More than 70 riders will accelerate this weekend on the tracks of Loulé, Alcoutim and Almodôvar in the Baja European City of Sport 2015. The event hosts the main national championships in Off-Road: cars, motorcycles, quads and buggys.
The race starts tomorrow with the prologue drawn near Loulé. The eight kilometer track will set the starting order for Sunday.
On the second day, the baja is divided into two selective sectors, the first between Ameixial and Cortelha (80 KM's), and the second between Cortelha, Pereiro and Almodôvar (170 KM's). According to Clube Automóvel do Algarve, «the selected route has a good surface, with characteristics very similar to rally sections».
In cars, the favoritism belongs to Miguel Barbosa (Mitsubishi Racing Lancer) who arrives in the Algarve with two victories with the full number of victories in the races already disputed. The opposition will come from João Ramos, who has dominated the prologues with Toyota Hilux, but, according to the organization, it is also necessary to count on Nuno Matos (Opel Mokka Proto), Alexandre Franco (BMW Serie 1 Proto) or Helder Oliveira (Nissan Navarra Offroad), who aspire to be on the podium.
International names – Peter Rowbotton and Jesus Navarro, both in Desert Warriors – and the classic UMM V6, driven by one of the pilots of the former official team of the Portuguese brand, Carlos Barbosa “Tucha”, will also be on the courses at Baja European City of Sport.
On bikes, another António Maio duel is expected, on Yamaha and Mário Patrão, still adapting to KTM. The locals also want to make their mark, with Ruben Faria (KTM 125) and Luís Teixeira (Yamaha 450) looking for the best result.
In quads, Beto Borrego (Yamaha) is the favorite to add another victory, while in buggys, an expanding category in the national TT, João Lopes wants to continue the victorious path with the Polaris 1000.
The organization proposes to the public the monitoring of the race safely in the public areas located in Cortelha, Lagoa do Pereiro and Almodôvar.
The event closes in Loulé with the awards ceremony at Praça da República at 17:00. The event is organized by the Clube Automóvel do Algarve, and has the active support of the Municipalities of Loulé, Alcoutim and Almodôvar and the sponsorship of Solverde-Casinos do Algarve.
Comments