How is the FIA Iberian Rally Trophy going?

The Rally Vinho Madeira is part of the FIA Rally Trophy, integrated in the Iberian leg of the competition, the FIA Iberian Rally Trophy. This trophy started at the end of February with the Portuguese competition Serras de Fafe Rally. The Spaniard Dani Sordo brought to our country a Hyundai i20 R5 and gave no breaks to his competitors. Immediately after came the racers who were better positioned at the Portuguese motor-racing championship: Ricardo Teodósio, Miguel Barbosa, Ricardo Moura and José Pedro Fontes. A month later, the Rallye Sierra Morena, centered at Córdoba, marked the first of this competition’s Spanish legs. “Pepe” Lopez won, just ahead of two Hyundai i20 R5 pilots, Ruben Ares and Surhayen Pernia. Roberto Blach, in a Citroën C3 R5, came fourth, ahead of the spectacular Daniel Bendomas, in his Peugeot 208 R2, and Emma Falcon, in another Citroën C3 R5. Around mid-May, Tenerife and the Villa de Adeje Rally, a new introduction to this year’s trophy, hosted the third of the six events that compose the calendar. In the Canary island that is closest to Madeira, the Hyundai i20 R5 dictated the rules with Ruben Ares triumphing ahead of José António Suarez and Surhayen Pernia and Francis Lopez. After the end of Rally Vinho Madeira there will be two races left to compete: the Princess of Asturias Rally, in September, and the Casinos do Algarve in November. Current standings: 1.st Ruben Ares, 70; 2.nd “Pepe” Lopez, 38; 3.rd Daniel Sordo, 32; 4.th José António Suarez, 30; 5.th Alejandro Calderon e Surhayen Pernia, 25; 7.th Ricardo Teodósio, 24; 8.th Miguel Barbosa e Roberto Blach, 20; 10.th Francisco Lopez, 19; 11.th Ricardo Moura e Emma Falcon, 16; 13.th Domingo Guerra, 15; 14.th José Pedro Fontes, 13; 15.th Gustavo Espinel, 11; 16.th Bruno Magalhães, 10; 17.th Armindo Araújo, 6; 18.th Alberto Heller Ancarola, 5; 19.th José Macias, 4; 20.th Pedro Heller Ancarola, 2; 21.st Pedro Almeida, 1.

How is the Portuguese Rally Championship going?

The Portuguese Rally Championship began almost at the end of February with the Serras de Fafe Rally. In what the national championship is concerned, Ricardo Teodósio was king and finished with an important advantage ahead of his competitor Miguel Barbosa, who came second. Ricardo Mouro lost a lot of time with his starting order, but completed the podium. José Pedro Fontes was fourth ahead of Bruno Magalhães who marked his return to the Portuguese competition at this specific race. The completion went to São Miguel island, in the Azores, last month, for the Azores Rallye where the Azorean pilot, Ricardo Moura, ended up ruling the podium. Fairly behind the winer, Bruno Magalhães beat Ricardo Teodósio in an interesting duel for the last two places of the podium. Miguel Correia and António Dias closed the bouquet of the first five classified racers. At the beginning of May, Mortágua received the PRC caravan for a much disputed race for the title between four pilots. José Pedro Fontes was ahead but ended up being pulled off the road close to the finishing line, leaving a clear path for Ricardo Teodósio to obtain his second victory this year. On second position was Armindo Araújo, ahead of Miguel Barbosa. Pedro Meireles came up fifth with his VW Golf GTi R5 before this vehicle also got affected by what looked to be the beginning of a fire, something that had marked the first months of this model. At the end of May the competition returned to the roads for the Vodafone Rally of Portugal. In this competition, also counting for WRC, it was Armindo Araújo who marked the rhythm and rose the highest at a podium in which Bruno Magalhães and Ricardo Teodósio occupied, once more, and in this order, the lowest positions. Pedro Almeida and Diogo Salvi occupied the immediately following positions. On the third week of June, the championship went to Castelo Branco. Armindo Araújo repeated the success shown at the previous race after a lively fight with Ricardo Teodósio, who came second.  Miguel Barbosa beat José Pedro Fontes in a similar fight for third place. Bruno Magalhães occupied the fifth position. After this Rally Vinho Madeira, in which Pedro Meireles is returning with a renewed VW, there will be three rally competitions left: Terras d’Aboboreira, Vidreiro and Casinos do Algarve. Current standings: 1.st Ricardo Teodósio, 109,18; 2.nd Armindo Araújo, 87,44; 3.rd Bruno Magalhães, 65; 4.th Miguel Barbosa, 56,82; 5.th Ricardo Moura, 46,39; 6.th Pedro Almeida, 42; 7.th José Pedro Fontes, 38,18; 8.th António Dias, 27; 9.th Miguel Correia, 22; 10.th Paulo Meireles, 18; 11.th Gil Antunes, 15; 12.th Daniel Nunes, 15; 13.th Pedro Meireles, 14,42; 14.th Hugo Lopes, 13; 15.th Diogo Salvi, 12; 16.th Joaquim Alves, 12; 17.th Manuel Castro, 9; 18.th Paulo Neto, 9; 19.th José Merceano, 3; 20.th Filipe Nogueira, 2; 21.st Manuel Pinto, João Marcelino, Rafael Cardeira, Paulo Caldeira, Hugo Araújo, Francisco Esperto and Nuno Caetano, 1.

How is the Coral Rally Championship of Madeira going?

The Madeiran rally championship began in mid-march in São Vicente. In São Vicente, Alexandro Camacho maintained the high from the previous season and João Silva used Miguel Nunes’ problems with his Hyundai i20 R5 to become second. Another pilot debating himself with his vehicle’s difficulties was Pedro Paixão, fourth, ahead of Rui Pinto. Around a month later, Machico hosted the return of Miguel Nunes to triumph. The Hyundai racer knew how to maintain the correct speed and also how to be in the right place at the right time in order to take the most out of the long time leader Pedro Paixão’s mistake, as well as to take the most out of a mechanical problem that affected Alexandre Camacho, when he tried to step ahead on the race. João Silva gave up and Rui Pinto cut the finishing line in the fourth position. Around mid-May, the championship moved to Calheta, for another expressive win for Alexandre Camacho. Miguel Nunes was second and Rui Pinto third after having overpassed Pedro Paixão on the last Classifying Leg. By the beginning of June, Miguel Nunes rebalanced the numbers by winning in Ribeira Brava at a race in which he presented himself unbeatable by the second round. Alexandre Camacho finished second and Pedro Mendes Gomes became third, benefitting from Pedro Paixão pulling up from the race, a racer who, while competing, was always close to the leader. Around three weeks ago, Alexandre Camacho turned the scale to his favor with a new triumph, for which he had to fight a very motivated Miguel Nunes. Pedro Paixão completed the podium in front of José Pedro Fontes and Gil Freitas. After Rally Vinho Madeira, the local calendar plans will be focused in the Funchal and Câmara de Lobos Municipalities Rally. Current standings: 1.st Alexandre Camacho, 126; 2.nd Miguel Nunes, 113; 3.rd Pedro Paixão, 71; 4.th Rui Pinto, 48; 5.th Bruno Fernandes, 38; 6.th Vítor Sá, 35; 7.th Gil Freitas, 34; 8.th Artur Quintal, 22; 9.th Paulo Mendes, 22; 10.th João Silva, 20; 11.th Paulo Nunes, 19; 12.th Dinarte Baptista, 14; 13.th Nuno Ferreira, 14; 14.th Filipe Pires, 12; 15.th Filipe Freitas and Luis Serrado, 10; 17.th Renato Pita, 10; 18.th Roberto Martins, 4; 19.th Ilídio Sardinha, 4; 20.th Bruno Coelho, 4; 21.st Tiago Nunes, 3; 23.rd Narciso Andrade, Carlos Silva and Edgar Sousa, 2; 26.th António Abel and Ricardo Gonçalves, 1.

Press conference alerts to safety measures to have at the highlands

On the 30.th of July, around 5 p.m. there will take place, at Madeira Tecnopolo, on the -1 floor, a conference which will count with the presence of the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources, Susana Prada. The conference will focus in informing the general public for the safety measures one has to follow at the highlands during Rally Vinho Madeira.

FIA ERT: What is it and how does it work?

The FIA European Rally Trophy was born in 2014 and came to substitute the European Rally Cup. In its current frame, this is a European motor-racing trophy that is divided between seven geographical regions. These are: the Alpine zone, which encompasses countries around the Alps such as France, Italy and Switzerland; the Balkan zone, accounting for countries in the Balkan Peninsula, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Serbia; the Baltic zone, for countries bordering the Baltic Sea, such as Latvia, Estonia and Sweden; the Benelux zone for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg; the Celtic zone, designed for Ireland and the United Kingdom; the Central zone, for Central European countries such as Austria, the Czechs Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland and Germany, and, last, but not least, the Iberian zone, for Portugal and Spain. In all these zones, champions are picked not only at the absolute level (ERT1), but also for RC2N and some RGT (ERT2) vehicles, racers on two driving-wheel cars (ERT3) and Junior, for pilots aged fewer than 27. From all these stages, the first five classified racers, in each group or echelon, are also cleared for the Final. It is at the Final that the overall title is attributed. In 2019 the Final will take place at the Rallye International du Valais, hosted by Switzerland between the 16.th and the 19.th of October, but was hosted, these last two years, by Rali Casinos do Algarve, in Portugal.

Alexandro Camacho: “Invested to the maximum”

The current season has been for Alexandre Camacho “[filled with] ups and downs. We won some races and we lost others, for various reasons, but also because competition is quite strong. This has been a quite competitive championship. In this Rally we are aiming for a victory and for a third consecutive win. This will be very difficult to achieve since many very good pilots will be present, some seven or eight at the same level. We have to be invested to the maximum of our capacities. I think that, by winning, we can become regional champions, and, such a success would be a double win. This is a rally that “stands aside” in the context of the Championship at we wish to achieve a good result. We will work and fight for that goal”. At 39 years old, Camacho debuted in motor-racing in 2001 at the wheel of a Toyota Yaris. He conquered the 2018 title at the FIA European Rally Trophy and is the only notorious FIA racer to take part of this year’s Rally Vinho Madeira. The 2008, 2009, 2015, 2017 and 2018 regional champion is, currently, heading the pole position at the Coral Rally Championship of Madeira.

Giandomenico Basso: “I hope to be able to fight for victory”

Giandomenico Basso considers that, “so far, 2019 is being a good year. We changed for a smaller team, with a limited budget and we have already won two races of the Italian Championship, one of them, an ERC one. Now we can say that everything is going better than we thought. Rally Vinho Madeira is one of my favorite and, this year, came up the chance of taking part in it with a Delta Rally car, with which I am not familiar. By now, I can only hope that that car is competitive and that it allows us to fight for victory”. The Italian racer, who, in September, will turn 46, started his career in motor-racing back in 1997 with a Fiat Ciquecento. Since then, and up to 2010, he was practically always at the wheel of vehicles produced by the Italian brand, which he has officially represented for many seasons. He was also the official pilot of Proton. Basso, who won rally Vinho Madeira in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2013, was the European Champion in 2006 and 2009, won the IRC in 2006, the TER in 2017 and 2018 and was the Italian Champion in 2007 and 2016. Currently he is the leader of his country’s championship.

Monte da Guia ship expected to arrive today to Caniçal

It is expected that the Monte da Guia ship, holding most of the vehicles partaking of this year’s edition of the RVM, will arrive and port at Caniçal still today. The ship has left the Leixões port with a slight delay, postponing the delivery for tonight. The process is being articulated between the RVM organizing team, the Customs of Funchal and the ship company. The teams will be informed about the development of the operation.

Many drivers on tests

Throughout today and tomorrow, many competitors will be on the road, going through every last touch before they take part in Rally Vinho Madeira. These tests will take place on those roads that will not be used under the established itinerary of the race, organized by Club Sports of Madeira, since route recognition will only take off tomorrow, the 30.th of July, up to Wednesday, the 31.st of July.

Last tickets for the stand at Avenida do Mar

There are very few places remaining for the stand positioned at Avenida do Mar to watch the first Special Classifying Leg, named Avenida do Mar - Centro Internacional de Negócios da Madeira. The remaining tickets will be sold at the seat of the Club Sports of Madeira, at number 43 in Avenida Arriaga and also at the Rally Vinho Madeira headquarters at -1 floor of Madeira Tecnopolo. Make sure to get your ticket!

Bruno Magalhães: “Our goal is to win the National Championship”

For Bruno Magalhães, 2019 has been “a season in which things have not gone as desired. Our results do not correspond to the goals we have established. For Rally Vinho Madeira, Sports & You made a great effort and we are all still working a lot so that we can be more competitive in the second half of the Championship. This is a race that I really enjoy taking part of and where we usually are quite fast. Our main goal with this participation is to win within the Portuguese Rally Championship and recover points”. Bruno Magalhães is 39 years old and, for the last 20 years, he has participated regularly in various races. The pilot, born in Lisbon, has already won four times the Rally Vinho Madeira in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015; he was the European Vice-Champion in 2017 and National Champion three times already, from 2007 to 2009. After many years marking presence with various vehicles at the ERC, Magalhães in currently fighting for the Portuguese Rally Championship on a Hyundai i20 R5 and is, to this time, positioned third in the competition.

Miguel Nunes: “To fight for the top places”

Miguel Nunes’ balance of this season is “very positive. We won two races and are on the fight for the championship, still undecided. We have been improving in every race we run and, it is basing on that work that we want to dispute the top places at this Rally Vinho Madeira. It is a challenge to reach victory, since the enrollment list is quite good, with very strong pilots. The race is quite long and anything might happen. After one or two classifying legs we will have a better notion of our potential, since there are five or six pilots very well positioned for victory”. Miguel Nunes is 38 years old and debuted in motor-racing back in 2005 at the wheel of a Citroën C2. With a career that is marked by various pauses, the pilot conquered countless victories in his own class, in single-brand competitions and at the absolute level. He was the Madeira Rally Champion in 2010, 2012 and 2014. This year, at the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5, he won in Machico and Ribeira Brava and is, currently, the second classified in the Championship.

60 years of Rally: The Rally on the 2010’s

This last decade, for Rally Vinho Madeira, started with the dominium of Skoda in the year 2010. The Czech brand, with its Fabia S2000, monopolized the podium with the Belgian Freddy Loix, accompanied by the factory team along with Jan Kopecky and Juho Hanninen. In the following years, it was the turn of the Portuguese racer Bruno Magalhães to win. The Lisbon-born pilot, at the Wheel of a Peugeot 207 S2000, would, in both editions, be followed by the Madeiran Vítor Sá ridding a similar vehicle. In 2013, an year in which the Rally took part of the European Cup, it would be, again, the model of the Sochaux house to triumph, this time piloted by Giandomenico Basso who, this way, would equal the 1970’s triumph record established by Américo Nunes. This would be a turning-point year for international rally racing, from the perspective of Rally Vinho Madeira. The Madeiran race would, from the following year, become part of the FIA European Rally Triphy, a competition of which it still is a part. Like music, tendentiously more electronic, the S2000 engines’ “lyricism” would give in to the muffled and hoarse sound of the more efficient R5, a successful formula. Bruno Magalhães would obtain in 2014 and 2015 two more triumphs at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 T16 and would join Américo Nunes and Giandomenico Basso in the group of pilots with a poker-hand of victories. In 2016, José Pedro Fontes took his Citroën DS3 R5 to the highest place of the podium at Avenida Arriaga, in front of the seat of the organizing entity. Again in 2017, another Madeiran would rise to the same rank. Thirteen years after Vítor Sá, Alexandro Camacho would open the celebratory champagne bottle on the rooftop of his Peugeot 208 T16. In 2018, the podium was moved to Praça do Mar, but Alexandre Camacho would still be celebrating the win, this time at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia R5.

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