Stage one of the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal saw Daniel Sanders at home in the Grândola sand, blasting through the 425km loop (302 against the clock) to take a commanding win.

The 2019 ISDE Portugal champ looked right at ease on his KTM 450 Rally, saying the terrain “reminds me of racing enduro back home.” He led from start to finish despite constant pressure from Honda’s Adrien Van Beveren qwho finished just under one minute adrift with Tosha Schareina +1′22″.

Sanders heads the rally overall by just over a minute from AVB as he faces opening the road tomorrow – something he has already proved he can do, winning stages from the front in the South African Safari Rally.

Hero’s Ross Branch, the outgoing world champ, was fourth at +2′58″ with KTM’s Luciano Benavides completing the top five (+4′29″).

Rally2: Ventura heartbreak, Canet cashes in

Martim Ventura looked set for a dream win on home soil until a broken clutch at km 231 dropped him out. That handed Edgar Canet a clear run to his 10th career stage victory, also slotting him P6 overall ahead of Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes.

Tobias Ebster (Hero) was second at +2′45″ with Michael Docherty (BAS KTM) third at +3′19″. Local Bruno Santos was fourth (+5′43″). Canet now leads Ebster by 2′58″ going into stage two.

Rally3: Amaral denied, Zoldos steals it

Portugal’s Gonçalo Amaral led for most of the special but a one-minute speeding penalty cost him the win. That allowed France’s Thomas Zoldos to snatch victory by 1′20″, with Italy’s Carlo Cabini rounding out the podium a distant +16′21″.

Rally Raid Portugal Stage 1 results:

Rally Raid Portugal schedule:

25 September: stage 2 — Grândola–Badajoz (655 km / 429 km special)
26 September: stage 3 — Badajoz–Badajoz (511 km / 308 km special)
27 September: stage 4 — Badajoz–Lisbon (528 km / 274 km special)
28 September: stage 5 — Lisbon–Lisbon (287 km / 103 km special)

Photo credit: A.S.O. | Edo Photo + Honda Racing