The fifth and final stage of the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal did not bring major changes in the standings, but it did confirm the dominance of this week’s key contenders. Around Loulé, a relatively short special of 101 kilometers was on the program, where the focus was mainly on clean and error free driving.
Sanders Holds off Schareina in tight battle
In the bike category, it was once again Daniel Sanders who set the pace. The Australian closed out the rally with the fastest time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 30 seconds, underlining his control over the event. Tosha Schareina followed just 10 seconds behind, while Bruno Santos impressed again with the third fastest time and as the best Rally2 rider of the day.
In the overall standings, Sanders proved to be the strongest after a week in which he and Schareina dictated the pace. The Spaniard kept the pressure on until the very end, but had to settle for second place, less than two minutes behind. Adrien Van Beveren completed the podium after a consistent rally.
It was notable that several established Dakar names struggled to perform on the Portuguese terrain. Luciano Benavides and Ricky Brabec both finished outside the podium positions and lost valuable points in the fight for the world championship.
Loeb secures victory in Cars, Moraes wins final stage
In the car category, the stage win went to Lucas Moraes, who set the fastest time in his Dacia with 1 hour, 3 minutes and 7 seconds. Nasser Al Attiyah followed just three seconds behind, ahead of João Ferreira.
Sébastien Loeb drove a controlled stage and finished fourth, which was enough to secure the overall victory. The Frenchman crowned a strong week and also took over the lead in the world championship standings.
Seth Quintero finished second in the rally, delivering a strong result for Toyota, while João Ferreira rewarded the home crowd with third place overall.
Strong performances and setbacks for Dutch competitors
From a Dutch perspective, there was plenty to report, although luck was not always on their side. In the bike category, Jeremy Knuiman delivered another solid performance. The Dutch rider set the seventeenth fastest time and finished ninth in the Rally2 category, marking a strong debut at world championship level.
Mitchel van den Brink and navigator Bart van Heun faced a difficult final day. Technical issues once again caused problems, dropping them far down the stage results to a 48th place finish. Despite these setbacks, they completed their world championship debut with a sixth place overall in the Challenger class, a result that does not fully reflect how competitive they were throughout the rally.
Paul Spierings and Mark Salomons finished the final stage in 36th position, remaining in the midfield of the strong Challenger field. Kees Koolen and Wouter Rosegaar also reached the finish, ending 37th overall in the stage in the car category.
Puck Klaassen also made her mark in the final stage. The South African with Dutch roots finished 27th overall and fifth in the Challenger class, delivering a consistent performance in a highly competitive field.
Looking ahead for Agentina
Sanders and Schareina currently appear to be in a class of their own in the bike category, while Loeb and Dacia have set a new benchmark in the cars. For the Dutch competitors, the prevailing feeling is that more was possible. The pace was there, but technical issues prevented top results. The championship now moves on to Argentina, offering new opportunities.
