Ventura tows Crivilin to extraordinary 2026 Sertões victory
Bruno Crivilin has claimed his first Sertões motorcycle crown after an extraordinary final-stage rescue carried the Brazilian and his stricken Honda to the finish in Goiânia.
Crivilin completed the eight-stage rally in 37 hours, 10 minutes and 43.76 seconds, 24m21.15s ahead of Monster Energy Honda HRC rider Martim Ventura. Yamaha-mounted privateer Guilherme Bissotto completed the outright podium, with KTM rider Marcelo Medeiros fourth and Ricardo “Bob” Martins taking a Yamaha Ténéré 700 to fifth overall and the Big Trail title.
The 34th edition covered 4020 kilometres, including 2611 kilometres of timed competition, and crossed a wide variety of terrain through Goiás, Bahia and Tocantins. It began with defending champion Tosha Schareina in command, changed complexion in the heavy sand of the Jalapão, and remained unsettled until Crivilin finally reached the timing control on the eighth and final day.
Schareina starts his title defence in command
Schareina made a perfect start aboard the Monster Energy Honda HRC CRF450 Rally. The Spaniard topped the opening prologue in Goiânia and then won the head-to-head Super Prime to secure the Sylvio de Barros Trophy and first choice of starting position for Stage One.
Ventura also advanced into the eight-rider Super Prime group on his Sertões debut. The Portuguese rider was entered in Moto 2 on the CRF450RX Rally and came to Brazil as much to build experience as to chase a result, but it quickly became clear that he would be an outright contender.
Stage One sent the field from Goiânia to Cavalcante and contained 342.81 kilometres against the clock. Schareina accepted the challenge of opening the road and overcame navigation-equipment problems, gates and animals on the course to take the stage and the early lead. Crivilin was second fastest, while Ventura placed fourth outright and won Moto 2.
The following 419.17-kilometre special carried the rally from Goiás into Bahia. Schareina again set the pace after conserving his tyres through the fast opening section, with Crivilin second and Ventura third. Two stages into the rally, Schareina led outright and Ventura already had control of Moto 2.
The Jalapão turns the rally
The first half of the marathon stage featured the longest special of the event, a 510.73-kilometre run into Mateiros. With no outside mechanical assistance permitted at the bivouac, outright speed had to be balanced against preserving the bikes.
Ventura handled that equation best and claimed his first outright stage win of the rally. Schareina rode with the overall classification in mind and retained the lead, while Crivilin remained close enough to attack when the marathon turned back out of the Jalapão.
Stage Four proved decisive. Heavy sand, high temperatures and a further 304.38 timed kilometres stood between Mateiros and Porto Nacional. Crivilin won the day by 5m06s over Schareina and emerged from the marathon with the outright lead, 3m43s ahead of the defending champion.
Yamaha’s Adrien Metge was third fastest as he began recovering from equipment problems that had ruined his opening two days. Ventura reached the finish fourth despite further navigation-equipment trouble, two falls and damage to the exhaust. He remained third overall and held an advantage of more than an hour in Moto 2.
Crivilin takes control as Schareina exits
Crivilin backed up his breakthrough with another victory on Stage Five, the 309.30-kilometre special from Porto Nacional to Minaçu. Ventura placed second and Metge third, but the day brought the end of Schareina’s title defence. The Spaniard crashed during the special and was unable to continue, although Honda reported that he was in good condition after the incident.
That promoted Ventura to second overall, while Bissotto, Medeiros and Martins moved further into prominence behind the two leading Hondas.
Ventura struck back on Stage Six. The Portuguese rider mastered a technical 319.13-kilometre special featuring mountains and deep fesh-fesh to take his second outright stage win. Crivilin finished second, with Metge third, Bissotto fourth, Medeiros fifth and Martins sixth. The result left Ventura 22m54s from the lead with two days remaining.
Stage Seven initially looked likely to narrow the fight further. Ventura opened the special, established a strong rhythm and led approaching the refuelling point, only for his front brake to overheat. He completed the final 60 kilometres with virtually no front brake and reduced his pace after several moments.
Crivilin won the stage, Ventura salvaged second and the overall margin stood at 26m21s before the final 126.89-kilometre test into Goiânia.
An 80-kilometre tow to the title
With more than 26 minutes in hand, Crivilin needed only a clean final day. Instead, the rally produced its biggest drama when he encountered a cow on the course, swerved and struck a tree. The impact damaged the bike’s oil-cooler system and left the leader unable to continue unaided.
Ventura arrived at the scene with an opportunity to inherit the outright victory, but stopped and attached a tow line to Crivilin’s Honda. The pair covered approximately 80 kilometres together before reaching the finish, Ventura surrendering any prospect of the stage or overall win to save his team-mate’s rally.
The time lost reduced Crivilin’s winning margin to 24m21s, but the advantage he had built was enough. His success was the 12th Sertões motorcycle victory for Honda, moving the manufacturer clear of KTM as the event’s most successful marque, and returned a Brazilian rider to the top step for the first time in four years.
Crivilin said the rally was not over until the time card had been handed in, adding that the title belonged as much to Ventura and the Honda crews as it did to him.
Crivilin’s first Sertões title came in only his second attempt at the event. The 29-year-old entered rally raid after a decorated enduro career and had already made history earlier in 2026 by becoming the first Brazilian motorcycle rider to finish on a World Rally-Raid Championship podium, taking second in Rally 2 at Argentina’s Desafio Ruta 40.
Martim Ventura
“When I saw him in trouble, I only thought about helping him. That was my role. Bruno deserved the victory more than anyone.”
Ventura still left his first Sertões with second outright, the Moto 2 title and two outright stage victories. His week also included navigation problems, crashes, exhaust damage and the loss of his front brake, making the final result considerably more substantial than the Honda one-two alone might suggest.
Yamaha, KTM, GasGas and Kawasaki stories
While the outright win went to Honda, the final classification contained several notable performances from rival manufacturers.
Bissotto was the leading non-Honda rider throughout the decisive second half. Competing as a privateer with Txai Experience and Yamaha’s BLU CRU program, the Bahia rider kept his WR450F among the front group, finished second on the final special and secured third outright along with the Moto 2 runner-up position.
Medeiros’ fourth place was achieved in his first Sertões on two wheels. The Meds Racing KTM rider is a seven-time winner of the event on a quad, but had to learn the 450 Rally as the competition unfolded. He rose from 11th in the prologue to fourth overall and third in Moto 2, then placed third on the final stage.
Martins produced one of the event’s standout rides by taking the much larger Ténéré 700 to fifth overall against the purpose-built 450 rally machines. The Yamaha IMS rider won Big Trail and finished fourth on the final special, bringing the twin-cylinder machine through more than 4000 kilometres without a major failure.
Metge’s outright hopes disappeared with equipment problems over the opening two days, but the Frenchman recovered to finish on the podium in several later stages and dominated the final special in 1h43m45.73s. He placed 17th outright after accumulated penalties but was runner-up to Crivilin in Moto 1.
GasGas rider Jomar Grecco completed the rally sixth overall and won Moto Over 45 despite riding the closing stages with a fractured collarbone. Marco Antonio Pereira was the leading rider in the unsupported Self category, in which every entrant made it to Goiânia.
Moara Sacilotti completed her record-extending 26th Sertões in third place in Moto Brasil aboard a Kawasaki KLX300. The veteran then confirmed that the 2026 edition had been her final rally as a competitor.
2026 Sertões Motorcycle Final Classification
1. Bruno Crivilin – Honda CRF450RX Rally – 37h10m43.76s
2. Martim Ventura – Honda CRF450RX Rally – 37h35m04.91s
3. Guilherme Bissotto – Yamaha WR450 – 38h38m38.80s
4. Marcelo Medeiros – KTM 450 Rally – 39h53m44.34s
5. Ricardo “Bob” Martins – Yamaha Ténéré 700 – 40h01m53.26s
6. Jomar Grecco – GasGas EC500F – 40h59m49.77s
7. Luciano Gomes – Yamaha WR450 – 41h13m35.68s
8. João Fornazari – GasGas RX450 Rally Replica – 41h17m56.59s
9. Cristian Arriegada – KTM 890 Adventure Rally – 41h31m52.40s
10. Marco Antonio Pereira – Yamaha WR450 – 41h52m09.40s
2026 Sertões Motorcycle Class Podiums
Moto 1: Bruno Crivilin; Adrien Metge; Dimas Mattos
Moto 2: Martim Ventura; Guilherme Bissotto; Marcelo Medeiros
Moto 3: Felipe Pereira; Jean Zuchelli; Lucas Silveira
Moto Over 45: Jomar Grecco; Luciano Gomes; Marco Antonio Pereira
Moto Brasil: Alexandre Valadares; Bárbara Neves; Moara Sacilotti
Big Trail: Ricardo “Bob” Martins; Cristian Arriegada; Cauê Aguiar
Self: Marco Antonio Pereira; Felipe Pereira; Jean Zuchelli
