With 23 years and only 13 participations in rallies, there is a new name to emerge in the sport: Danny Carreira, the undisputed winner of the second race of the Clio Trophy Portugal calendar.
Navigated by Valter Cardoso, the Portuguese based in Switzerland, won the 10 qualifiers of the Rally of Castelo Branco and Vila Velha de Ródão and ascended to the leadership of the competition.
An exciting event for the fight for the remaining podium places, as evidenced by the few 10.3 seconds that separated the three doubles that followed in the classification:
Two races, two different winners, exciting fights and zero withdrawals for technical problems. Clio Trophy Portugal’s debut season is starting under good auspices.
After the third place in the Lisbon Rally, Danny Carreira (now with Valter Cardoso as navigator) was not given a chance to the competition in the Rally of Castelo Branco and Vila Velha de Ródão. Not only did he make his way to qualifying victories, but he often pushed Clio Rally5 into more competitive category cars. Upon arrival in Castelo Branco and after two days on very fast roads with temperatures above 30 degrees, the pilot stressed: “I did not expect to impose this superiority. I thought I could win another thing, but never all. The secret of this result lies in the work we all developed: from the Valter to the team, who provided me with a spectacular car. I was very comfortable during the two days, so I could not be more satisfied”.
Exciting was the fight for second place, with three teams leaving for the “Power Stage” separated by just 8.8 seconds.
In the end, advantage for the duo Pedro Pereira Jr./Tiago Silva, but with the young driver to admit. “Although second place is a pretty good result, I’m not happy with the progress. The car is fantastic, but we do not understand each other with these classifications so fast. In my career, I had never happened to walk so far from the fastest, so every team has to analyze what happened and find explanations”.
With Ricardo Cunha as navigator, Nuno Coelho won the first podium of the season in Clio Trophy Portugal. “The car was spectacular and we accumulated kilometres. We could indeed have been faster, but we preferred not to take great risks. It’s moving very fast and, in this rally, Danny was inaccessible. For my part, I’m having a lot of fun making the trophy”.
After the victory at the Rally de Lisboa, Gil Antunes (this time, with Fábio Ribeiro as navigator), did not race free of mishaps. In the inaugural section of the Rally Castelo Branco and Vila Velha de Rodão lost almost a minute following a puncture and then suffered a penalty of 10 seconds for anticipating the match in a special. “After this bad luck, we made the possible recovery. We walked at a good pace, we did everything to still reach one of the podium places, but the most important thing is that we won important points for the trophy”.
After the Lisbon Rally, Carlos Marreiros Jr., with Ricardo Barreto as navigator, finished in a positive fifth place. “I accumulated kilometres, and experience and improved the times in the second passages in the classifications. The car is spectacular, so I am satisfied with the result”, stressed the young Algarvian.
With the sixth position, the duo Luís Caetano/ David Monteiro won important points for the trophy. “In a very fast rally, we walked without taking risks, to gain experience with the car”.
With the consecrated Nuno Rodrigues da Silva as navigator, Paulo Barata was ranked seventh. “The balance is very positive. I already enjoyed the car, which is spectacular and I also learned a lot from Nuno. Come the next tests to continue to have fun”, stressed the pilot.
The Algarvian Vasco Tintin, with Nuno Duque as navigator, finished in eighth position in the Rally of Castelo Branco and Vila Velha de Rodão. “Another first in a rally, but I enjoyed the experience. The car is spectacular and the kilometres I accumulated were important to have even more fun in the next races”, said the driver.
After the withdrawal by accident at the Rally de Lisboa, the duo Henrique Azenha/ Hugo Marques did not hide the satisfaction of winning ninth place. “I am very happy because I did not arrive in Castelo Branco with high morale. The confidence was increasing throughout the race, I managed to make times at the pace of Tintin, so you can not ask more of someone with my inexperience and age”, said the dean of Clio Trophy Portugal.
After the road departure on an inaugural day, the duo José Pedro Quintas/ Nuno Carvalhosa returned in the second stage, in “Super Rally”, making kilometres and accumulating experience with Clio Rally5, which will be important for the future.
On August 30 and 31, Constálica Rallye Vouzela e Viseu is the next race, the third in the Clio Trophy Portugal calendar.
Classificação final do Rali Castelo Branco e Vila Velha de Rodão
- 1st Danny Carreira/Valter Cardoso, 1h03m13.6s
- 2nd Pedro Pereira Jr./Tiago Silva, 1m55.4s
- 3rd Nuno Coelho/Ricardo Cunha, 2m01.7s
- 4th Gil Antunes/Fábio Ribeiro, 2m05.7s
- 5th Carlos Marreiros Jr./Ricardo Barreto, 3m51.6s
- 6th Luís Caetano/David Monteiro, 3m55.3s
- 7th Paulo Barata/Nuno Rodrigues da Silva, 6m06.5s
- 8th Vasco Tintin/Nuno Duque, 9m13.2s
- 9th Henrique Azenha/Hugo Marques, 9m33.1s
- 10th José Quintas/Nuno Carvalhosa, 17m23.5s
Clio Trophy Portugal classification
- 1st Danny Career, 43 points;
- 2º Gil Antunes, 40;
- 3rd Pedro Pereira Jr., 37;
- 4th Nuno Coelho, 27;
- 5º Paulo Barata, 14;
- 6º José Pedro Quintas, 13;
- 7th Luís Caetano, 13;
- 8th Vasco Tintin, 11;
- 9th Carlos Marreiros, 10;
- 10th Henrique Azenha, 4.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok and see the exclusive content for social networks.
