- With 10 days to go before scrutineering for the 3rd edition of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal organised by the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), the second round of the 2026 calendar will take place from March 17 to 22, covering 2,175 km including 1,320 km of special stages between Grândola and Loulé.
- Published yesterday evening, the entry list reveals 117 vehicles including 97 registered for the championship (82%). Among the 66 FIA crews, 43 are entered in the W2RC (65%). All 51 FIM bikes and quads are competing in the championship.
- In Ultimate cars, Dacia, Ford and Toyota will once again go head-to-head after the Dakar victory of Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders). The three official Defender entries in the car Stock category will discover the race. In Challenger, championship leader Pau Navarro changes colours. In SSV, official Can-Am driver Joao Monteiro could take the lead.
- On the bike side, all official RallyGP riders (KTM, Honda and Hero) are entered, including championship leader Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). In Rally2, the battle between the orange and the red teams will resume. For Rally3 and quads, it marks the opening round of their calendar.
FIA: Dacia, Ford, Toyota, Defender and Can-Am return in force
Among the 30 Ultimate cars entered in the race, 24 are also registered for the championship (80%). Dacia and Ford, who currently hold the Top 5 of the provisional standings after the Dakar, intend to defend their positions despite Toyota’s usual numerical dominance.
The Dacia Sandriders field three cars with Nasser Al Attiyah, championship leader (73 pts) and winner of the first edition of the Portuguese race in 2024; Sébastien Loeb, 4th in the championship (39 pts) and on the podium in Lisbon six months ago; and Lucas Moraes, reigning world champion and winner of the 2025 edition of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The Brazilian had a difficult start to 2026 and currently sits only 8th in the standings after the Dakar (24 pts).
Ford announces a blue wave of seven machines. Official Ford Racing drivers Mattias Ekstrom, 2nd in the standings (45 pts), and Carlos Sainz, 5th (27 pts). They will be joined by four customer Raptor entries from Martin Prokop (Orlen Jipocar), Denis Krotov (M-Sport Rally Raid), Kees Koolen (RD Limited), and Mark Mustermann (MM Rallye), plus the F150 Evo of Miroslav Zapletal (Offroadsport).
Mathieu Serradori (SRT), 6th in the championship (27 pts) is the sole entry for Century Racing. Laia Sanz returns in her Ebro (Ebro Audax Motorsport).
With 12 Hilux entries in W2RC, Toyota represents half of the Ultimate field. Henk Lategan, runner-up in Lisbon last autumn, could lead the charge for Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC. The South African, 3rd in last year’s championship, suffered persistent bad luck at the Dakar and is currently 11th (20 pts). Seth Quintero and Akira Miura will join him.
For Toyota Gazoo Racing SA, Saood Variawa, Guy Botterill, and Joao Ferreira will form the second trio. Drivers from private teams are just as numerous thanks to Overdrive Racing (Yazeed Al Rajhi and Hernan Garces), SVR (Marcos Baumgart and Lucio Alvarez) and Energylandia (Eryk Goczal and Marek Goczal).
The three official Defender entries of Rokas Baciuska, Sara Price, and Stéphane Peterhansel, ranked in that order after their first Saudi campaign, continue their championship adventure.
Among the 17 Challenger entries, 10 are competing in the championship, including Pau Navarro. The Dakar winner switches both machine and team (Viking Challenger), both to be discovered during pre-race scrutineering. New colours for the leader, but also a new rival.
Alexandre Pinto, 2025 SSV number one, takes advantage of racing at home to move up a category. The Portuguese driver, still under the Old Friends Racing banner, will drive a Taurus supplied by the BBR structure.
Charles Munster, the revelation of 2025 in Portugal with his 2nd overall place, will drive the KTM X-Bow powered by G Rally, just like female driver Puck Klaassen, winner of two stages at the last Dakar.
In SSV, among the 16 entries, 6 compete in the championship, all driving Can-Am machines. The two official drivers Joao Monteiro and Jeremias Gonzalez will face the South Racing drivers (Luis Cidade and Pedro Mac Dowell) and two other private entrants. Currently 2nd in the standings, Joao Monteiro could take the championship lead on home soil.
FIM: Sanders, Brabec and Schareina seeking revenge
Dominant in 2025 like no one before him, Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) won four of the five rounds last season, only letting the final slip away to Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC).
Leading the Dakar last January, a shoulder injury forced the Australian to back off the throttle, allowing his teammate Luciano Benavides to claim the closest victory in Dakar history, two seconds ahead of the Honda of Ricky Brabec.
For Daniel Sanders as well as the American rider, the first round of 2026 left a bitter taste. Ricky Brabec (30 pts) sits eight points behind Luciano Benavides. Tosha Schareina is fourteen points back, Skyler Howes (Monster Energy Honda HRC) eighteen, and the reigning world champion “Chucky” twenty-one.
Portugal, dominated by Daniel Sanders in 2025 ahead of Tosha Schareina, promises to be a rematch for the Australian, the Spaniard or the American.
The four other RallyGP championship riders — Adrien Van Beveren (Honda), Nacho Cornejo (Hero MotoSports), Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) and Edgar Canet (KTM) — are also entered.
In Rally2, with Edgar Canet moving up to RallyGP after winning the category last September, the appetite of the 32 registered riders is wide open. Starting with the Top 3 of the provisional standings, all expected at the event.
Leader Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM) will discover the race and meet Preston Campbell (Monster Energy Honda HRC), his runner-up at the Dakar. The American, who made his championship debut in Portugal six months ago and finished best rookie in 9th place at the Dakar, will once again have local rider Martim Ventura by his side, winner of two stages in Saudi Arabia and 3rd in the championship.
The Husqvarna of Bruno Santos (Xraids Experience), currently 7th in the standings, is always dangerous at home (2nd in 2025). The Portuguese rider competes with Xraids Experience, the largest team in the race with 8 riders, and could return to the Top 3.
Kove Factory Racing seems eager to join the KTM-Honda battle. Neels Theric, winner of three stages at the Dakar, arrives for the Iberian race. The Chinese brand also fields a female rider, the French Lilimay Mansuy, who will be discovered during pre-race scrutineering.
And speaking of French riders, Thomas Zoldos (Aub’Moto), winner of the 2025 Rally3 World Cup, will make his Rally2 debut.
For Rally3 and the quads, this event marks the opening round of the championship, as the Dakar is not part of their program.
On their Honda enduro bikes, brothers Gonçalo Amaral and Salvador Amaral (Wing Motor) hope to dominate the six entries as they did in 2024.
In the quad category, CFMoto Thunder Racing rider Antanas Kanopkinas, runner-up in both the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal and the 2025 World Cup, will be joined by compatriot Adomas Gancierius, a newcomer to meet during scrutineering.
The Lithuanians will face the Yamaha of Alexis Varagne (Senegal National Team), who finished on the podium in Lisbon last autumn during his first W2RC appearance.
SCHEDULE
March 14: Bivouac opens in Grândola
March 16: Administrative and technical checks
March 17:
- Administrative and technical checks
- General briefing
- Pre-race press conference
- FIM prologue (5 km timed) and starting order selection
- Start ceremony
March 18: Stage 1 – Grândola (Portugal) / Grândola (Portugal) – Total: 315 km / SS: 215 km
March 19: Stage 2 – Grândola (Portugal) / Badajoz (Spain) – Total: 545 km / SS: 380 km
March 20: Stage 3 – Badajoz (Spain) / Badajoz (Spain) – Total: 490 km / SS: 300 km
March 21: Stage 4 – Badajoz (Spain) / Loulé (Portugal) – Total: 520 km / SS: 310 km
March 22: Stage 5 – Loulé (Portugal) / Loulé (Portugal) – Total: 265 km / SS: 115 km
- Final press conference
- Prize-giving ceremony
Portugal (UTC + 00 :00)
