The winner of the last four editions of the Baja Portalegre 500, Ricardo Porém, was the fastest at the Pologue. At the wheel of a South Racing’s Volkswagen Amarok the Leiria born set the pace and made it clear what he is aiming for. Debutant Joan “Nani” Roma finished in second, 2.3s behind in his Mini JCW Rally. The National Championship hopeful João Ramos, driving a Toyota Hilux, was third position in the first 5 Km against the clock, ahead of his main rival, the National Championship Hélder Oliveira. Mini Paceman's driver finished 8th, lossing 12.5s to Porém and 7.7s to Ramos.
“It went well. The Prologue was very funny. I don’t know my result yet, but I had a lot of fun. The car was great, I found a great setup for the race. We will see,” said Porém.
Mister Dakar, Stéphane Peterhansel, is also back in Portalegre and to X-Raid, after several years with Peugeot. The Frenchman, who drove an SSV last year, is now debuting the most recent version of the Mini, but manage only fourth. Racing at home, Nuno Matos rounded up the Top 5, loosing 7.5s to Ricardo Porém.