Rokas Baciuška Back in the Buggy – Starts in the Third World Championship Stage in Portugal

On Wednesday, many Dakar Rally stars began their battle in the "BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal." Among them was Rokas Baciuška, the three-time Bedouin trophy winner, aiming to maintain his lead in the World Championship's Challenger class.

Arriving in Portugal on the second day of Easter, the racer immediately began fitting into his Can-Am buggy, testing it on extremely wet tracks. Yesterday, the team successfully passed administrative and technical inspections.

"It will be an exciting battle – wet and with lots of spectators. Keep your fingers crossed, and we’ll push the throttle," R. Baciuška said, showing his motivation before the official event opening ceremony.

This year, Grândola became the operations base for the third event in the W2RC calendar. Organizers promise a unique European version of the Dakar, with Mediterranean landscapes replacing the endless dunes of Saudi Arabia. The rally will last for five days.

On Tuesday, there were 169 registered teams from 30 countries on the participants list. Today, all the racing elite lined up at the start of the impressive 3.53 km prologue. Rokas, along with co-driver Oriol Vidal Montijano, completed this short segment in 3 minutes and 48 seconds, finishing in fourth place. The crew will still face the first special stage, composed of two parts, later this afternoon.

The results of the qualifying test (prologue) determined the starting order for the two sections on Wednesday afternoon: the first begins and ends in Santiago do Cacém, while the second starts in Santiago do Cacém and finishes in Grândola. In this section, the racers will tackle a 100 km sandy track, styled after the rally raids held on other continents. However, this is just the first of five challenging stages in the Portugal Rally, with a total route exceeding 1800 kilometers, of which more than 1000 kilometers will be timed.

The event will take place across the municipalities of Grândola, Santiago do Cacém, Abrantes, Alcácer do Sal, Almeirim, Chamusca, Coruche, Mação, Ponte de Sor, Salvaterra de Magos, Sines, and Badajoz.