided at the finish line, but especially in the classification heading into the final day.
Schareina wins, Sanders keeps the lead
In the bike category, Tosha Schareina claimed the stage victory after a strong and controlled ride. The Spaniard needed to win to stay in contention for overall victory and delivered exactly that. He finished more than a minute ahead of Daniel Sanders, but the Australian limited the damage and remains leader in the general standings with an advantage of 1 minute and 46 seconds.
Adrien Van Beveren finished in third place and remains firmly in the fight for a podium position. The gaps are small and the final stage promises a direct battle between Sanders and Schareina.
In Rally2, the situation also changed. Bruno Santos seemed on course for another win but made an early mistake in the stage. As a result, the stage victory went to Martim Ventura, with Micael Simão finishing second. Santos does retain the lead in his class.
Dutch rider Jeremy Knuiman once again delivered a strong performance. He finished twelfth overall and sixth in Rally2, holding his own among the experienced names in the field.
Ferreira takes another win in the cars
In the car category, João Ferreira once again impressed on home soil. The Portuguese driver secured his second stage victory of the week, narrowly beating Sébastien Loeb. Guy Botterill and Seth Quintero followed closely behind.
Although Loeb missed out on the stage win, he made excellent progress in the standings. The Frenchman extended his lead and now holds an advantage of 2 minutes and 30 seconds over Quintero and nearly four minutes over Lucas Moraes.
Ferreira moves up to third place overall and firmly joins the fight for a podium finish. The gaps between third and fifth place are small, setting up an exciting finale.
In the Challenger category, Alexandre Pinto once again took the win, securing his third consecutive stage victory and strengthening his lead in the standings.
Dutch competitors in the midfield
For the Dutch competitors, it was a challenging day. Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun again faced technical issues and lost significant time. The duo finished 45th overall and tenth in the Challenger class. Paul Spierings and Mark Salomons came in 29th overall and sixth in the Challenger category. Puck Klaassen also had a solid day, finishing 32nd overall and seventh in the Challenger class together with navigator Augusto Sanz.
Kees Koolen and Wouter Rosegaar completed the stage in 31st place overall in the Ultimate class with their Ford.
Title fight wide open heading into final day
With one stage remaining, the battle in several categories is still completely open. In the bike category, Sanders appears to have the best position, but Schareina is close behind and has already shown he can strike. In the car category, Loeb holds a firm lead, but the gaps are small enough for any mistake to be costly. The fight for the podium is also still wide open.
The final stage around Loulé is shorter, but tricky. With mixed surfaces and potentially deceptive conditions, anything can still happen. As often in rally raid, the final day is likely to be decisive.
