Konrad Dabrowski “grateful to be alive” after Baja TT Montes Alentejanos crash

Konrad Dąbrowski hoped to use the Baja TT Montes Alentejanos to prepare for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal later this month. Unfortunately, those plans were thrown out the window after a nasty crash in the Portuguese championship opener.

“Grateful to be alive. My training trip to Portugal did not go as planned,” said Dąbrowski.

“Between the first and second day of our racing, cars passed on the same course and created a massive danger which wasn’t there before. I had a big get off and from that moment, I don’t remember much until the hospital.”

Gonçalo Amaral, who went on to finish eighth overall for bikes and fourth in TT2, stopped to administer help until medics arrived. Dąbrowski was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a separated shoulder.

Once the lung is stabilized, he will be allowed to return to Poland. Of course, with the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid just two weeks away on March 17–22, Dąbrowski won’t take part. It’s a tough blow after a solid start to the W2RC season when he finished fourth in Rally2 at Dakar.

Montes Alentejanos was the first round of the 2026 Campeonato Portugal de Todo-o-terreno. João Ferreira, who won in 2025 in a Mini, repeated with Toyota on the car side. He was the only driver to set an overall time below five hours.

Ricardo Porém was second overall to win T3, securing the first class victory for the Kaizen S1. Other novel rides included Pedro Bianchi Prata, who reached the finish as the lone electric bike on his new STRiX ET02.

The e-bike was the 45th and final motorcycle to complete the race. His Offroad Center Bianchi Prata also had two riders win their class.

“The Baja Montes Alentejanos was a very positive weekend for the entire Team Bianchi Prata organization,” said Bianchi. “We managed to get several riders in the top positions, with three riders in the top six of the overall and eight podiums across the different classes, which clearly demonstrates the level and consistency of our team.

“More than the individual results, I am very proud of the spirit of mutual support, the professional attitude and the evolution that everyone demonstrated throughout the three days of racing. We have experienced riders, young riders on the rise with very positive debuts, and this shows the strength of the project.

“The goal continues to be growing race after race, helping each rider to evolve and maintaining Team Bianchi Prata as a reference in national off-road racing.

“Each race is a step in our evolution for Dakar 2027. We are collecting data, learning, and evolving the bike in a real-world context. This result confirms that we are on the right track.”

In contrast, Lino Carapeta left the race reeling after finishing sixth in T1. While running second, he received a seven-minute penalty for purportedly refusing to allow a faster car to pass, which he asserted was because his Anube roadbook tablet and Stella system were malfunctioning. Race organizer Humberto Silva subsequently acknowledged the issue, but added he lacks the authority to rescind penalties and that the matter should be taken up with the Clube de Promoção de Karting e Automobilismo.

Class winners

FPAK

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Total Time
T1	11	567	José Rogeira	Paulo Marques	767 / PRK Sport Rally Team	Ford Ranger	5:11:17.9
T1+	1	540	João Ferreira	Filipe Palmeiro	Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa	Toyota Hilux IMT EVO	4:52:32.1
T2	30	594	Américo Santos	Jorge Monteiro	Américo Santos	Nissan Pathfinder R51	5:36:29.2
T3	2	522	Ricardo Porém	Nuno Sousa	Cattiva Sport	Kaizen S1	5:00:53.6
T4	3	592	João Monteiro	Nuno Morais	South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	5:01:55.0
T8	23	576	Marco Cardoso	André Barras	Marco Cardoso	Nissan Navara	5:27:00.6
T9	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	No Finishers	N/A	N/A	DNF

FMP

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Vehicle	Total Time
TT1	3	2	Gustavo Gaudêncio	Offroad Center Bianchi Prata	Honda CRF250RX	5:35:14.6
TT2	1	7	Bruno Santos	BS Frutas Patrícia Pilar	Husqvarna FE 450	5:33:23.3
TT3	2	1	Micael Simão	Micael Simão	KTM 500 EXC-F	5:34:26.0
Trail	12	30	António Maio	Yamaha Portugal	Yamaha Ténéré 700 GYTR	5:50:01.4
Electric	45	17	Pedro Bianchi Prata	Offroad Center Bianchi Prata	STRiX ET02	6:44:34.6
Senior	43	99	Daniela Mateus	Racing Team 25	Kawasaki KX250F	6:39:50.4
Junior	5	22	João Duarte	Offroad Center Bianchi Prata	Honda CRF450RX	5:41:12.7
Veteran	15	26	Márcio Henriques	Márcio Henriques	KTM 450 EXC-F	5:53:47.8
Promotion	16	74	Hugo da Silva	Hugo da Silva	Honda CRF450RX	5:54:20.0

Quad

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Vehicle	Total Time
Open	1	111	Ricardo Caetano	Ricardo Caetano	Suzuki QuadRacer LT-R450	6:01:18.2
Junior	2	104	Martim Pedroso	Team Adega Camponesa	Yamaha YFZ450R	6:14:49.2
Veteran	4	120	Filipe Rodrigues	Filipe Rodrigues	CFMOTO CFORCE 1000 Touring	6:37:08.2

SSV

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Total Time
Stock	11	812	Alexandre Silva	José Galveias	Team Adega Camponesa	Polaris RZR Pro R	5:40:55.4
Navigator	1	823	Tiago Guerreiro	Carlos Paulino	Tiago Guerreiro	Polaris RZR Pro R	5:29:37.3
Junior	3	883	Gonçalo Guerra	Andre Lopes	Santag Racing	Polaris RZR Pro R	5:30:52.8
Veteran	5	817	Pedro Santinho Mendes	Vitor Mendes	Overland X Can-Am	Can-Am Maverick R	5:31:54.0
Can-Am Challenge	5	817	Pedro Santinho Mendes	Vitor Mendes	Overland X Can-Am	Can-Am Maverick R	5:31:54.0