It was on a day marked by gray skies that Baja Porlategre 500 started and, as usual happens, were riders of motorcycles, Quads and Buggies that had the honor of opening hostilities in the 5.52 km super-special's drawn on the outskirts of Portalegre. Luís Oliveira was the star of the morning, hitting Henrique Nogueira and Hélder Rodrigues on two wheels, while Roberto Borrego dominated in the Quads and Rui Serpa in Buggies.
Contrary to expected, were the first riders into action, those with the highest number, the scoring pace in the super-special stage. After last year have passed close to victory in the super-special, Luís Oliveira gained revenge this year and signed the best time, allowing him to choose the starting position for the almost 400 kilometers of the race. "It went very well. The aim was to win the prologue and that was achieved, so I'm satisfied. I haven't decided on what position I'll drop, but the goal is to enjoy myself as much as possible, and if it works to win better. The only goal that I set was not hurt and that is what I will try", said the first leader of the Baja Portalegre 500.
For the first time in off road, Henrique Nogueira, more accustomed to motocross and enduro, was satisfied with his performance, but look with precautions for the race: "Starting in the front will be very tricky, especially for 'reading' the ground. I'm not accustomed to this pace and this will be the greatest difficulty. Any distraction is costly and can put the final point in the race. In this way, the goal is to finish, what comes to most is profit. Today went very well. I wanted to win the super-special, but Luis Oliveira did not fail", said Nogueira.
The biggest star of the pack is Helder Rodrigues, former Off Road World Champion and the now official Honda rider, who makes no secret of its goal for the race: "I want to win. I tried to be fastest in Super-special to be able to choose the starting position, but this was not possible and so I'll leave it at the front. It is true that can be a problem, but on the other hand has the advantage that it won't have to overcome many opponents. The super special was very slippery. Might not have chosen the best tire "confessed at the end.
The title fight was one of the poles of attraction of this 26th edition of the Baja Portalegre 500, but Luis Ferreira is not present for personal reasons, so Mário Patrão gets life easier, although he always have to finish in the top 12. Today the Suzuki rider was only 34, but for tactical reasons, because that way you don't have to mark the land and manages to better control the race. This was also the strategy of António Maio, winner of that super special in 2011, who has signed the 39th time. So, Jose Santos, one of the first to start, and Frederico Fino finished the batch of five faster, with another of the stars present in Portalegre, Ruben Faria, finishing in the 14th place.