The opening day of the 40th Baja Portalegre 500 belonged entirely to the home drivers. João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro were by far the fastest on the first selective section of 70.99 kilometres in their Toyota Hilux Evo. Luís Cidade (Can-Am) took second, while Ricardo Porém finished third in the Taurus Evo Max of Dutch outfit Daklapack Rallysport. In fact, the entire top six is Portuguese. Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun were the best Dutch crew in seventh.
Ferreira in a league of his own
The prologue at Herdade das Coutadas does not count towards the overall classification, but determines the starting order for the first stage. The ten fastest crews also get to choose their own starting position. Ferreira laid down a marker there straight away with the fastest time, 7.8 seconds ahead of Porém.
On the stage between Ponte de Sor and Crato, the three-time Portalegre winner once again left everyone behind. Cidade, who leads the Portuguese championship and finished second in Portalegre last year, came closest but still conceded 25.3 seconds. Porém followed 54.6 seconds back. That puts him on course for a fifth Portalegre victory, which would equal the record held by Filipe Campos. Reigning champion Gonçalo Guerreiro (Polaris), Francisco Barreto and João Ramos (both Toyota) completed the all-Portuguese top six. Luis Recuenco, fourth in the prologue, lost almost seven minutes and dropped to 51st.
Van den Brink ahead of Akeel
Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun put in a strong run and finished 1m29.6s behind Ferreira. Only Porém was faster in the Challenger class. As the Dutch duo is the only Challenger crew registered for the World Baja Cup in Portugal, they are in a good position there. Van den Brink also gained ground in the overall World Cup standings. Dania Akeel, who holds a three-point lead over him, finished eleventh, 1m14.8s behind the Dutch pair.
Bad luck for Hosås, opportunities for Van Loon
Norway’s Hedda Hosås suffered technical problems in the prologue and already lost more than a quarter of an hour there. The issues resurfaced on the first stage, leaving her and her Can-Am without a time. Thanks to the Super Rally rule she can restart on Saturday, but with a notional time of two and a half hours, a good result is out of reach. That opens the door for Erik van Loon and Tomasz Białkowski, who sit behind Hosås in the SSV class of the World Cup. Van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar were 26th on the stage, 52.4 seconds quicker than Białkowski. Saturday will be a crucial day for Van Loon, who is determined to take home as many points as possible.
Mixed results for the Dutch
Ronald van Loon and Erik Lemmen set a fine 22nd time in their Toyota Hilux Evo, 3m50.9s behind Ferreira. In the national classes, it was close between Johan and Yvet Senders (Toyota) and Herman Jasper and Mark Laan (Red-Lined VK50). They finished 43rd and 44th, separated by just 3.1 seconds. Richard Timmerman and Lucas van Geest (Toyota Hilux) were 53rd, Jenne Jasper and Pedro Santos (Bowler Nemesis) 59th.
Further down the order, Kala Senders and Debbie van den Langenberg (Nissan Navara) finished 76th and Jan van Miltenburg and Sicco de Vries (Red-Lined VK50) 78th. Bert Mourik and Evert Boersma had a difficult day and finished 81st, more than 22 minutes down, just ahead of Willem Zeelen and Bastian Voogd (Toyota Land Cruiser). Tonnie van der Hoeven and Lars Bernaards did not reach the finish of the stage, but can restart on Saturday under the Super Rally rule.
European battle decided by tenths
In the Challenger class of the European Baja Cup, Dinis Rogeira was just 0.3 seconds faster than series leader Marek Kubiczek. Among the SSVs, Rúben Rodrigues was 36.7 seconds quicker than team-mate Paulo Rodrigues.
Saturday is decision day
Saturday brings the real test with two long stages of 172.08 and 186.18 kilometres. The first car leaves the service park at NERPOR at 6:15 am.
