Santag Racing has joined forces with GRallyTeam for the 2024 FIA European Baja Cup and Portuguese Cross-Country Championship, fielding the OT3 car in the Challenger class for Armindo Araújo and João Dias.
Founded in 2021, Santag Racing previously competed with a Can-Am Maverick in both the Challenger (T3) and SSV (T4) categories. They are the reigning European Baja Cup team champion, ironically beating GRallyTeam by ten points, while Dias won the T3 title over GRallyTeam’s Ghislain de Mévius in a tiebreaker. Santag also claimed the 2023 CPTT T4 championship with Rui Farinha.
As part of their new partnership, Santag will be the exclusive distributor for the OT3 on the Iberian Peninsula. The alliance comes weeks after the team entered the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in Portugal and Spain: Dias and his Maverick led the Challenger overall early on before a burst gas pipe relegated him to eighth; Araújo finished second, losing by less than eight minutes.
With their successes in Europe, Santag plans to enter the Dakar Rally in 2025.
“These cars are highly competitive, bearing the hallmark of GRallyTeam, which continues to invest in the quality, evolution, and development of the OT3,” commented Santag manager David Vieira. “It provides us with promising indicators and expands our offerings to customers, solidifying our position and growth in this sport in both Portugal and Spain.”
GRallyTeam is led by Ghislain’s brother Guillaume de Mévius, who currently races in the Ultimate class for Overdrive Racing. Three OT3s entered the Dakar in January, where Saleh Al-Saif scored a sixth in Challenger. In Portugal, GRallyTeam fielded a quartet of OT3s with Ghislain being the highest finisher in twelfth.
Overdrive Racing developed the OT3 in 2019 before entrusting its factory duties to GRallyTeam.
“I’m really happy with this collaboration, in order to develop together the Iberian market,” said de Mévius. “Santag Racing has already proven the quality of their service and showcased incredible performance, which was essential for the GRallyTeam. We’re excited to continue working hard, with as main goal to satisfy the needs and wishes of future OT3 clients.”
The 2024 European Baja Cup begins with the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura in Spain on 2–4 May.
