- Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda) scored a double whammy in the Rally GP motorbike
- race, grabbing both the prologue and the stage. The Spaniard vaulted into the overall lead. His
- teammates Skyler Howes and Pablo Quintanilla round out the provisional podium among the
- championship entrants. A Honda hat-trick.
- Mathieu Dovèze (BAS World KTM Racing) beat Romain Dumontier (Dumontier Racing) and
Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Rally) to the line among the W2RC entrants in the Rally 2 motorbike
race. A French hat-trick. Over in Rally 3, the Amaral Bros, Gonçalo and Salvador, finished
ahead of José Flores García. - In the quad category, the championship leader, Manuel Andújar, scooped up the prologue and
the stage. The CFMoto riders Antanas Kanopkinas and Gaëtan Martinez climbed onto the
overall podium. - Guerlain Chicherit (Overdrive Racing) led the pack in the car race, inching out his teammate
Yazeed Al Rajhi and Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing). A Toyota hat-trick. - Over in the Challenger category, the W2RC front-runner, Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am Factory)
secured the top spot among those vying for the championship. The Lithuanian took over the
reins of the rally ahead of Mario Franco (Franco Sport) and Marcelo Gastaldi (BBR). - In the SSV competition, Ricardo Ramilo outgunned Yasir Seaidan (MMP) and Sebastián
Guayasamín (FN Speed) to open his W2RC account.
FLAWLESS FOR SCHAREINA
Tosha Schareina won the prologue as she did on the last Dakar. But this time, he confirmed it by doing it again in special 1. Among the six RallyGP drivers entered in the championship, he is overall ahead of his teammates Skyler Howes by 4’27’ and Pablo Quintanilla by 4’41”. Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda) received 12′ penalties for not respecting a departure time in a transfer. Both Hero MotoSports officials Sebastian Buhler and Ross Branch received penalties of 4′ and 2′ for missed way points. The three other HRC drivers did not make these errors and thus offered the Japanese brand a 100% red podium. In Rally2, the scenario was similar.
Very fast, Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing) made the same type of error as “ VBA ”, receiving a 20’ penalty. Romain Dumontier , winner of the category in 2023, received 2′ for a missed way point. It’s Mathieu Dovèze who wins the day among those entered in the championship and has a lead of 1’46” overall over ” Dudu ” and 2’23” over Jean-Loup Lepan . A 100% French W2RC podium. The Rally3s made their debut in the championship, and it was the Portuguese brothers Gonçalo and Salvador Amaral on Honda who were ahead of the Beta of José Flores Garcia. Overall, the leader has more than a quarter of an hour on his brother and more than 23′ on the Spaniard. In quads, Manuel Andujar like Tosha Schareina , won the prologue and the special. The Argentinian takes the overall lead ahead of the two Chinese CFMoto quads of Antanas Kanopnikas and Gaëtan Martinez with a lead of 2’39” over the Lithuanian and 3’51” over the Frenchman.
CHHICHERIT SETS THE PACE
Nasser Al Attiyah started the day well by setting the scratch in the prologue. But in the special, it was the short-lived duo formed by Guerlain Chicherit and Mathieu Baumel who achieved the best times from start to finish. At the finish, the French were ahead of their teammate Yazeed Al Rajhi by 28” and the official Hilux of Lucas Moraes by 48”. A Toyota hat-trick followed by Carlos Sainz ‘s Mini JCW Rally Plus . The W2RC leader is positioned 1’17” from the winner of the day. Nasser Al Attiyah ranks fifth among the drivers entered in W2RC. The Qatari is only 1’19” behind the leader, he pockets a stage point, letting one unit slip in favor of Carlos Sainz who sees his lead in the championship increase from 9 to 10 points. An almost draw between the two stars who are vying for the top of the W2RC standings.
A good operation for Chicherit who pocketed 5 points for his victory and took second place overall by one point ahead of Al Attiyah . In Challenger, overall championship leader Rokas Baciuska was the fastest of the W2RC entries. He is ahead of Mario Franco by 1’11” and Marcelo Gastaldi by 1’54”. In SSV, his counterpart Yasir Seaidan has not been as successful. The Saudi lost to Ricardo Ramilo . The Spaniard signs his first stage victory in W2RC and has a lead of 2’04” overall. Sebastian Guayasamin is 5’17” behind the leader.
The program
- April 4 : Stage 2 – Grândola – Grândola (Total: 201 km / SS: 166 km).
- April 5 : Stage 3 – Grândola – Badajoz (FIM – Total: 616 km / SS: 374 km) (FIA – Total: 747 km / SS: 388 km).
- April 6 : Stage 4 – Badajoz – Grândola (Total: 539 km / SS: 251 km).
- April 7 : Stage 5 – Grândola – Grândola (Total: 144 km / SS: 103 km).
