Portalegre marks the return of the 1992 and 1993 “Champion”

31 outubro 2014

Luís Dias is back to Off Road and, once more, at the Baja Portalegre 500. The winner of the 1992 and 1993 editions of the Off Road National Trophy (a competition which would become the National Championship in 1994) could not resist his co-driver’s, as well as some of his friends’ challenge to come back from retirement and race again.
Having competed for the last time in 2010, at the wheel of a SADEV built for the Dakar, Luís Dias has put his gloves aside and only after four years has he decided to pick them up again, clean off the dust of his Nissan Pick-Up and return to the competition at Baja Portalegre 500.
“I have missed it too much. I’ve been out of the competition for a while and I wanted to come back. I have a car at home. I know it’s not competitive by present-day standards, but it is great fun to drive it. My co-driver, Mário Feio, and a few friends challenged me and I decided to participate,” explained the driver.
In order to compete at Baja Portalegre 500, Luís Dias has prepped up his car and will have a small team including part of the staff that has worked with him in the past, as well as some friends. “When you do something like this, you always want to fight for the possible result, but there’s also a strong entertaining aspect to it,” said Luís Dias.
The Nissan Pick-up with which the winner of the 1992 and 1993 Off Road National Trophy will be competing uses a 3.5 petrol engine with 280 hpb and a SADEV transmission. Luís Dias’s connection to Baja Portalegre 500 dates back to the event’s first years, in 1989. Since then, he has already participated for 17 times and, in 2014, he will be racing on his 18th Baja Portalegre.
Luís Dias is back to Off Road and, once more, at the Baja Portalegre 500. The winner of the 1992 and 1993 editions of the Off Road National Trophy (a competition which would become the National Championship in 1994) could not resist his co-driver’s, as well as some of his friends’ challenge to come back from retirement and race again.

Having competed for the last time in 2010, at the wheel of a SADEV built for the Dakar, Luís Dias has put his gloves aside and only after four years has he decided to pick them up again, clean off the dust of his Nissan Pick-Up and return to the competition at Baja Portalegre 500.

“I have missed it too much. I’ve been out of the competition for a while and I wanted to come back. I have a car at home. I know it’s not competitive by present-day standards, but it is great fun to drive it. My co-driver, Mário Feio, and a few friends challenged me and I decided to participate,” explained the driver.

In order to compete at Baja Portalegre 500, Luís Dias has prepped up his car and will have a small team including part of the staff that has worked with him in the past, as well as some friends. “When you do something like this, you always want to fight for the possible result, but there’s also a strong entertaining aspect to it,” said Luís Dias.

The Nissan Pick-up with which the winner of the 1992 and 1993 Off Road National Trophy will be competing uses a 3.5 petrol engine with 280 hpb and a SADEV transmission. Luís Dias’s connection to Baja Portalegre 500 dates back to the event’s first years, in 1989. Since then, he has already participated for 17 times and, in 2014, he will be racing on his 18th Baja Portalegre.

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