Monster Energy interview: W2RC BP Ultimate/Portugal Rally2 class podium placer Martim Ventura

Talk to Ventura and he’ll have you convinced that off-road motorcycle racing is every bit as popular in Portugal as the MXGPs. And with that, and now a member of the premier Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally team, Ventura just scored big in front of his hometown fans, locking down a runner-up overall position at this past week/weekend’s FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, Portugal.

An incredible interesting study in dirt bike racing no matter what form, Ventura caught the eye of Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally team manager Ruben Faria, himself a native of Portugal. One of Ventura’s racing idols growing up, Faria tabbed Ventura, along with American Preston Campbell, to be the first riders aboard Honda’s revolutionary crate-to showroom-to W2RC starting gate CRF450RX Rally. A limited production bike available to the everyday off-road racing enthusiast, both Ventura and Campbell have run it to great heights already in Honda’s inaugural year contesting the W2RC’s Rally2 class.

MonsterEnergy.com caught up with Ventura following his podium run at the BP Ultimate/Portugal rally and got his take on the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship season this far, including a bit of history on how he got started, his love for the Dakar Rally and his great relationship with the Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally team – including Faria and Campbell.
 

Monster Energy: Martim, congratulations on your W2RC podium with the Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally team this past week. That had to be special for you, making the Rally2 class podium in your home country, Portugal. Talk about your experience at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, Portugal, and what it meant to you to make you’re your second 2026 W2RC podium in this global series surrounded by your friends and family.

Martim Ventura: Thank you. Yes, after Dakar, the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid is the most anticipated race for me. I race in front of everyone that saw me growing up in this world, that helped me, and it's a privilege to come back to this race with this team specially. For me it's like saying ‘Thank you to everyone,’ because I struggled a lot to get here and I had a lot of help from so many people. I wanted to be much more upfront on the race, but struggled to get the rhythm in the beginning. So now I will work so that next year I will be fast right from the start. P6 overall and P2 rally 2… it’s a good result for the championship either way. So let's keep it rolling to Argentina.

ME: You’ve been tabbed to race a pretty revolutionary motorcycle for Honda – the CRF450RX Rally. One of 50 made. But it’s also a motorcycle that, if you were in the know and had (approx.) $34K U.S., it could have been purchased from your local dealer. In other words, in the right hands (yours and teammate Preston Campbell’s), the bike rolls off the showroom floor and onto W2RC podiums. Tell us a bit about the CRF450RX Rally, how it rides/handles and how it allowed you to make two podiums in two W2RC races this season. 

MV: Yes, the CRF450RX Rally is an incredibly friendly bike for the average consumer. Either for its easy riding for the rider, and also easy maintenance for the mechanic. When I had the opportunity to join Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally I didn't know what to expect from the bike. The truth is, right from the beginning, I felt super comfortable on it. Super easy to ride, efficient, good stability, good cornering, and the results speak for themselves. And now that I have a training bike, and do the maintenance myself! I see how it's incredibly easy to maintain. For sure, this bike will allow more people to come to rallies and for that, grow the sport. And I'm honored to be riding it.

ME: Sticking with podiums... your first with Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally was a big one – placing 3rd this past January in Saudi Arabi at the famed Dakar Rally. Your first Dakar, and you’re on the Rally2 podium – with two stage wins (Stages 2 & 11) and seven stage podiums in 13 rounds. Excellent effort! Rewind here just a bit and talk about your first experience at Dakar. 

MV: Dakar for me was the best experience of my life so far. I loved so much every day, every moment on and off the bike. It was my dream as a kid to race Dakar, and to do it on a factory team was incredible. Every day I was happy with a smile on my face. If it was a bad day, or a good day, it didn't matter to me. I was living the dream. And I think that was the main reason for me to have such a result. I had some issues that made me lose valuable time, but I kept coming back, and in Dakar (and in life), that's what really matters - getting back and keep going. For me, I would be happy racing Dakar all year. I just feel good in that environment.

ME: That’s awesome. We’d mentioned your teammate, American Preston Campbell. Talk about your relationship with Preston, how well you two work together and how having two great rookie racers, from two uniquely different backgrounds, come together to both be on the Dakar podium, and both vying for the overall Rally2 class season podium. 

MV: I think I couldn't ask for a better teammate than Preston. We have the same age, but very different backgrounds. And I love to share this experience with him. We go through the same emotions, the same feelings on the bike, same situations on the track, but we have different ways to speak about it. And I have been learning a lot from his perspective. He has a much wider experience testing bikes, and sometimes I struggle to understand my feelings on the bike. And when I speak with him, we share ideas, and get to conclusions much faster. I would love to see both of on the podium together again at Dakar.
 

ME: You also have a special relationship with the Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally team manager, countryman Ruben Faria. Talk about how Ruben spotted you, your early conversations and how it came to be that you were brought onto Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s new Rally2 team. 

MV: Yes, to have my countryman Ruben Faria as team manager is such an incredible help for me. Ruben knows where I come from, what I struggled, how I think – all because we come from the same place. Ruben has been my idol since I remember. When I was kid, I was waiting all year for those two weeks in January to see what he could do against the world's best in Dakar. I developed myself in Portuguese national Baja races, the same way Ruben did. And I think he knows how good that background is for rallies. The best mix between motocross and fast speed racing. So being National Baja champion, I think brought his (Faria’s) attention to me.

ME: Back in the day, when you were racing motocross, you had gained more of a passion for off-road, baja-style racing. Talk about that decision to switch, how it came about, what influenced you and, ultimately, why you chose to compete in the less popular (media-wise, as compared to pro motocross’ MXGPs) world of off-road. 

MV: Motocross has to be the background of every rider nowadays, due its intensity and technique required. But, if you want to go race rallies, you have to start going to enduro, Bajas, something that connects you more with nature, rocks, ruts, trees, dunes, holes, etc. I switched to Baja racing very early in my career (16 years old), mostly because I was a fan since a kid, and it is super popular in Portugal. The best Portuguese rally-raid riders used Portuguese Bajas to train for Dakar, so I saw right away that was the path I would choose.

ME: Very interesting. You began racing off-road on 250 2-strokes, while still a teenager. And you were beating the 4-stroke 250s! Talk about racing 2-strokes off-road, and how it was when you made the switch to 4-stroke bikes. 

MV: I raced 125 2-stroke in Baja while a teenager, something super rare to see. I had to do it due to driving license rules in Portugal. At the time, it wasn't what we wanted to do, but looking back it gave me such an experience that I value so much nowadays. You need to be full gas all the way, all the time, and that makes you grow. In Portugal it helped me become well known because I was the only one riding it and people loved to see and hear the two-stroke. When I switched to 250 4-strokes it was such a big step in my riding, but I needed to be super aggressive as well, because I wanted to beat the 450s. I am super happy of what we chose to ride back in the day, and every bike gave me something to who I am today. I wouldn't change it for anything.

ME: You made your W2RC debut in 2024, but suffered and unfortunate crash and DNF at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. Which had to be devastating given it was, again, your home country race. But then you came blazing back this past year, winning the Portugal Rally-Raid for Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally – the team’s very first Rally2 class W2RC victory. How big was that BP/Portugal rally win for you this past year? 

MV: Yes, when you start out in rally racing, you need to have a super humble approach. Even though my team at the time told me to do so, I wanted a lot to show myself, and my crash at my W2RC debut was the result of not respecting it. Then I started to calm myself down, went to Morocco (my closest desert), learned navigation the best I could, built my mindset, did some rallies and gained my experience. These last races I felt I had already some experience and it helped me give the first Rally2 class W2RC victory for Honda. It was an amazing day and such a privilege to be the first to give a victory to Honda in this class. The first won't happen again, so it was special.
 

ME: Your Honda CRF450 RX Rally bike is overseen by Rui Goncalves. Highly experienced with dirt bike racing, both MX (17 seasons racing MXGP, MX2 class runner-up in ’09) and off-road (3rd best rookie at the ’21 Dakar behind KTM’s Daniel Sanders and Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Tosha Schareina), Goncalves also hails from Portugal. Talk about your guys’ relationship and how Goncalves’ high level experience in MXGP transfers to you with off-road racing.

MV: Yes, having Ruben and Rui with me, it's such a privilege. I feel we have such a strong team right now, and one of its strongest points is the people involved. I have been super amazed with the experience Rui has, both on and off the bike. He has so many years riding at the highest level in MXGP, where every detail counts - on the bike and the rider. Bringing that mindset to rally, to Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally, to me, is something I value a lot. It is helping me with my riding technique, my mindset, my fitness, my nutrition, every detail you can imagine. For sure it is helping me grow. Now I believe - and I want to reach that top step of Dakar with him.

ME: Right on, Martim. What are your thoughts and goals for the rest of the W2RC season?

MV: As I said before Dakar, if I can be the best version of myself, everything else comes with it. It has been my quote since I understood the real meaning of it. So that's my goal, to continue improving myself. For sure I see my rhythm allow me to fight for the Rally2 world cup and good positions in the general classifications, but that comes after I focus on myself. So that's the goal first.

ME: Thank you very much for your time, Martim. We’ll look forward to circling back with you in a couple months at the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina.

MV: Thank you and thank you to everyone at Monster Energy for their support.