After a very lively first day, Monte Gordo Beach, in the Algarve’s municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, continued to welcome thousands of visitors that came to experience the excitement of the fifth and penultimate round of the FIM Sand Races World Championship.
Spectators of this third edition of the Monte Gordo Sand Race had the privilege of witnessing, on its second day, an hour-long motorcycle race marked by an intense battle for victory after Englishman Todd Kellett, who had dominated the previous day’s race, was forced to retire on the ninth lap. From then on, Frenchmen Cyril Genot and Jeremy Hauquier and Norwegian Hakon Fredrikssen took turns leading. The final laps were thrilling, with Genot and Fredrikssen riding almost side-by-side, with victory ultimately going to the Frenchman. Milko Potisek also made it onto the podium, with the Top 5 also including Lars Berkel and Julien Lieber.
The top nine finishers all completed the same lap, a group that included Luís Outeiro, the best Portuguese rider, in 9th place. Damien Prevoto, winner among the veterans, closed the Top 10, and Paulo Alberto was 11th. Amandine Verstappen and Evan Demeester were the winners, respectively among the women and the Juniors. Diogo Ventura and Ruben Ferreira triumphed among those who participated in pairs.
The second Quad heat was once again won by Englishman Harry Walker on a Laeger’s bike, beating Frenchman Pablo Violet on a Yamaha, with Belgians Olivier Vandendijck and Glenn Swarte, both on Hondas, in third and fourth place. This quartet completed 13 laps of a race that lasted 45 minutes. Next up were Belgian Dirk Schelfhout, winner among the veterans. Local riders Nuno Gonçalves, the best among the of the Portuguese, and Luís Fernandes, both on Yamahas, finished 8th and 9th in the overall classification.
In its debut year, the Yamaha/Mini Monte Gordo Sand Race Trophy brought together 24 riders aged between 8 and 16 years old. In the Quad race on this second day, João Susano in the Fun Category and Rui Alves among the beginners repeated their triumphs from the previous day. In the motorcycles, Duarte Marques won again among the YZ85s, while Afonso Torcato triumphed among the YZ65s.
The Monte Gordo Sand Race 2025 ended with the final podium celebration, which crowned the winners and, with one round remaining in the FIM Sand Races World Championship, crowned several world champions of this season.
The Monte Gordo Sand Race was a joint organization of the Vila Real de Santo António City Council and the Automóvel Clube de Portugal, under the auspices of the Portuguese Motorcycle Federation (FMP) and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM).
