PORTUGAL: The South Racing Can-Am Team enjoyed a successful outing in the Baja Portalegre 500, the sixth and penultimate round of the 2023 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas. The team’s Cristiano de Sousa Batista was crowned FIA T4 champion, securing the title in the absence of rival French driver Jeremie Warnia. De Sousa Batista won the category by over 17 minutes, claiming outright category wins in Italy, Spain, and Poland this season.
The team’s all-Swedish pairing of Adam Thomelius and Oscar Andersson joined the South Racing Can-Am Team for the first time and delivered stunning performances. Thomelius and Ekstrom claimed the quickest and second-fastest times in the general classification, taking the T3 advantage into the night halt. Ekstrom continued his program of Baja events with South Racing and teamed up with French co-driver Francois Cazalet on this occasion. The motor sporting all-rounder led the event outright after the opening two stages and finished fourth in T3 and eighth overall.
De Sousa Batista, who won the category by over 17 minutes, said: “We managed to be champions in advance after an excellent performance last year when we finished fourth overall. It was a challenging event and we are delighted with this result.”
The South Racing-built Can-Am Maverick X3s claimed top positions in the T3 section, with Portugal’s Joao Dias and Armindo Araujo finishing first and second. The team also confirmed the T4 Teams’ Championship with one round to spare. South Racing’s Alexandre Re and Dania Akeel finished seventh and ninth in T3.
South Racing Can-Am Team’s managing director Scott Abraham said: “We wrapped up the T4 Teams’ Championship and the T4 Drivers’ title for Cristiano de Sousa Batista and that follows hot on the heels of our successes in both the W2RC T3 and T4 Championships. This was the penultimate event of the year and another very successful one for us.
Baja Portalegre brought a few surprises and some great results. South Racing-built Can-Ams swept the top five positions in the T3 category and showed, once again, that they are the premium vehicle in the market in both T3 and T4. The only title left to play for is T3 in the FIA World Cup and we head to Dubai in two weeks’ time for what is sure to be a hotly-contested finale.”
The Baja Portalegre 500 was plagued by rain, mud, and atrocious weather conditions, but the South Racing Can-Am Team showcased their dominance. The team’s success in the event puts them in a strong position in both the T3 and T4 categories in the FIA World Cup. The only title left to play for is T3, and the team heads to Dubai in two weeks’ time for what is sure to be a hotly-contested finale.
