TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC (TGR W2RC) resumed its FIA World Rally-Raid Championship title challenge when the penultimate round of the 2025 season, the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, got underway on Tuesday evening.
TGR W2RC’s two GR Hilux EVO vehicles, which are enhanced for durability and performance to tackle the gruelling challenge of off-road competition, took the ceremonial start in the southern Portuguese town of Grândola after completing a five-kilometre Prologue stage.
Lucas Moraes and navigator Armand Monleón, who stood on the podium in Portugal last year, led the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing pack in their #203 GR Hilux EVO. They were second quickest among the Ultimate class runners, just three seconds off the fastest time.
Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings won the previous round in South Africa in May and are competing in a W2RC round in Europe for the first time. They made a positive start with fourth place in the Ultimate class with their #202 GR Hilux EVO.
The #204 GR Hilux EVO of Seth Quintero and Andrew Short – competing together for the first time on a W2RC event – lost time at the end of the Prologue due to a right rear driveshaft issue. Despite being in ninth in class, they are only 17 seconds behind the leader going into the first full day of competition on Wednesday.
This week’s event, round four of five this season, gives TGR W2RC an opportunity to secure its fourth successive manufacturers’ World Championship. Holding a 92-point advantage over the nearest challenger, a strong result can secure the title with one event remaining.
The drivers’ and navigators’ World Championship battles are also nearing their conclusion, and all three crews are title contenders. Lategan and Cummings lead the TGR W2RC charge from second, 20 points behind the leaders, while Moraes and Monleón are 25 points behind in third, with Quintero fourth, a further 10 points back.
World Championship points will be hard earned during 1,413 gruelling kilometres on demanding Iberian gravel roads over the next five days.
Two special stages on Wednesday cover 302 km, while Thursday’s action is the longest of the event. A 429 km stage from Coruche crosses the Spanish border and finishes at Cáceres on the way to a service park in Badajoz. Friday sees a 308 km stage in the countryside east of Badajoz before Saturday’s 274 km cross-border raid en route to a service park on the outskirts of Lisbon. A 103 km final stage takes place on Sunday prior to the podium ceremony in the Portuguese capital.
Quotes:
Henk Lategan:
“It was a very tricky stage. Despite being only five kilometres long, there were many corners, and some were quite tight. There was a lot of dust which made it tricky to get the line right. Unfortunately, we caught some dust on the straight before some corners, so we had to ease off a little. Overall, it was a decent start. The first few kilometres are done and there is still a long race ahead of us.”
Lucas Moraes:
“The GR Hilux EVO was really nice to drive, so thanks to the whole TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC team for preparing so well. Of course, we faced a lot of dust on the Prologue, but I think that was similar for everyone. In the end, it was a great time for us, and I feel like we have started off on the right footing. Everybody was close, and the pace was very fast. I’m happy to get a good starting position for Wednesday.”
Seth Quintero:
“We had a good run going with Andrew and the GR Hilux EVO was feeling really strong. We were feeling confident in the preparation that we did. Unfortunately, we had an unlucky issue with just over a kilometre to go and that set us back a little bit. It’s better this happened now, and we only lost 17 seconds, not in the next days when it could ruin our chances. We will get ready for tomorrow and give it everything we’ve got.”
BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Prologue (Ultimate Class)
| 1 | #200 | N. Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin (Dacia Sandriders) | 5 minutes 2.9 seconds |
| 2 | #203 | L. Moraes /A. Monleon (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC) | +3secs |
| 3 | #240 | J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing) | +3secs |
| 4 | #202 | H. Lategan / B. Cummings (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC) | +5secs |
| 5 | #219 | S. Loeb / E. Boulanger (Dacia Sandriders) | +7secs |
| 6 | #205 | J.C. Yacopini / D. Oliveras (Overdrive Racing) | +13secs |
| 7 | #206 | S. Variawa / F. Cazalet (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing) | +14secs |
| 8 | #201 | Y. Al Rahji / T. Gottschalk (Overdrive Racing) | +16secs |
| 9 | #204 | S. Quintero / A. Short (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC) | +17secs |
| 10 | #210 | E. Goczal / S. Gospodarczyk (Energylandia Rally Team) | +17secs |
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