The World Rally-Raid Championship will return to the Iberian Peninsula and Europe as a complete with the BP Final Rally Raid on 2–7 April. All however one of many levels will happen in Portugal, owing to the occasion primarily being organised by the Automóvel Membership de Portugal, although a leg will likely be held in neighbouring Spain.
“It’s an honour to host the BP Final Rally Raid Portugal,” stated ACP president Carlos Barbosa. “We’ve got distinctive circumstances for training cross-country rally and assure the wonderful organisation of ACP on a world organisation. Welcome to Portugal!”
Whereas a particular route and schedule will likely be revealed nearer to April, it’s anticipated to start alongside the Atlantic coast in Alentejo. The rally then heads north to Ribatejo, the centralmost province of Portugal. For the penultimate day, the rally crosses into Spain into Extremadura earlier than going again to Portugal on the ultimate leg. Every area provides differing kinds of racing resembling Alentejo’s seashores, forests of Ribatejo, and Extremadura’s rocky paths.
Grândola, positioned simply south of the Protuguese capital of Lisbon in Setúbal District, will function the race bivouac.
Revealed in June, the BP Final Rally Raid marks simply the W2RC’s second time racing in Europe after the Andalucía Rally in southern Spain concluded the inaugural season in 2022. Each nations have wealthy cross-country rally histories with among the many high home championships for the self-discipline. Extremadura at present hosts the FIA European Baja Cup’s season-opening Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura, whereas each nations are represented on each the European and World Baja Cup calendars; the latter’s Baja Portalegre 500 has raced via Alentejo and Ribatejo.
“The race, from what I heard, goes be numerous sand, not like Dakar in fact, however sandy tracks,” W2RC and Portuguese Cross-County Championship driver João Ferreira advised The Checkered Flag in October. “It will likely be tremendous enjoyable, tremendous quick as nicely and will likely be a pleasure to see all of the World Championship drivers in our personal nation and in Spain. I feel the drivers will benefit from the race.”
The race would be the third spherical of the 2024 W2RC, which begins 5 January with the Dakar Rally.
