Final results from the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, round three of the World Rally-Raid Championship where Monster Energy Honda’s Tosha Schareina wins ahead of Hero MotoSports’ Sebastian Bühler and comeback kid, Adrien Van Beveren – Ross Branch retains championship lead.

Rally boys doing enduro

One thing has been clear this week in Portugal at the third round of the W2RC series, it’s looked a lot less like a desert! Long gone were the dunes of so many rally-raid world championship races and instead racers faced tracks and trails much more car rally-like conditions – it’s been great to watch the riders employing some enduro skills on the big bikes!

Stage five highlights are here: 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship, Portugal: Final stage 5 video highlights

Commanding the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal from the get-go and bagging stages 1 and 3, Tosha Schareina found himself in the enviable position of managing a four-minutes lead on the 105km curtain-closer around Grândola, stage five.

The Spaniard had Portuguese resident Sebastian Bühler as his closest rival heading into the final stage, with Antonio Maio claiming a stage win on a Yamaha (yes, a Yamaha, remember them?) it was a week which favoured the riders used to the sand-like dirt tracks.

AVB holds new record

Monster Energy Honda’s Adrien Van Beveren snatched the final stage victory just ahead of his winning teammate. The Frenchman was on a mission to finish in style and claw back a big time deficit form the start of the rally.

AVB did that, claimed the third spot on the podium plus becomes the record holder for the most FIM specials won in W2RC with 13 under his belt, thanks to his victory over Schareina by 15 seconds.

By taking the rally honours, Valencian Schareina joins a select club as the 10th different rider to claim a W2RC round since 2022. 

Hero’s Bühler landed second place, trailing by 4′38″, and secured his best-ever result on home soil where he moved from Germany when he was three months old. 

Third overall on the rally was that Yamaha man, Antonio Maio who clocks in 14:12 behind the winner, just 20s ahead of Van Beveren (+ 14′50″) who takes the last podium spot due to Antonio not being a registered W2RC rider. Honda’s Skyler Howes (+ 17′50″) soldiered on despite a crash for fourth in the rankings, fifth scratch.

Fifth and 20′19″ behind, Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) struggled on the non-desert terrain but the Botswanan held onto the championship lead with 61 points. As one of the few to compete round two Branch looks good at the moment ahead of Van Beveren on 40 points, Ricky Brabec third on 38 points, Pablo Quintanilla fourth on 27 points and Schareina breaking into the standings in fifth place on 25 points for his win this week.

Hero maintained their lead in the manufacturers’ table with 106 points, but Monster Energy Honda is hot on their heels, just three points adrift. With the halfway point now in the rear-view mirror, the title race is wide open on both fronts.

Brad Cox takes Rally 2

In Rally 2, Bradley Cox bagged his first W2RC win of the year, clocking in ahead of the French duo Romain Dumontier by 5′32″ and Mathieu Dovèze by 8′06″. The South African took control of the overall standings in stage three and never looked back, keeping the throttle pinned even when "Dudu" turned up the heat.

The reigning champion in the category scored a double whammy by winning stage five and going back to the top of the championship ranking, deposing Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Rally), fourth this week.

Just three points separate Dumontier (58 points), Lepan (57 points) and Cox (55 points), with Duust Rally's Konrad Dąbrowski (47 points) also within striking distance 11 points back.

New Rally 3 class swamped with Portguese

The Rally 3 class, reserved for enduro motorbikes adapted to rally raid, kicked off its 2024 campaign in Portugal. Four home-grown talents were in the mix, and three of them served up a podium for Portugal. Gonçalo Amaral produced a dominant performance to claim the rally by 9′51″ over his brother Salvador, who clinched the final stage.

After a nail-biting tussle with John Medina, Pedro Bianchi Prata nabbed third place by 14 seconds over the Chilean.

The next W2RC round is Desafío Ruta 40 in June.

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal results, Rally GP class:

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal results, Rally 2 class:

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal results, Rally 3 class:

Photo Credit: A.S.O | P. Maria