HRC Rally teammates Schareina, Crivilin & Ventura to race Sertões Petrobras

With plenty of time off since their last big race on the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship tour, three of Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s top racers, including Spain’s Tosha Schareina (currently 2nd in the W2RC points), Portugal’s Martim Ventura (1st overall in W2RC’s Rally2 class) and the team’s latest acquisition, Brazil’s own Bruno Crivilin – who placed 2nd in Rally2 at W2RC’s last round, the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina – are in Brazil and ready to challenge for top honors in the 34th running of the August 22-30 Sertões Petrobras rally.

Traveling through three states located in the heart of Brazil - Goiás, Bahia and Tocantins - Sertões Petrobras will cover some 4,000 kilometers over eight stages through a wide variety of surfaces of dirt, sand and stone run through desert, beaches, dunes and savannah and providing what race organizers a “hard and demanding race, but at the same time… pleasurable.”

Last year in the “General” (motorcycle) class it’d be Schareina taking the overall victory ahead of Brazil’s Gabriel Bruning (Yamaha).

“I have really good memories from last year,” said Schareina. “We took the victory in the first year for us.”

When asked of how the Sertões Petrobras compares to the other great rallies Schareina has competed in, he said: 

“Actually, it’s a tough race. Nine days of racing, so many k’s (kilometers). The race is more like Spain’s baja-style, Argentina’s style, with so many piste, no openness. This year I have two of my teammates from Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally, so we’ll be in a good position to conquer this rally again. Lot of good riders, but I think we can do it.”

For Ventura, the fact that he’s back on a bike, as well as in a country where they speak his native language, make this a highly enjoyable experience from the onset.

“Super happy to be here,” said Ventura. “One more race with the team and I’m loving every bit of it. Still discovering this continent, but it’s nice that we speak the same language, which is Portuguese. I feel at home with the people here. And from what I hear the race is super nice, and the fans that come to the race are very passionate – which is very nice to see. The local guys are very fast, as usual, because in Portugal it’s the same way. I look forward to doing my best and having much fun on my bike in this beautiful country, get back in the rhythm of racing after some time off.”
 

And for Crivilin, who has competed in just one W2RC contest with the Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally team thus far, racing in front of his hometown fans is definitely one of the highlights of his competition season.

“The Rally dos Sertões has arrived, and it is my main race here in Brazil, the biggest in the country and also in the Americas,” he said. “I feel confident to face the 4,000 kilometers over eight days of competition. It is a great satisfaction to represent Honda Brazil and to have the support of my Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally teammates, Tosha and Martin, who will also be racing with us here. The expectations are very positive, our Honda team is very strong, and I hope to finish well, represent Brazil in the best possible way, and, together with the team, keep this title with Honda.”
 

Both Crivilin and Ventura will compete at Sertões Petrobras aboard the state-of-the-art, crate-to-showroom-to-podium Honda CRF450RX Rally, a limited-edition, factory-built Dakar race replica that consumers and privateer racers can actually buy. Schareina will have his Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally factory CRF450 Rally, a 449.4cc DOHC single-cylinder powerhouse built for extreme endurance events like the Dakar Rally and W2RC.

As for the route, racers will start – and a champion will be crowned – in the town of Goiânia, one of seven cities that the Sertões Petrobras caravan of racers and support teams will pass through. The race, much in the style of the W2RC events, will also feature an overnight “Marathon Stage,” where racers will be left to their own devices to set up camp, cook their own meal and work on their bikes prior to the following morning’s stage. In other words, no support teams allowed.
 

Another popular feature with the Sertões Petrobras is that, in all of the city stops, fans have complete access to the Sertões Villages and can interact freely with the racers and teams.

In all of them, the public will have free access to the Sertões Villages, with the chance to get to know the participants and their machines up close and experience the entire atmosphere of the rally in a unique way.

Up now… 

Brazil’s Sertões Petrobras rally gets underway Saturday, Aug. 22, and runs through August 30th. For the latest results and standings for the Monster Energy racers, link to: https://rally.sertoes.com.br/