Honda HRC riders dig deep on Rally-Raid Portugal’s most demanding stage
Today marked the biggest challenge yet on Rally-Raid Portugal for the Honda HRC Rally 2 pairing of Preston Campbell and Martim Ventura, as they tackled a gruelling 656 km stage, leaving the Grândola bivouac just after 4 a.m.
With three timed specials separated by two road transfers, the riders faced a mix of terrain on their journey into Spain. Sandy tracks came first, followed by winding mountain sections, before giving way to rural Spanish tracks en route to the Badajoz bivouac.
Preston Campbell, adapting from his usual desert terrain to Portugal’s gravel and asphalt, rode a solid stage, staying in touch with the frontrunners throughout. A late push in the final timed section saw him finish fourth, just under five minutes behind stage winner Edgar Canet. Currently fourth overall, Preston will aim to claw back time tomorrow to secure a spot on the provisional podium.
Martim Ventura was determined to shake off yesterday’s disappointment and climb the standings. Despite a few small mistakes in the dusty conditions, he ended the stage in seventh. Although he sits 13th overall and out of podium contention, Martim will look to regain as much time as possible while gaining valuable experience on the Honda CRF450 RX RALLY.
With the longest day behind them, the Honda HRC riders will rest up before tackling Stage 3 – a 512 km loop, including 308 km of timed specials, taking them east through the picturesque towns of Don Benito and Villafranca de los Barros, also known as the Music Town, before returning to Badajoz.
Preston Campbell 85
It was good today, although it was long. We’re in Spain now and the terrain changed quite a bit once we got here, it was more open, even slippier, so today I just focused on riding smooth and riding up a gear. It worked for me, better than yesterday and I could ride smoother and make less mistakes. The navigation here is close and every note is a waypoint so things are happening quick, it’s not too tricky but there’s a lot of notes to look at.
Martim Ventura 84
The second stage felt good, I knew it was going to be a dusty day from the beginning - it was dust, dust, dust, dust, but then I made mistakes on my own, I crashed, I went into a hole in some difficult sections, then other riders passed me. It was kind of difficult to concentrate on the navigation and stuff because of so much dust, I couldn’t see the track. I knew it would be like that, but I have managed to move up the standings, so tomorrow I will ride a bit more with the front guys and step by step, we’ll be up front.
