Rally2 Class Dakar Rookie of the Year Preston Campbell played it cool in Portugal. Smooth and composed on the slippery surface, Preston Campbell delivered a sixth place finish, just five seconds shy of the fastest Rally2 time set by Jeremy Knuiman. His teammate, hometown hero Martim Ventura, pushed hard in front of home fans and despite a small crash on his Honda CRF450 RALLY RX, Ventura quickly remounted to complete the prologue in 11th place.
“The Prologue was okay,” claims Campbell. “Super short, just over three minutes. It was sandy but had a pretty slippery base… and then there was some hard pack. I’m happy to get the race started.”
Stage one sets off from the Grândola bivouac, with a 12 km transfer leading into a demanding 177 km timed section through forest tracks. Sand will remain a constant challenge, while riders must stay sharp for unexpected hazards such as deer and hidden tree stumps lurking off-line. The stage will then loop back to Grândola, where a final 3 km sprint will bring today’s action to a close.
