By RaceScene Publisher on Monday, 08 April 2024
Category: The Checkered Flag

2024 BP Ultimate Rally-Raid: Joao Monteiro wins SSV on home soil

João Monteiro is a two-time Portuguese Cross Country Champion, the reigning FIM European Bajas SSV champion, and was the best-finishing rookie at the Dakar Rally in January when he finished thirteenth in the Challenger class. When the World Rally-Raid Championship arrived in Portugal for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, he was more than ready to defend his home turf.

Usually a tyre manager for South Racing Can-Am, he represented the team well as he won the SSV category by leading the overall and finishing on the podium in all five stages. On his worst day in Stage #4, he made an error that caused him to lose a minute but still finished third and just a minute behind stage winner Ricardo Ramilo.

His first and second in the first two stages also earned him the T4 win on the CPTT side, held in conjunction with the W2RC. The win continues a streak of SSV race winners who are not registered for the W2RC, joining Xavier de Soultrait (Dakar Rally) and Mansour Al-Helei (Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge).

“We enter each race with the goal of winning, but when it comes to a World Championship race, everything becomes even more special,” wrote Monteiro. “I want to express my gratitude to the team for the excellent car they provided me, ready to face each stage. A huge thank you to my sponsors, whose support was essential for us to be here. To my family, who has always been by my side, and to the warmth and unconditional support of all the fans throughout these days, my sincere thanks.

“I am really happy!”

Ramilo battled with Yasir Seaidan to be the top W2RC-eligible driver. Seaidan, the points leader entering the race, won Stage #2 but retired the next day with a mechanical failure. With Rebecca Busi the next highest points-earning driver but forty-one minutes behind, Ramilo simply needed to complete the final two stages without issue to secure maximum points in the standings; not only did he achieve this, but he did so in style by winning both legs.

Although too far back to catch Monteiro for the outright win, Ramilo moves from eighth to third in the SSV standings. Sebastián Guayasamín, who also exited Stage #3 for vehicle problems but managed to continue the race, remains second and narrows the gap to Seaidan from 59 to 37 points.

SSV regulars João Ferreira and Eduard Pons opted to move up to the Ultimate class for Portugal, while Sara Price is sitting out most of the season due to a lack of funding. Price’s absence made Busi the only female driver in the class for the event, and she enjoyed her best race finish of second among W2RC registrants.

SSV overall results

FinishNumberDriverCo-DriverTeamTimeMargin
1405João Monteiro*Nuno MoraisSouth Racing Can-Am10:50:31Leader
2403Ricardo RamiloFausto MotaScuderia Ramilo11:03:50+ 13:19
3418Rui Serpa*Rui PitaSantag Racing11:14:08+ 23:37
4415Ruben Jorge Rodrigues*Rui Jorge Moreira PauloRuben Jorge Rodrigues11:37:05+ 46:34
5402Rebecca BusiSergio LafuenteOnlyFans Racing11:55:17+ 1:01:46
6413Filipe Manuel Aniceto Lopes*Fábio João Simões dos SantosFilipe Manuel Aniceto Lopes12:20:48+ 1:30:17
7414Reinaldo Varela*Felipe BianquineReinaldo Varela12:51:55+ 2:01:24
8416Vitor da Silva Moutinho*Max DelfinoVitor da Silva Moutinho13:04:14+ 2:13:43
9404Claude FournierSerge GounonClaude Fournier20:05:59+ 9:15:28
10417Adrien Choblet*Laurent MagatAdrien Choblet20:25:05+ 9:34:34
11408José Óscar Nogueira*Arcélio CoutoJosé Óscar Nogueira34:19:23+ 23:28:52
12401Sebastián GuayasamínFernando AcostaFN Speed Team34:22:48+ 23:32:17
13412José Morgado*Gonçalo MagalhãesJosé Morgado41:04:42+ 30:14:11
DNF400Yasir SeaidanMichaël MetgeRace World TeamDNFN/A
DNF406Gonçalo Guerreiro*José Sá PiresJB RacingDNFN/A
DNF407Alexander Josef Toril Boquoi*Pedro Gabriel Lopez ChavezEscudería JMP RacingDNFN/A
DNF409Miguel Toril Boquoi*Rosa Romero FontEscudería JMP RacingDNFN/A
DNF410João Paula*Nuno Mota RibeiroJoão PaulaDNFN/A
DNF411Jérémie Renou*Antoine SanchezJérémie RenouDNFN/A
* – Not competing in World Rally-Raid Championship

SSV stage winners

StageDriverTime
PrologueGonçalo Guerreiro*3:55.2
Stage #1João Monteiro*1:20:00
Stage #2Yasir Seaidan1:54:26
Stage #3João Monteiro*3:42:50
Stage #4Ricardo Ramilo2:54:50
Stage #5Ricardo Ramilo56:01

W2RC SSV standings

For readability, competitors registered for the championship who have not earned points are excluded.

Drivers’ standings

RankDriverPointsMargin
1Yasir Seaidan155Leader
2Sebastián Guayasamín118– 37
3Ricardo Ramilo92– 63
4Rebecca Busi84– 71
5Sara Price74– 81
6João Ferreira73– 82
7Cristiano de Sousa Batista52– 103
8Claude Fournier46– 109
9Enrico Gaspari45– 110
10Michele Cinotto22– 133
11Eduard Pons16– 139
12André Thewessen13– 142

Co-drivers’ standings

RankCo-DriverPointsMargin
1Fausto Mota123Leader
2Fernando Acosta118– 5
3Adrien Metge91– 32
4Sergio Lafuente84– 39
5Jeremy Gray74– 49
6Filipe Palmeiro73– 50
7Michaël Metge64– 59
8Serge Gounon46– 77
9Aku Facundo Jaton31– 92
10Maurizio Dominella22– 101
11Marc Solà Terradellas21– 102
12Jaume Betriu16– 107
13Alberto Marcon14– 109
14Dmytro Tsyro13– 110
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