India’s Hero MotoSports completed the 2026 BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal in the top 10, with Ross Branch finishing P7. His teammate Jose Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Cornejo showed strong pace early on but was forced to retire on Stage 2 due to a mechanical issue.
- Hero’s Branch P8, Cornejo P9 in W2RC standings
- Sanders wins rally for KTM
- Dacia’s Loeb wins rally to take W2RC lead
Rally Raid Portugal results
Ross Branch P7 for Hero MotoSports
Rally Raid Portugal is the only cross-border event on the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) calendar. This year’s edition covered nearly 2,200km across Portugal and Spain, featuring an updated route extending to the Algarve coast.
For 2024 W2RC champion Ross Branch, this event was crucial for rebuilding his rhythm and physical condition following an injury sustained at the Dakar Rally earlier this year. He maintained a steady pace across the various technical stages to cement a spot in the top 10. He had a brief scare in the final mountain section but recovered quickly to finish P7 overall.
“It’s not really my kind of terrain, and I didn’t feel completely comfortable throughout the week, but I’m glad to have made it through safely and picked up some valuable championship points,” said Branch, who now stands eighth in the W2RC standings, just ahead of his teammate Cornejo.
Cornejo was forced to retire on Stage 2 due to a mechanical issue triggered by one of the stage’s demanding water crossings. He managed to get the bike restarted and continued for a few kilometres before it eventually shut down completely. Hero suspects water ingress affected the engine and electrical components. This is Cornejo’s first retirement since joining the Hero MotoSports team in 2024.
Sanders, Loeb win Rally Raid Portugal
Two months after injuring his shoulder in the Dakar Rally, KTM’s Daniel Sanders scored a dominant win at Rally Raid Portugal.
“Tosha [Schareina] was pushing me the whole way in what was a really tough race with slippery, demanding conditions. It feels great to return to winning form after the injury at Dakar. Delivering this result here at Rally-Raid Portugal was important, not just for my confidence, but for the whole team. Although I was able to complete the Dakar, we lost a fair few points, so to get things back on track here gives us a big boost as we fight for back-to-back championships, which is the ultimate goal this season,” said Sanders, who led the rally from start to finish.
Over in the cars category, Dacia’s Sebastien Loeb took victory to move into the overall W2RC lead as well. He’s now seven points clear of his teammate and 2026 Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah.
“For sure, I’m really happy to win this one, and we take the lead in the championship. After the big score of Nasser at the Dakar, it’s not bad after the second race to be in the fight. Everything was perfect for me this week. Hopefully, we can continue like this in the future,” said Loeb.