First Round of the World Rally-Raid Championship Completed – Team Brings Home Two Medals

The five-day World Rally-Raid Championship round in Portugal has come to an end. The fastest riders in the discipline competed not only for the BP Ultimate Rally Raid podium but also for valuable championship points. After a week full of challenges and adventures, CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team riders secured first and second place in the quad category, along with very strong positions in the overall standings.

“The rally ended incredibly – I even tipped over on the side with quad at one point, but nothing serious happened. There are so many thoughts in your head: you ride, you think, you dream, you see a speed limit sign, and it turns out it’s still a kilometer away. Today I felt a lot of internal pressure just to make sure everything went well and to reach the finish successfully. And it did. We rode together with Adomas, and now we’re stepping onto the podium!” said Antanas Kanopkinas after the finish.

He also noted that although the number of quad competitors was not large, even in the overall standings with all motorcycle riders, the team consistently finished within the second to third tenth each day. According to him, this is a solid result and proves that even with heavier, not typically race-focused machinery, the team is capable of delivering world championship-level performance.

“Today’s special stage ran through the hills of Portugal. The tracks were very narrow and extremely slippery. Antanas and I agreed to ride together to avoid any issues. This stage really reflected the whole rally: there were mountains, speed, and in the end, mud as well. The rally was great and incredibly fast. I don’t remember another rally with this kind of pace. You always had to stay focused, because even a small mistake could turn you into a passenger,” said Adomas Gančierius, adding that he was very happy to have successfully completed such a unique rally.

After nearly 1,300 kilometers of special stages, Kanopkinas took first place in the quad category. His teammate Gančierius finished second, 1 hour and 25 minutes behind. However, if not for a one-and-a-half-hour penalty received on Saturday for arriving late to the bivouac, the riders would have swapped positions in the final standings. In any case, these are the team’s first World Championship points of the season.

The next round awaits in May in Argentina, where riders will get a taste of the Dakar Rally spirit from 2009–2019, when the event was held in South America.