Baja Oeste de Portugal
FIM Bajas World Cup, round 3
May 5th-8th, 2022
After a Prologue and two days of racing, Micael Simão (GasGas) sealed victory in the motorcycle category at the Baja Oeste de Portugal, the Portuguese rider finishing ahead of Fabio Magalhães (Honda) and Konrad Dabrowski (KTM Duust).
The Baja Oeste de Portugal took place to the north of Lisbon, in the areas of Torres Vedras, Bombarral, Cadaval, Azambuja, Alenquer, Óbidos and Sobral de Monte Agraço. Competitors enjoyed fine weather, although some suffered a little from the unusual heat this early in the season.
On Saturday, the start of the second special of the day was delayed by one hour to give officials time to clear the track of SSVs. This extended the neutralization between the two selective sections to 4hr 10min.
"The wait was very long before the second start,” said Mirjam Pol (Husqvarna), who finished fifth in the FIM motorcycle ranking and first in the women's class. “The heat tired me and it weighed on me when I had to start. But I really liked the terrain, sometimes fast, sometimes winding… I was expecting dust, but in the end it was never a problem to overtake. I had so much fun!”
Polish rider Joana Mordzewska (KTM Duust) finished second in the women’s category but had a little trouble getting into her rhythm. She said: “The first day, I didn't want to crash and I had difficulty adapting to the bike, but then it was much better and I liked this race, a mix of enduro and rally.”
Konrad Dabrowski (KTM Duust) was the victim of a tracking system breakdown but, nevertheless, the young Pole finished in third position and won the Junior category. "It was a difficult race for me because I'm used to running in the desert now. Yesterday I didn't have much motivation to attack on fast tracks and wind through the trees. I didn't want to take any risks but it's a good exercise for me, I learned a lot and in the end, I rode better and I'm happy.”
Veteran rider Pedro Bianchi Prata (Honda) finished fourth, Rui Ferreira (Honda) was sixth, Barry Howe (KTM) came home in seventh and Kurt Burroughs (Husqvarna) was classified in ninth.
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