João Monteiro is a two-time Portuguese Cross Country Champion, the reigning FIM European Bajas SSV champion, and was the best-finishing rookie at the Dakar Rally in January when he finished thirteenth in the Challenger class. When the World Rally-Raid Championship arrived in Portugal for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, he was more than ready to defend his home turf.
Usually a tyre manager for South Racing Can-Am, he represented the team well as he won the SSV category by leading the overall and finishing on the podium in all five stages. On his worst day in Stage #4, he made an error that caused him to lose a minute but still finished third and just a minute behind stage winner Ricardo Ramilo.
His first and second in the first two stages also earned him the T4 win on the CPTT side, held in conjunction with the W2RC. The win continues a streak of SSV race winners who are not registered for the W2RC, joining Xavier de Soultrait (Dakar Rally) and Mansour Al-Helei (Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge).
“We enter each race with the goal of winning, but when it comes to a World Championship race, everything becomes even more special,” wrote Monteiro. “I want to express my gratitude to the team for the excellent car they provided me, ready to face each stage. A huge thank you to my sponsors, whose support was essential for us to be here. To my family, who has always been by my side, and to the warmth and unconditional support of all the fans throughout these days, my sincere thanks.
“I am really happy!”
Ramilo battled with Yasir Seaidan to be the top W2RC-eligible driver. Seaidan, the points leader entering the race, won Stage #2 but retired the next day with a mechanical failure. With Rebecca Busi the next highest points-earning driver but forty-one minutes behind, Ramilo simply needed to complete the final two stages without issue to secure maximum points in the standings; not only did he achieve this, but he did so in style by winning both legs.
Although too far back to catch Monteiro for the outright win, Ramilo moves from eighth to third in the SSV standings. Sebastián Guayasamín, who also exited Stage #3 for vehicle problems but managed to continue the race, remains second and narrows the gap to Seaidan from 59 to 37 points.
SSV regulars João Ferreira and Eduard Pons opted to move up to the Ultimate class for Portugal, while Sara Price is sitting out most of the season due to a lack of funding. Price’s absence made Busi the only female driver in the class for the event, and she enjoyed her best race finish of second among W2RC registrants.
SSV overall results
| Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 405 | João Monteiro* | Nuno Morais | South Racing Can-Am | 10:50:31 | Leader |
| 2 | 403 | Ricardo Ramilo | Fausto Mota | Scuderia Ramilo | 11:03:50 | + 13:19 |
| 3 | 418 | Rui Serpa* | Rui Pita | Santag Racing | 11:14:08 | + 23:37 |
| 4 | 415 | Ruben Jorge Rodrigues* | Rui Jorge Moreira Paulo | Ruben Jorge Rodrigues | 11:37:05 | + 46:34 |
| 5 | 402 | Rebecca Busi | Sergio Lafuente | OnlyFans Racing | 11:55:17 | + 1:01:46 |
| 6 | 413 | Filipe Manuel Aniceto Lopes* | Fábio João Simões dos Santos | Filipe Manuel Aniceto Lopes | 12:20:48 | + 1:30:17 |
| 7 | 414 | Reinaldo Varela* | Felipe Bianquine | Reinaldo Varela | 12:51:55 | + 2:01:24 |
| 8 | 416 | Vitor da Silva Moutinho* | Max Delfino | Vitor da Silva Moutinho | 13:04:14 | + 2:13:43 |
| 9 | 404 | Claude Fournier | Serge Gounon | Claude Fournier | 20:05:59 | + 9:15:28 |
| 10 | 417 | Adrien Choblet* | Laurent Magat | Adrien Choblet | 20:25:05 | + 9:34:34 |
| 11 | 408 | José Óscar Nogueira* | Arcélio Couto | José Óscar Nogueira | 34:19:23 | + 23:28:52 |
| 12 | 401 | Sebastián Guayasamín | Fernando Acosta | FN Speed Team | 34:22:48 | + 23:32:17 |
| 13 | 412 | José Morgado* | Gonçalo Magalhães | José Morgado | 41:04:42 | + 30:14:11 |
| DNF | 400 | Yasir Seaidan | Michaël Metge | Race World Team | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | 406 | Gonçalo Guerreiro* | José Sá Pires | JB Racing | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | 407 | Alexander Josef Toril Boquoi* | Pedro Gabriel Lopez Chavez | Escudería JMP Racing | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | 409 | Miguel Toril Boquoi* | Rosa Romero Font | Escudería JMP Racing | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | 410 | João Paula* | Nuno Mota Ribeiro | João Paula | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | 411 | Jérémie Renou* | Antoine Sanchez | Jérémie Renou | DNF | N/A |
SSV stage winners
| Stage | Driver | Time |
| Prologue | Gonçalo Guerreiro* | 3:55.2 |
| Stage #1 | João Monteiro* | 1:20:00 |
| Stage #2 | Yasir Seaidan | 1:54:26 |
| Stage #3 | João Monteiro* | 3:42:50 |
| Stage #4 | Ricardo Ramilo | 2:54:50 |
| Stage #5 | Ricardo Ramilo | 56:01 |
W2RC SSV standings
For readability, competitors registered for the championship who have not earned points are excluded.
Drivers’ standings
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Yasir Seaidan | 155 | Leader |
| 2 | Sebastián Guayasamín | 118 | – 37 |
| 3 | Ricardo Ramilo | 92 | – 63 |
| 4 | Rebecca Busi | 84 | – 71 |
| 5 | Sara Price | 74 | – 81 |
| 6 | João Ferreira | 73 | – 82 |
| 7 | Cristiano de Sousa Batista | 52 | – 103 |
| 8 | Claude Fournier | 46 | – 109 |
| 9 | Enrico Gaspari | 45 | – 110 |
| 10 | Michele Cinotto | 22 | – 133 |
| 11 | Eduard Pons | 16 | – 139 |
| 12 | André Thewessen | 13 | – 142 |
Co-drivers’ standings
| Rank | Co-Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Fausto Mota | 123 | Leader |
| 2 | Fernando Acosta | 118 | – 5 |
| 3 | Adrien Metge | 91 | – 32 |
| 4 | Sergio Lafuente | 84 | – 39 |
| 5 | Jeremy Gray | 74 | – 49 |
| 6 | Filipe Palmeiro | 73 | – 50 |
| 7 | Michaël Metge | 64 | – 59 |
| 8 | Serge Gounon | 46 | – 77 |
| 9 | Aku Facundo Jaton | 31 | – 92 |
| 10 | Maurizio Dominella | 22 | – 101 |
| 11 | Marc Solà Terradellas | 21 | – 102 |
| 12 | Jaume Betriu | 16 | – 107 |
| 13 | Alberto Marcon | 14 | – 109 |
| 14 | Dmytro Tsyro | 13 | – 110 |