Rui Gonçalves was the strongest of the Portuguese riders in the first stage of Dakar 2024 on Saturday. The day was marked by the abandonment of Joaquim Rodrigues, following a fall in which he was injured.
The Hero MotoSports rider suffered the incident at kilometer 70 and could not continue, having to be transported by air to a hospital. Gonçalves (Sherco) has been the strongest of the Portuguese contingent since then, gradually recovering throughout the day: he passed in 43rd at the first intermediate timing point and finished 19th, 35m51s behind the winner, Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports). The rider from Trás-os-Montes is also 19th overall.
Further down, the Portuguese-German Sebastian Bühler (Hero MotoSports) achieved the 26th fastest time and is 22nd overall, while António Maio (Drag’on Rally Team/Yamaha) recorded the 32nd time after a recovery in the second half of the stage. The rider from Borba is 32nd overall. Veteran Mário Patrão finished with the 43rd time.
On board a Honda without assistance in Original by Motul, he was fifth in his class, occupying the same positions in the overall standings.
Among the Portuguese riders who have already finished at the time of writing this article, Bruno Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna) achieved the 46th fastest time of the day and is 44th in the Dakar classification. Alexandre Azinhais (Club Aventura Touareg/KTM) has not yet finished, being 89th at KP390, close to the area of the table he has occupied since early on.
Portuguese riders in Stage 2:
19th Rui Gonçalves (Sherco Rally Factory) – 05h31m52s (+ 35m51s)
26th Sebastian Bühler (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) – 05h38m21s (+ 42m20s)
32nd António Maio (Drag’on Rally Team/Yamaha) – 05h47m37s (+ 51m36s)
43rd Mário Patrão (Crédito Agrícola mariopatrao.com/Honda) – 06h06m37s (+ 01h10m36s)
46th Bruno Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna) – 06h12m39s (+ 01h16m38s)
Portuguese riders in the overall classification:
19th Rui Gonçalves (Sherco Rally Factory) – 05h51m35s (+ 37m40s)
22nd Sebastian Bühler (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) – 05h57m24s (+ 43m29s)
32nd António Maio (Drag’on Rally Team/Yamaha) – 06h09m41s (+ 55m46s)
43rd Mário Patrão (Crédito Agrícola mariopatrao.com/Honda) – 06h31m06s (+ 01h17m11s)
44th Bruno Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna) – 06h36m12s (+ 01h22m17s)
