– Garces and Yacopini head Overdrive Racing’s finishers in Lisbon
Toyota Gazoo Racing retained the Manufacturers’ Championship in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) in emphatic style with Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleón and Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings finishing first and second overall in the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal.
The Brazilian and the South African were separated by just 53 seconds after six days of racing on challenging tracks across central Portugal and the Extremadura region of Spain. The success was Moraes’s first in the W2RC.
The delighted Brazilian said: « It was very tough, but I am happy for the team to deliver a 1-2. The team deserves it. The car performed really well. »
Runner-up Lategan added: « It has been a really interesting week and we had some great battles and ups and downs. The stages were amazing and the areas we were in were really beautiful. We had a lot of spectators all around the stages. It’s not exactly the result we wanted. We had some issues on day two with a problem with one drive shaft and then we broke another one and had some punctures. But, to come away with second, and points for the W2RC is not bad. »
The result now leaves Lategan trailing leader Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah by just nine points in the W2RC Drivers’ Championship with Moraes one point further behind in third.
In addition to supplying support to Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC, Overdrive Racing also ran four Toyota Hiluxes on the penultimate round of the championship. After a drama-filled event, where the challenging terrain took its toll on the field, the Chilean duo of Hernan Garces and Juan Pablo Latrach came home in 20th in their Toyota Hilux.
Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dani Oliveras ran strongly on several stages but sustained an early accident and then left the road again on the penultimate test, lost well over an hour and a half and eventually reached the finish at the iconic Casa Cadaval in Lisbon in 35th.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk had returned to active competition at the recent Baja TT Sharish in Portugal after a five-month lay-off recovering from back injuries sustained in Jordan in April.
Their goal is to be fighting fit to begin the defence of their Dakar title in January. The crew were running inside the top eight when they left the road on stage two and incurred massive time penalties as a result. A fightback through the field saw Al-Rajhi finish 46th and he now holds fifth in the W2RC Drivers’ Championship.
Akira Miura and Jean-Michel Polato incurred a maximum time penalty on the penultimate special. They set some positive times earlier in the week.
Moraes and Lategan finished fourth and sixth on the opening Prologue and opted to start the first special stage around Grândola from fifth and ninth positions. Yacopini and Al-Rajhi finished the Prologue in 12th and 17th with Quintero in 18th and Miura in 36th.
Lategan used his starting position to maximum effect and the South African set the quickest time through the opening 297.15km stage. He beat team-mate Moraes by 1min 51sec. Al-Rajhi was a solid fifth, Yacopini held seventh, Garces was 30th and Miura was 32nd.
Lategan duly claimed his fourth W2RC stage win. He said: “The stage was extremely demanding. I had a good day, drove clean and really enjoyed handling the car. I’m really enjoying competing in this rally here in Europe.”
Early-stage front-runner Seth Quintero was down in 53rd after losing over 1hr 40min replacing a broken brake disc after 84km.
Stage two ran for 429.85km with the first two sections in Portugal, near Ponte de Sor and Mação, and the latter sections taking place across the border in Spain en route to the night halt in Badajoz.
Moraes lost time with a flat tyre but it was a disappointing day for Overdrive Racing: Al-Rajhi rolled and retired and Yacopini left the road. Quintero, Moraes and Lategan completed the day’s route in fourth, fifth and eighth with Moraes and Lategan staying in overall contention in third and fifth overall.
Yacopini slipped to 21st, Garces held 31st but Miura incurred a stage penalty for failing to finish the special. Miura said: “At the 130km point, I misjudged a corner and fell and rolled over.”
The third stage looped through the remote Spanish countryside for 308.26km before returning to the overnight halt in Badajoz. A fire after 161km caused a pause in the competitive action but Lategan, Moraes, Quintero and Al-Rajhi went on to finish the amended special in second, third, fourth and fifth places. An accident for João Ferreira enabled Moraes to lead overnight by 57 seconds from Lategan.
« It was a proper stage, » said Moraes. « The organisation is throwing some hard stuff at us. We knew the pace was good, but there were so many rocks in narrow places and concrete bridges. It was so easy to throw everything away. We passed João. He had an issue with a wheel and somehow the car was on fire on the side of the road. »
The fourth and penultimate stage ran for 274.49km between Badajoz and the night halt in Lisbon taking in terrain in the Extremadura area of Spain and the Alentejo region of Portugal. Lategan and Moraes became embroiled in their own battle for seconds and the third and fourth quickest times meant Lategan trimmed the Brazilian’s overall lead to just 34 seconds heading into the final day. Al-Rajhi came home in eighth on the day but Yacopini left the road and dropped time.
A short stage of 103.59km rounded off the action through the municipalities of Coruche and Salvaterra de Magos before the finish in Lisbon. Moraes managed to stay ahead of Lategan to secure the best result of his career and Lategan’s second place confirmed the W2RC Manufacturers’ title yet again for Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The final round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship takes place in Morocco on October 10th-17th.
2025 BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal – result
1. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Armand Monleón (ESP) Toyota Hilux Evo, 12hr 13min 05sec*
2. Henk Lategan (RSA)/Brett Cummings (RSA) Toyota Hilux Evo, 12hr 13min 58sec*
3. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA) Dacia Sandrider, 12hr 23min 10sec*
4. Cristian Baumgart (BRA)/Luis Felipe Eckel (BRA) Toyota Hilux Evo, 12hr 30min 48sec
5. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL) Dacia Sandrider, 12hr 37min 18sec*
6. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR)/Bruno Jacomy (ARG) Taurus Evo Max, 12hr 37min 38sec*
7. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiúza (POR) Toyota Hilux Evo, 12hr 39min 26sec
8. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP) Dacia Sandrider, 12hr 39min 35sec*
9. Marek Goczal (POL)/Maciej Marton (POL) Toyota Hilux Evo, 12hr 43min 42sec*
10. Charles Munster (LUX)/José Sebastian Cesana (ARG) Taurus T3 Max, 12hr 55min 26sec
11. João Dias (POR)/Rui Pita (POR) Polaris RZR Pro R, 12hr 56min 28sec
12. Pim Klaassen (NED)/Mark Laan (NED) Taurus T3 Max,, 12hr 57min 25sec*
13. Jourdan Serderidis (GRE)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Ford Raptor T1+, 12hr 57min 28sec
14. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Carlos Sachs (BRA) Taurus T3 Max, 13hr 05min 35sec*
15. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) Mini JCW Rally 3.0D, 13hr 07min 09sec
16. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG)/Valentia Pertegarini (ARG) Taurus T3 Max, 13hr 12min 38sec*
17. Alexandre Pinto (POR)/Bernardo Oliveira (POR) Polaris RZR Pro R, 13hr 14min 54sec*
18. Rúben Rodrigues (POR)/Rui Paulo (POR) Can-Am Maverick R, 13hr 24min 50sec
19. Paulo Rodrigues (POR)/João Miranda (POR) Can-Am Maverick R, 13hr 34min 40sec
20. Hernan Garces (CHL)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHL) Toyota Hilux Evo, 13hr 38min 11sec
27. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA) Toyota Hilux Evo, 14hr 25min 29sec*
35. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Evo, 15hr 10min 26sec*
46. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (GER) Toyota Hilux Evo, 37hr 00min 44sec*
*denotes registered for W2RC