The biggest sporting event held annually in Portugal, once again brings the stars of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) to the North and Center sections, from the 9th to the 12th of May.
Three World champions and seven former winners of the event head the Vodafone Rally de Portugal entry list, the largest of the season so far, with 69 teams, from 22 nationalities. After reaching a record economic impact, in 2023, the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) event promises to once again move around one million people, in 15 municipalities across the country.
On its way to its 57th edition, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal continues to be one of the most emblematic rallies in the world, inaugurating, as usual, the European dirt phase of the WRC. With a route very similar to that of 2023, with a total of 1,690.12 kilometres long and 337.04 timed kilometres (compared to 335.26 in 2023), the big news is the design of 22 classification specials, a number that it had not been achieved since the 2012 edition.
Proving the appeal of the ACP race is the fact that even drivers who are not competing in the entire championship, such as World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä, insist on competing in the Vodafone Rally of Portugal, reinforcing a list where there are seven former winners of the race: Ogier, Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville, Kris Meeke and Armindo Araújo, the latter two now driving cars in the Rally2 category.
Hyundai duel – Toyota in full swing
In total, 69 teams from 22 nationalities are registered for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the largest list of the WRC season to date. This is the fifth race on the World Championship calendar and the fourth of the Portuguese Rally Championship, which, as usual, will award its scores at the end of the stage on Friday (10 May).
The reigning World Champion, Toyota Gazoo Racing, appears at full strength in Portugal: in addition to its two full-time drivers, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, it also brings the returned Sébastien Ogier, the most successful driver in history of the Rally of Portugal, tied with Markku Alén (five victories), and the two-time defending World Champion, Kalle Rovanperä, who won the recent Rally Safari – Kenya and is aiming for his third consecutive victory in the Vodafone Rally of Portugal.
On the other hand, Hyundai Shell Mobis leads the Drivers’ World Championship, through Thierry Neuville, who opened the year with an impressive victory in Monte Carlo, but who saw his advantage over Evans shorten to six points after the Safari and before the Croatia Rally this weekend. Ott Tänak is another very strong Hyundai candidate for victory in Portugal, the same can be said of veteran Dani Sordo, second placed in the ACP race, in 2021 and 2023.
M-Sport Ford once again hands over its Puma Rally1s to Adrien Fourmaux, one of the good surprises at the start of the season, with podiums in Sweden and Kenya, and to the less experienced Grégoire Munster.
In total, there will be nine cars in the premier category in Portugal, one more than in last year’s edition.
The Rally2 category, on the other hand, has an impressive list of 40 entries, by far the biggest of the season so far. In the WRC2 race are all the main figures of the World Rally2 Championship, such as championship leader Oliver Solberg (Skoda), who will try to avenge the victory lost last year in Portugal, due to the spin – and subsequent penalty – in the Super Special Special Lousada. Gus Greensmith (Skoda) and Yohan Rossel (Citroën) appear just behind the Norwegian in the World Cup, but there are several other big names in the squad in Portugal: Teemu Suninen (Hyundai), Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën), Pepe López (Skoda), Sami Pajari (Toyota), Georg Linnamäe (Toyota) or Jan Solans (Toyota), just to name a few.
CPR’s main competitors also reinforce the list of entries, as Kris Meeke (Hyundai), Armindo Araújo (Skoda), Ricardo Teodósio (Hyundai), José Pedro Fontes (Citroën), Ernesto Cunha (Skoda) or Lucas Simões (Ford), CPR 2RM drivers will also join, such as Gonçalo Henriques (Renault), Hugo Lopes (Peugeot), Pedro Silva (Peugeot), Kevin Saraiva (Peugeot) or Diogo Marujo (Peugeot), among others.
Among Rally3, the highlight is the clash between the best Ford Fiesta drivers, such as the WRC3 leader, Jan Cerny, and the Renault Clio drivers, such as Ghjuvanni Rossi or Matteo Chatillon.
Bet on continuity
The action begins, as usual, on Thursday morning (9 May), in Baltar, with the 4.61 km Shakedown, followed by the official Start Ceremony, again in Coimbra, from 5 pm. The competitors then head to Figueira da Foz, for the opening Super Special, this year with 2.94 km and starting at 7:05 pm (broadcast on RTP1).
On Friday (May 10), the traditional dirt specials in the Central region are the first major test for machines and riders, now with the Mortágua stage (18.15 km) being covered twice, the opening and the close of the day. Double passes through Lousã (14.30 km), Góis (14.30 km) and Arganil (18.72 km) complete the first competitive day.
For Saturday’s stage, two ‘loops’ are reserved for the stages of Felgueiras (8.81 km), Montim (8.69 km), the longest special stage of the rally, Amarante (37.24 km) and Paredes (16.09 km) which, this year, also has two passages. The day ends in apotheosis, as usual, in the Lousada Super Special (3.36 km), broadcast on RTP2.
Sunday’s decisive stage will consist of double passes through the 19.91 km of Cabeceiras de Basto, of which 12.6 km are completely new, and the iconic 11.18 km of Fafe, also the usual stage of the Power Stage (with the two live broadcasts on RTP1).
Environmental responsibility is a priority
The largest sporting event held annually on national soil, which in 2023 attracted almost one million live spectators and had a record impact of 164.7 million euros on the national economy, also has a strong component of environmental responsibility, recognized by FIA with the consecutive award, since 2017, of the maximum environmental certification from the international federation. The collaboration of the race audience and the action of the 15 municipalities involved in the event are also essential for the Environmental Sustainability Plan of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal: Amarante, Arganil, Cabeceiras de Basto, Coimbra, Fafe, Felgueiras, Figueira da Foz, Góis, Lousada, Lousã, Matosinhos, Mondim de Basto, Mortágua, Paredes and Vieira do Minho.
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