Besides preparing for the start of the 2026 Campeonato Portugal de Todo-o-terreno season and the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, Ricardo Porém has joined “Reerguer Leiria”, a project organized by the city of Leiria to help recover from Storm Kristin’s devastation.

Kristin was a catastrophic windstorm that struck Portugal in late January, producing record winds and flooding. At least five people were killed in Portugal and over €7 billion was incurred in damages, making it the worst windstorm to hit Europe as a whole since the turn of the century. The situation was further exacerbated when Storm Leonardo hit soon after.

Leiria, located in central Portugal and along the coast, took the worst of the storm as it made landfall on the district. Mayor Gonçalo Lopes described the destruction as so substantial that he equated it to a warzone and surmised it would require over a year to rebuild. He and the municipality set up Reerguer Leiria (“Rebuilding Leiria”) to aid citizens in repairing their homes and infrastructure, and offer services like mental health.

As a Leiria resident, Porém naturally wanted to get involved.

“After a season and recent times that have been quite difficult in our home and our city, we’ve joined the Reerguer Leiria project,” said Porém. “In partnership with the Municipality of Leiria, we are preparing some very interesting projects to help. In a spirit of solidarity, we want to help the institutions and people who suffered greatly from Storm Kristin.

“Beautiful things are going to happen.”

The rear quarter panels on his Kaizen S1 include a decal promoting the initiative, which will be present throughout the CPTT season and when the World Rally-Raid Championship comes to Portugal in March.

Porém is coming off a tough 2025. While debuting the Kaizen T3 car was certainly a highlight, it was overshadowed by his two months away from racing after suffering severe injuries in an accident. Although he returned to action by October, the lengthy recovery meant he had to miss January’s Dakar Rally.

The 2026 CPTT begins with the Baja TT Montes Alentejanos next weekend.

Featured image credit: Ricardo Porém