Adrenaline-fueled weekend and champions at the 75th Lousada Rallycross

The Portuguese Rallycross and Kartcross Championship concluded spectacularly in Lousada.

It was a weekend of thrilling races that crowned José Oliveira (Super Carros), Jorge Machado (Super 1600), André Marinho (Nacional 2 RM), Michael Braun (Beginners), and Gustavo Henriques (Kartcross) as the new 2025 national champions.

Nothing better than the spectacular Lousada International Circuit to conclude an extremely competitive season, with several titles being decided at the finish line, confirming that the Portuguese Rallycross and Kartcross Championship is one of the best in Europe.

The event, organised by the Lousada Automobile Club (CAL), featured 83 drivers and featured some new features that delighted the thousands of spectators who attended the circuit. It’s not every day you see nighttime racing, just as it’s not common to see monstrous competition trucks and the glorious 2CVs and Dyanes of popcross on the track. All of this happened on a unique weekend in Lousada.

The finals were authentic sprint races, with the drivers always pushing the limit and making the decision to the last corner.

In Super Cars, José Oliveira (Peugeot 208 WRX) put on a show on the track, winning all the qualifying heats and the final. The driver was clearly superior throughout the year, and the national title suits him very well. “I’m happy to have won another national title. I had a good run throughout the season, and the whole team deserves congratulations. It took a lot of logistics to keep the car in perfect condition and compete at the highest level. Even with our amateurism, we strive to be as professional as possible,” said the champion of the premier class of rallycross.

The Super 1600 category final was heated, with several collisions and a rollover by Tiago Ferreira (Ford Fiesta), which led to the race being interrupted. The restart was calmer, and António Sousa Júnior (Peugeot 208) led until the end. “You know very well how to win at home. We’ve deserved this for a long time; we have the speed to be at the front,” he said.

Jorge Machado (Peugeot 208) finished second and is the new national champion. “It was a weekend where we were somewhat lucky with everything that happened. It’s a fair reward for what we did throughout the season, even though we had some setbacks.” My motto is to believe until the end, and it was worth it,” she said.

The CAL race was also decisive in determining the champions of the National 2RM category. There were three contenders for the title, but André Monteiro’s withdrawal during qualifying due to a mechanical problem in his Peugeot 206 left the title race to André Marinho (BMW 328i) and Rafaela Barbosa.

The final was extremely close, with several collisions thrilling the crowd. Rafaela Barbosa drove a consistently attacking race and recovered from fourth to first place in seven laps, securing a beautiful victory. “It’s always good to win in Lousada, a track I really like,” said the Citroën Saxo driver.

With fourth place, André Marinho secured the overall title and the Division 2 title. “It’s a unique feeling and the realisation of a long-held dream. The car has been reliable, we managed to overcome all the difficulties, and it was possible to become champion,” he said. With a second-place finish in the race, Bruno Lima (Citroën Saxo) was crowned national champion in Division 1, one point ahead of Rafaela Barbosa.

Among the Novices, Michael Braun (Citroën C1) won everything he could win this weekend and secured the national title. “I’m very happy and want to keep winning. I hope to move up a division next year,” confided the young driver.

In kartcross, the three drivers vying for the title started from the front row for the decisive race. It was a thrilling eight laps, as the fight for victory also meant the fight for the title. Everything was decided on the last lap, with the victory going to Alexandre Borges (LBS SX01) and the title going to Gustavo Henriques (LBS SX01), thanks to the point earned for the fastest lap. “I’m very excited. I knew I had to fight until the end to win, but I did it.” It was a difficult season. There were races where I had a good pace, but in the final, I always had some issue and was out of the race,” explained the new champion.

In the Junior Kartcross Trophy, Martin Henriques (LBS SX01) took an easy victory and won the Junior Trophy, following his brother Gustavo’s example in the main category.

The support races were equally spectacular. In the Pop Cross competition, Sérgio Marques (Citroën 2CV) took the victory, and in the Trucks category, Bruno Neto (Mercedes) took the win.

Final Classification:

Super Cars
1st José Oliveira (Peugeot 208), 7 laps in 4:46.342; 2nd Daniel Pacheco (Renault Clio), 14.592 s; 3rd César Pereira (Ford Fiesta), 17.495 s; 3rd Manuel Pinto (Citroën C2), 42.002 s (1st Open RX)

Super 1600
1st Antonio Sousa (Peugeot 208), 7 laps in 5:07.763; 2nd Jorge Machado (Peugeot 208), 3.711 s; 3rd Sérgio Dias (Renault Twingo), 4.970 s behind

National 2RM
1st Rafaela Barbosa (Citroen Saxo), 7 laps in 05:25.091 (1st Division 1); 2nd Bruno Lima (Citroen Saxo), 5.165 s behind; 3rd Manuel Tavares (Peugeot 106), 5.516 s behind; 4th André Marinho (BMW 328), 6.233 s behind (1st Division 2); 5th Mário Barbosa (Citroen Saxo), 7.030 s behind

Beginners
1st Michael Braun (Citroen C1), 7 laps in 6:01.120; 2nd Nelson Costa (Fiat Uno), 14.066 s behind; 3rd Elisio Lopes (Peugeot 208), 15.193 s

Kartcross
1st Alexandre Borges (LBS RX01), 8 laps in 5:31.794; 2nd Gustavo Henriques (LBS RX01), 0.205 s behind; 3rd Pedro Marques (LBS RX01), 0.375 s behind; 4th Fábio Machado (ASK XCR), 7.708 s behind; 5th João Pinheiro (LBS RX01), 8.089 s behind

Junior Kartcross Trophy
1st Martin Henriques (LBS SX01), 8 laps in 6:03.386; 2nd Lourenço Rocha (Semog Bravo), 20.140 s behind; 3rd: Afonso Couto (LBS RX01), 20.506 s; 4th: Eduardo Soares (KinKar), 27.638 s

Pop Cross
1st: Sérgio Marques (Citroën 2CV), 7 laps, in 6:44.440; 2nd: Domingos Violante (Citroën 2CV), 4.037 s; 3rd: Ramiro José (Citroën Dyane), 6.075 s; 4th: Nelson Costa (Citroën Dyane), 7.002 s; 5th: Rodrigo Menino (Citroën 2CV), 13.258 s

Trucks
1st: Bruno Neto (Mercedes), 7 laps in 6:13.752; 2nd Bruno Borges (MAN), at 1.519 s; 3rd Manuel Ferreira (Scania), at 13.428 s; 4th Nuno Alves (Volvo), at 19.472 s and 5th Daniel Reis (Scania), at 32.290 s

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