Lucas Moraes finished the first day of the European stage of the World Raid Rally Championship with a good performance, this Wednesday (03/04). The Toyota Gazoo Racing main team driver started in ninth and finished the first special on Portuguese soil in fourth place. The second and final special of the day earned third place. In terms of results, the Brazilian from the Toyota Gazoo Racing team occupies third place in the race, which has the French duo Guerlain Chicherit/Mathieu Baumel in the lead. The round, which takes place between Portugal and Spain until April 7th, is the third of the Championship.
The day began with the prologue, held in Vila de Grândola, where the base camp is also located. Alongside Spanish navigator Armand Monleon, Moraes came fifth in this practice. However, the starting order for the first special was not made with the results of the prologue and Moraes started from ninth position.
The first stop was in Santiago do Cacém. After 100 km of terrain with mud, grass and rocks, Moraes, who recorded the first Brazilian podium in the general classification in the 2023 edition of the Dakar, finished in fourth place, with 1h12min59s of timed race. The gap to leaders Guerlain Chicherit and Mathieu Baumel was 49 seconds.
The second special, a short stretch of just three km in Santiago do Cácem, guaranteed third place for the two-time Rally dos Sertões champion, who is competing in the World Cup with the support of Red Bull, Repsol, Strava, Oakley, Zapalla – in addition to having led the Brazilian tire brand SpeedMax to sponsor the Toyota team, current champion of the competition.
Good car – “The first day was a lot of fun. It’s really cool to race in Portugal, with so many people exposed to the special stages. We still have four days to go, but the first was completed with a top-3 finish among the World Championship riders. The team once again delivered the perfect car and we had fun. There’s more tomorrow”, declared the Brazilian from the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, shortly after ending the day in Portugal.
Results:
Top-5 of the 1st special out of a total of 6 – Grândola to Santiago do Cacém – 100 km
1st – Guerlain Chicherit (FRA) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) – Overdrive Racing – 1h12min10s
2nd – Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (ALE) – Overdrive Racing, +27s
3rd – Vaidotas Zala (LIT) / Paulo Fiúza (POR) – Unique Racing Team, +45s
4th – Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Armand Monleon (ESP) – Toyota Gazoo Racing, +49s
5th – Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) – X-Raid Mini JCW Team, +1min15s
Top-5 of the 2nd special stage out of a total of 6 – Santiago do Cacém – 3 km
1st – Guerlain Chicherit (FRA) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) – Overdrive Racing – 1h13min54s
2nd – Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (ALE) – Overdrive Racing, +28s
3rd – Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Armand Monleon (ESP) – Toyota Gazoo Racing, +48s
4th – Vaidotas Zala (LIT) / Paulo Fiúza (POR) – Unique Racing Team, +48s
5th – Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) – X-Raid Mini JCW Team, +1min17s
Top-5 overall after the 2nd special
1st – Guerlain Chicherit (FRA) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) – Overdrive Racing – 1h13min54s
2nd – Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (ALE) – Overdrive Racing, +28s
3rd – Lucas Moraes (BRA) / Armand Monleon (ESP) – Toyota Gazoo Racing, +48s
4th – Vaidotas Zala (LIT) / Paulo Fiúza (POR) – Unique Racing Team, +48s
5th – Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) – X-Raid Mini JCW Team, +1min17s
Test schedule:
5th special – 06/04 – Badajoz to Grândola – 270 km
6th special – 07/04 – Grândola to Grândola – 130 km
Rodolpho Siqueira / Ana Oliveira
Photos: TGR / Rally Raid
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