Entering its third edition running alongside the Baja Portalegre 500, the sixth round of the FIA Cross-Country Bajas World Cup, the SuperFinale will pit the top YXZ1000R racers and winners of their respective National Cups against each other over more than 500Km of gruelling special stages across two days.
The YXZ1000R field will be split into the Stock class for standard vehicles, and Open class for modified vehicles. In addition to the fight for overall victory, the crews will be fighting for the biggest prizes offered so far in the event’s history. The winner of the Stock class will receive €15,000 to be used for competition in the prestigious FIA Baja European Cup 2023, while the victor of the Open class will be rewarded with automatic entry to one Baja event.
Speaking ahead of the event, Yamaha Motor Europe ROV Racing Coordinator Camelia Liparoti looked forward to welcoming the crews. “I’m very excited for the 3rd edition of our YXZ1000R SuperFinale. It has become the event of the year for our YXZ100OR racers and fans.
It’s looking good with 20 Yamahas racing; everyone is happy to see our racing family again! I’m also thrilled to have on display in the paddock the X-Raid-developed YXZ1000R prototype that Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger raced to a class win in the Andalucía Rally.
Nine teams will contest the Stock class, featuring Octavio Martins/Miguel Martins and Tania Diogo Franco/Sara Diogo of Portugal; Miquel Prat/Sergio Lafuente, Luis Sainero/Amir Koush,
Agustin Gonzalez/Ruben Ruiz Garcia and Edesio Caamano/Joan Jose Caamano of Spain and Uruguay; Peter Scharmach/Goncalo Branquinho from Germany; Sean Haran/Kevin Haran from the United Kingdom and Sebastian della Piccola/Mirko Brun from Italy.
The Open class meanwhile features eleven teams, consisting of pairings Mario Franco/Rui Franco, Duarte Silva/Nuno Silva and Luis Caseiro/Joao Azeiteiro, and solo entrants Vitor Domingos, Ricardo Carvalho and Vasco Melo from Portugal; Allessandro Tinaburri/Emiliano Tinaburri, Gabriele Piccini/Mauro Gentilotti and Severino Gallini from Italy; William Buller/Chris McPhee from the United Kingdom; and Guillaume Meura/Carles Barange from Belgium and Spain respectively.
The YXZ1000R SuperFinale gets underway on Thursday 28th with its traditional ceremonial start in the town centre of Portalegre, ahead of the first competitive running on Friday starting from Yamaha’s HQ within the Baja paddock.