The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid started this Wednesday in Alentejo, the third round of the Rally-Raid World Championship (W2RC). Tosha Schareina was the fastest in the prologue and in the first stage. At the end of the day, there are two Portuguese among the top ten.
In the prologue, the Spanish Monster Energy Honda rider completed the 4km timed in 3m29s to beat his teammate Adrien van Beveren by two seconds. Edgar Canet Ardèvol (XRaids Experience/KTM) set the third fastest time, followed by Ross Branch and Sebastian Bühler (Hero MotoSports). The top five were separated by less than ten seconds.
The first stage had 101km timed, during the afternoon. Schareina was again the fastest, this time beating Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) by a clear 4m02s. Skyler Howes (Monster Energy Honda) came next at 4m13s, with the big surprise being António Maio’s fourth time on a Yamaha. Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy Honda) completed the top five, but incurred a four-minute penalty. Bühler was sixth and, a bit further down, Bruno Santos set the eighth fastest time aboard a Husqvarna.
After the opening day, Schareina leads the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid with a 4m15s advantage over Santolino. Howes is third, Maio is in fourth, and Quintanilla is fifth ahead of Bühler, Branch, and Santos. Van Beveren is only 14th after incurring a 12-minute penalty that cost him the victory in the first stage.
