The debut season of Clio Trophy Portugal is in full swing. After Lisbon and Castelo Branco, the Renault Clio Rally5 competition heads to another district capital, with the Constálica Rallye Vouzela and Viseu and its apotheotic arrival at Feira de São Mateus, the largest street fair in the Iberian Peninsula.
In the third race on the calendar, young Danny Carreira defends his leadership against a fierce field.
In addition to confirming the reliability and competitiveness of the Renault Clio Rally5, the first two races of the season confirmed the balance between the most experienced drivers and the young talents emerging in the Clio Trophy Portugal. The former national champion of 2 Wheel Drives, Gil Antunes, entered the competition in the best way, by winning the Lisbon Rally, but the young Danny Carreira (23 years old) responded in a big way in the Castelo Branco and Vila Velha de Ródão Rally, taking the lead in the trophy organized by Renault Portugal.
The third of five races on the calendar, the Constálica Rallye Vouzela e Viseu will now pit Renault Clio Rally5s on the demanding asphalt specials in the Viseu Dão-Lafões region, next Saturday and Sunday. A rally made up of nine asphalt sections, some with tradition in the national rally scene, but which pose a new challenge for several of the Clio Trophy Portugal drivers.
Youth and experience
In just his third season in rallying, Danny Carreira is demonstrating his potential behind the wheel of the Clio Rally5 and arrives at this race with a three-point advantage over Gil Antunes, now being driven again by Marco Vilas Boas (just like in Lisbon). The dominating performance in Castelo Branco opened up good prospects for the young Portuguese driver, based in Switzerland who, in 2022, had a short experience at the Constálica Rally Vouzela and Viseu, as part of the FPAK Junior Team.
Gil Antunes, on the other hand, will discover this test and, at the same time, try to regain command of the competition. The Sintra driver and navigator Diogo Correia have already realized that there are young drivers with the capacity to fight for the first places, as is the case of Pedro Pereira Jr., sailed by Tiago Silva, a pair that has already accumulated two-second places, with just three points now separating the Mealhada pilot from Gil Antunes.
Nuno Coelho and Ricardo Cunha arrive in Vouzela and Viseu motivated by their first podium of the season, obtained in Castelo Branco, while Paulo Barata is also in the top 5 of the trophy, now accompanied by Joaquim Alvarinhas.
Young José Pedro Quintas (23 years old) and Luís Caetano (22 years old) also set out determined to enter the discussion for the top places, sailed, respectively, by Nuno Carvalhosa and David Monteiro. Henrique Azenha, in turn, won the class in this race with the Clio Rally5, in 2023, now returning to the Vouzela and Viseu sections with Hugo Marques.
Challenge for the Center
The Constálica Rallye Vouzela e Viseu marks the third visit, in as many rallies, of the Clio Trophy Portugal through a district capital, after Lisbon and Castelo Branco. The race organized by Gondomar Automóvel Sport has a total of nine asphalt stages, covering 72.40 timed kilometres. Saturday’s stage includes a night Super Special, in the centre of Vouzela, while the final podium of the rally takes place in the middle of Feira de São Mateus, in Viseu, on Sunday afternoon (see timetable below).
Clio Trophy Portugal classification (after two races)
1st Danny Carreira, 43 points
2nd Gil Antunes, 40
3rd Pedro Pereira Jr., 37
4th Nuno Coelho, 27
5th Paulo Barata, 14
6th José Pedro Quintas, 13
Luís Caetano, 13
8th Vasco Tintin, 11
9th Carlos Marreiros, 10
10th Henrique Azenha, 4.
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