Profile of MARTIM VENTURA - HONDA HRC - Dakar

N°84 Bike MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC

BADR AL HAMDAN

PRESTON CAMPBELL

MARTIM VENTURA

(POR) Born on 12/06/2000 1.75m / 78kg

Hobbies

MTB, cycling, moto-x, eating, sleeping

Participations

Stage wins

Stages

Cat.

Group

Podiums

Cat.

Group

Wins

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Other races

“You can’t afford to turn up and be average”

Crew facts

There’s been a sudden rush of young talent into the motorcycle category. Edgar Canet and Tobias Ebster were quickly snapped up by KTM and Hero respectively and it could well be that Martim Ventura, spotted by Honda HRC manager Ruben Faria, could be the next big thing.
Like them, Martim started riding moto-x young at the age of 10 but what he really wanted to do was race off-road Baja. He made the switch as soon as he could, riding 125 2-strokes at 16 in the Portuguese national Baja championship.
Despite his 2-stroke’s inherent fragility, good mechanics and lots of new pistons saw him win his class at just 17 against more robust 4-stroke 250s.
He won his class again the following year again on a 250, before winning yet another championship in 2020.
In 2021 he was at last able to move up to the 450 class but the following year was a tough one for Martim with him losing two of the most important people in his life, his father and his mechanic, both to heart attacks. He went on to finish second on the Baja Portalegre just 0.1 second behind Antonio Maio!
All this happened while Martim was studying to be an electrical engineer. It was a deal he made with his parents in return for them supporting his racing. He tried to run his dad’s business in parallel with everything else but it was too much and 7 months later he sold it on.
2023 was a write off with injury and then in 2024 it all came together with Martim winning both the Portalegre and the national championship overall. He also made his rally-raid debut, crashing out of the Rally Raid Portugal.
In 2025 he finished 12th on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge before going on to win the Carta Rally. On the 2025 Rally Raid Portugal he gave Honda their first win in Rally2. Back in Morocco for the Rallye du Maroc Martim finished regularly on the Rally2 podium, though a melted mousse on day 2 ruined any chances of featuring well in the overall results.
Martim’s girlfriend shares his love of bikes and rides herself. Martim’s mother and sister aren’t so enthusiastic!

Ambition

“It is really hard to make an impact in rally raid. You can’t afford to turn up and put in an average performance if you want to get noticed. That’s why I’ve done a lot of training in Morocco, so as to be as competitive as possible from the start. Racing the Rally Raid Portugal and the Desert Challenge was a tough debut so it was good to go to the Carta Rally, have a bit less pressure and be able to open and win from the front. Being taken on by Honda for the Rallye du Maroc and the Dakar is a really good break for me. To be in that environment with the best riders, the best managers and mechanics is a dream come true and I’m sure I will learn a lot. Hopefully I can reward them for the faith they have shown me.”

Vehicle

MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC

HONDA CRF 450
HONDA HRC

Mark HONDA
Model CRF 450
Engine 449 cc single cylinder, 4 stroke
Frame Aluminium beam
Power 60
Weight 130
Length 200
Tank capacity 32
Performance tuner Monster Energy Honda HRC
Assistance Monster Energy Honda HRC
Class Rally 2

Ranking 2026

All news of M. Ventura

Toni Mulec prevails in Rally2

Toni Mulec is the winner of the Dakar in the Rally2 class, beating Preston Campbell by 4′37″ and Martim Ventura by 1 h 37′15″. The Slovenian has taken the crown from Edgar Canet (2025) and secured the second triumph for BAS World KTM, which had already prevailed with Mason Klein in 2022. Campbell and Ventura placed the two Honda Monster Energy machines...

Strong finish by Michael Docherty in Rally2

Michael Docherty dominated the Rally2 special from flag to flag to net his ninth win of the 2026 edition, ahead of the Honda riders Martim Ventura (+2′28″) and Preston Campbell (+3′03″). The South African has wrapped up this Dakar exactly as he started it, having already topped the board in the prologue in Yanbu.

Preston Campbell top rookie?

Preston Campbell has just got to grips with the final stage of his debut Dakar and just needs to seal the deal on top rookie status. Second overall in Rally2, the American is the top-ranked rookie by 1 h 33′13″ over his Portuguese teammate Martim Ventura and 2 h 39′09″ over the Mongolian Khaliunbold Erdenebileg.

Mulec ready to succeed Canet

Toni Mulec, perched at the summit of the Rally2 ranking with 6′12″ in hand over Preston Campbell, is the odds-on favourite to succeed the 2025 winner, Edgar Canet. It would be BAS World KTM's second Dakar victory in the Rally2 class, after Mason Klein in 2022. Campbell and his teammate Martim Ventura (third) are poised to place two Honda Monster Energy motorbikes...

Mulec is set to follow in Canet’s footsteps

In the Rally 2 class, the scales in the duel for outright triumph on the Dakar have clearly tipped in the favour of Toni Mulec. The Slovenian has completed stage 12 with a lead of 6'12’’ over Preston Campbell. Mulec is therefore well set to follow in the footsteps of Mason Klein (in 2022), Romain Dumontier (in 2023), Harith Noah (in 2024) and Edgar Canet (in...

Rally 2: Ventura closes in on Docherty

Michael Docherty was 1'38’’ ahead of Martim Ventura after 198 km in the Rally 2 special but the Portuguese rider has moved back to 1'04’’ behind the South African at the refuelling zone (after 223 km). Toni Mulec lies in wait, 1’43’’ behind and is continuing to head towards outright triumph in the overall rankings: his lead over...

Honda and KTM battle for the day’s victory

The first ten bikers have completed 134 km and the provisional stage rankings reveal that the battle for the win is likely to be between KTM and Honda: only one other brand – Hero, with Ross Branch (9e) – is in the top 10! Ricky Brabec leads the special ahead of Luciano Benavides (in 2nd, 1'24’’ behind), followed by Tosha Schareina, (in 3rd, 4’16’’...

Rally 2: Docherty takes the lead

Michael Docherty has taken command of the stage after 94 km. The South African leads Martim Ventura by 43’’ and Toni Mulec by 2'. Preston Campbell follows, 4’’ behind Mulec, as the battle for the Rally 2 title rages.