The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal will see the return of Carlos Sainz who will be behind the wheel of a Mini JCW Rally Plus from the X-Raid team run by Sven Quandt, who was in charge of the Audi Sport programme at the last Dakar. The 2024 Dakar winner is intent on defending his lead in the W2RC drivers’ classification.
Toyota (108 pts) dominates the manufacturer standings ahead of Nasser Racing by Prodrive (76 pts). While the Japanese brand is ahead of its British counterpart in the drivers’ classification, double reigning world champion (67 pts) is close behind Sainz (76 pts).
After retiring from the Dakar, Nasser Al Attiyah won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, narrowing the gap to the Spaniard to nine points.
Incidents in the Abu Dhabi dunes by Guillaume de Mevius and Guerlain Chicherit forced the Overdrive Racing teammates to retire from the second round.
The stage points earned before their retirement, added to their remarkable second and third-place finishes behind Sainz in the Dakar W2RC classification, put them just behind the Qatari. The Frenchman is third overall (64 pts) and the Belgian fourth (62 pts). Only five points separate Nasser Al Attiyah’s second place from Guillaume de Mevius’ fourth.
After two rounds, the provisional top four are all within 14 points. The Ultimate category has never been so tight heading into the second half of the championship since the creation of the W2RC.
Yazeed Al Rajhi, second on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will be at home on the WRC-type tracks. The Saudi, fifth overall (51 pts).
The three new TGR recruits, Lucas Moraes, Seth Quintero and Saood Variawa, will also be in the mix, as will Overdrive Racing regulars Denis Krotov, Juan Cruz Yacopini, Eugenio Amos, Lionel Baud, and female racer Aliyyah Koloc (Buggyra ZM Racing).
Under the Prodrive banner, the Marcos brothers and Cristian Baumgart (X-Rally Motorsport) will again be present, with the Brazilians’ performances reinforcing those of Nasser Al Attiyah for the Prodrive brand.
