Van Beveren takes second place on Stage 4 as Tosha edges closer to Rally de Portugal win
BP Ultimate Rally-RaidAfter an intense marathon stage yesterday that took the riders from Grandola to Badajoz, the Monster Energy Honda Team was able to withstand the pressure of the Portuguese riders in Stage 5 of the Rally Raid de Portugal.
Today again pushed the riders to the limit as they faced a 253km special stage through Spanish territory in the region of Extremadura, passing through towns such as Villafranca de los Campos and Fregenal de la Sierra. Today’s sections were more open and this meant that the top speed was the highest so far in the rally. Today’s special stage was completed in just over 2 hours and 30 minutes by the first riders. The rockier sections and less water meant that the tyres were worn more than on the other stages and brought out the driving skills of each rider.
Adrien, the standout performer today, showed his determination to take 2nd place in the stage, leading the Monster Energy Honda Team from the start. On the other hand, Skyler Howes maintained his consistency by securing 4th place on today’s stage, while Tosha managed a 5th place finish by not taking any risks today, beating direct rival Sebastian Buhler by almost 1 minute. This strategic position puts Tosha in an excellent position for tomorrow’s start, with a lead of almost 5 minutes over Buhler. Pablo suffered a heavy crash with his bike upside down and had to be stopped by Lorenzo Santolino to help him continue.
With the final stage tomorrow, Tosha is in a strong position to be crowned the Rally Raid de Portugal champion.
The final stage, which will take competitors from Grandola to Grandola with two sections, promises to be a challenge until the final kilometre of the event.
The Monster Energy Honda Team is grateful for the support of its fans along the route, and looks forward to the culmination of this exciting competition in Portugal.
Good results for most of our riders except Pablo who suffered a crash and had to finish the stage slower due to the damages.The terrain was different from the other days. Adrian has done a great stage and Tosha has been able to increase the advantage with his direct rival, Buhler.We can't relax until tomorrow when the bikes enter the closed park.
I felt very good this morning as there were tracks with more visibility and I managed to find my rhythm.I tried to catch a rider at km 140 before a dusty track, lost control of my front wheel in a corner and crashed hard. I broke the roadbook and I couldn't get back into the rhythm.
Today was enduro style, it was a lot of fun, just like the other stages.A lot of people cheering me on today and when it looked like I was getting to dangerous areas they were telling me to keep going without fear but I didn't know whether to trust them or not.
It was rockier than in Portugal, for the tyres it was a more aggressive terrain, we had less traction and I had to concentrate more on the driving which I liked.I'm happy with my performance, it was a different terrain but I'm really enjoying this Rally Portugal.
Too much fun in the first 100 kilometres with the Spanish fans. After that we had to take good care of the material because it was a stage of wear and tear for the machine.
I feel very confident and I'm looking forward to the last stage tomorrow.
Stage Round 3 BP Ultimate Rally-Raid 2024
Results Session
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | VAN BEVEREN Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 2:25:01 |
4 | SCHAREINA Tosha | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 2:26:17 |
5 | HOWES Skyler | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 2:26:32 |
17 | QUINTANILLA Pablo | 7 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | Honda | 2:35:51 |
