Border is not just competition. It's not just cars. They are also stories of the old arch, moments of camaraderie, distressing situations and unforgettable moments. A sum of events that, over these 20 years, have also made this event in Alentejo a super-sporting event, capable of bringing together people from all quarters and places, from all areas and professions.
Among these are António Xavier and Rui Cardoso. Both journalists and also totalists in attendance at the already mythical Frontier race, albeit on opposite sides of the “barricade” – the first, in the performance of his profession, albeit with a brief stint at the wheel, while the second, did it always as a pilot. It is precisely some of these stories, gathered over two decades, that we will recall here.
The novelty, the camaraderie and the spirit of Frontier
“I remember that the first time I came to Fronteira, in 1997, it was with a UMM”, recalls Rui Cardoso, Lisbon, editor of Expresso, confessedly in love with all-terrain vehicles and Benfica – we don't know which of the passions is stronger.
The first adventures took place right in this rookie year, with “a broken front differential sheath. But, as there was no time to repair it, we welded what we could, put on carded tires and went for the last lap”. “That's how it worked, back then…”.
As for António Xavier, a journalist with vast experience, currently working with the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), he guards from the first years “the novelty”, “the enthusiasm”, of those who were “the true lovers of TT, that is. at a time when the sport was growing”. And of course, "the spirit of the organization and, in particular, of José Megre, who had already given proof that he could set up a race like this, with Portalegre", and who ended up being the foundation of a race that "is, effectively different from everything – from the spirit of the event itself, to friendship, camaraderie, exchanges of experiences”. Qualities that, he believes, “although things are very different nowadays, they will never be lost. Because Fronteira is all this and much more!”.
As a matter of fact, and about the differences that have occurred over the last 20 years, the journalist also agrees that, "in the past, this was very different", with most competitors committed to "the pure and hard jeep, often the UMM, prepared at the start to do an endurance test. Even though, in fact, few knew what it meant.” Just as they weren't aware of what it was like “driving 10 or 12 hours without light, with the night being particularly treacherous, which makes the spirit of adventure triple”.
When the squirts ran the beer
From these moments of greater adrenaline, Rui Cardoso, who in the 20 editions of the race he attended, "was always as a pilot", despite having already done some races at the National TT "as a navigator, but that gave me a comeback stomach and turned out to be a short experience”, recalls, for example, an episode of Fronteira “with a lot of mud.
“I ran out of water at the nozzles and as I was reaching a place where a group of spectators were, I stopped and asked one of them to pour some water on the windshield. They, however, who were already a little drunk, replied that they only had beer, to which I said: “It doesn't matter! It can also be…”. And that's how we removed the mud from the windshield and I continued in the race, even with a horrible smell inside the car… But we're at the end!”.
For ACP journalist António Xavier, “frontier is a race that always has a lot to count”, and “even more on the fringes of competition”, with “the fait-divers, the moments of camaraderie, the team spirit” . “It's just that we must not forget that in this race, drivers from all aspects of motor sport are brought together”, he recalls, adding that “people come from rallies, speed, karts”. ” Even those who were rivals during the championship, here, become companions, even if they are in different teams and boxes”.
“It's not something I can't explain, but the truth is that, to truly know Fronteira, you have to feel”, he concludes.
the case of the lost wheel
As for his (brief) experience behind the wheel, Xavier recalls that it happened “in 2004 and 2005”, firstly, “in a car unsafe for health and for the spine, but also resistant as few others – a Defender 90, which, in In a specific case, it managed to be even more violent than the original model, since it was prepared to do the National Trial. And the truth is, it held up, even better than our backs!”.
However, the adventures did not stop there. “I ended up also being a firefighter”, since, “around two in the morning, I found a burning Nissan Terrano II, whose driver had already used up the entirety of his extinguisher trying to put out the fire. I stopped and, with my extinguisher, I ended up helping to extinguish the fire. Because Fronteira is also this: spirit of mutual help”.
Moreover, in that same year of 2004, the veteran journalist ended up experiencing another unusual situation, when he was forced to go to the box to change a broken shock absorber. “Everything went as normal: we took off the wheel, put on a new shock absorber, put the wheel back on and I went back to the track. The problem was when I reached about 500 meters and after a small jump, I saw a wheel passing in front of me…it was mine! It had been loosely tightened and, with the heel, it ended up coming loose, with the car tipping to the side and scraping, over 20 or 30 meters, on the barrier”. So and “with the car on the side, I ended up having to do some extra gymnastics and go out the passenger door…”.
"Border Spirit will continue"
However, having completed 20 editions of Fronteira, the balance, argues Rui Cardoso, can only be positive. “There continues to be a smell of the old TT here, with the participation of those 'mature people' who continue to race cars that are no longer seen anywhere, as is the case of the team that races with a Peugeot 504, or and others that line up with a Renault 5 or Datsun Y. There is also companionship, where everyone helps each other, whether it is to pass a few bottles of beer, a 'bucket' of green broth, a tool, tires or parts. And it is also because of all this that Fronteira is different.”
António Xavier, on the other hand, sees the future of the 24 Hours of Frontier “with very good eyes, even though everything is changing”. Even because, “Fronteira and its spirit will continue, even with things moving in a direction that, the kind of cars we are used to seeing, will eventually disappear. The future is the so-called 'spiders' and not the off-road cars”.
António Xavier also shares that “even with the weight that aspects such as security are beginning to take on – something that, by the way, I find natural and understandable – and despite the fact that I miss, for example, José Megre, who was the true spirit of this. everything – although the ACP proves to know how to continue the legacy -, I have no doubts that the frontier spirit will continue…”