The focus of the Brazilian, sixth in the championship, is to recover lost points after a fire that took him out of the previous stage
In his first full campaign in the FIA World Rally Raid Championship, which until 2023 was called the Cross-Country Rally World Championship, Brazilian Lucas Moraes competes this week in the third round of the season, which takes place in the territories of Portugal and Spain. In search of important points, the Toyota Gazoo Racing team driver arrives for the European phase of the competition after retiring caused by a fire in his car at the previous round in Abu Dhabi.
“The 2024 World Rally Raid Championship has presented several surprises so far. Finishing ninth in the Dakar was not a bad result for us, but we were a little disappointed after we reached the end with a chance of another podium in that race”, commented Moraes, who recorded the first Brazilian podium in the general classification in the 2023 edition of the Dakar, which was valid as a stage of the World Rally Raid.
“We faced a fire on the third stage in Abu Dhabi, which destroyed the car and was really problematic for our championship campaign. But we’re ready for the next round. We hope to have more luck and a clean race”, concluded the two-time champion of the Rally dos Sertões, who competes in the World Championship 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.
The race – Lucas Moraes and his navigator, the Spaniard Armand Monleón, will face 1,000 km of varied terrain between Portugal and Spain, which include beaches and rugged trails. The base camp of the race will be set up in the village of Grândola, located on the Portuguese coast, about 100 km from the capital, Lisbon.
There will be five stages in the event, with six specials. The prologue to determine the starting order of the opening stage takes place on Wednesday morning. From there, the pilots will pass through the Portuguese and Spanish countryside, always returning to the central camp at the end of each day.
Moraes is currently sixth in the league table with 45 points. The lead is Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has 67. The stage of Portugal and Spain, the only one on the European continent, is the third of five scheduled in the 2024 calendar of the Rally Raid World Championship.
Race Schedule
Prologue – 03/04 – Grândola – 5 km
1st special – 03/04 – Grândola to Santiago do Cacém – 100 km
2nd special – 03/04 – Santiago do Cacém to Santiago do Cacém – 3 km
3rd special – 04/04 – Grândola to Grândola – 200 km
4th special – 05/04 – Grândola to Badajoz (Spain) – 300 km
5th special – 06/04 – Badajoz to Grândola – 270 km
6th special – 07/04 – Grândola to Grândola – 130 km