Gonçalo Henriques at the top of the two-wheel drive standings

The race for the lead among two-wheel drive in Rali Vinho da Madeira is very lively, with four drivers in the same second after the event's opening Special Stage. At the top of the standings is Gonçalo Henriques, at the wheel of a Renault Clio Rally4, 0.7 seconds faster than both Hugo Lopes and Miguel Garcia, both in Peugeot 208 Rally4s. Also in a Peugeot, Luis Morais is 0.8 seconds behind the leader. The Madeirans Vasco Silva and Rui Jorge Fernandes are in the next positions, separated by 0.3 seconds. The Madeira Wine Rally is also eligible for the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica. In this mono-brand competition, for drivers with Peugeot 208 Rally4s, first place is shared by Portuguese Hugo Lopes and Spaniard Miguel Garcia. Pedro Silva is third.

Simone Campedelli in the lead of Rali Vinho da Madeira

Simone Campedelli, at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, is the first leader of Rali Vinho da Madeira, an event organised by Club Sports da Madeira that is on the road until next Saturday. The Italian covered the 2.18 kilometres of Cidade do Funchal, the opening stage of this event eligible for the FIA ERT and national and regional championships, which saw a huge crowd, in 1.36.8, 0.6 faster than the rest of the 85-team caravan. The second best time was achieved by Armindo Araújo, in a car identical to the leader's, and he was ahead in the standings, at the end of the first day of competition, of Spaniard Diego Ruiloba who, in a Citroën C3 Rally2, was 1.2 seconds behind the leader. In the next positions are Miguel Nunes, from Madeira, in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, Ricardo Teodósio, in a Hyundai i20N Rally2, and João Silva. The Special Stage through the centre of the host city was marked by problems with the Hyundai of the national championship leader, Kris Meeke.

Ernesto Cunha starts the first Special Stage of Rali Vinho da Madeira

The fastest drivers in Rali Vinho da Madeira Qualifying had priority in choosing their starting order for the first stage of the event organised by Club Sports da Madeira. The trend at the event, which took place at the Vespas discotheque, was to opt for the middle places out of the 21 available. This choice meant that the starting order for tomorrow, 2 August, was headed by Ernesto Cunha in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, followed by Ricardo Filipe in a Skoda Fabia R5 and Miguel Caires in another Skoda Fabia Raly2 Evo. The starting order for today, 1 August, is reversed. The starting order for the first two sections of stage 1 will be published at 3 pm.

Alexandre Camacho was the fastest in Shakedown

Once Qualifying was over, several of the priority drivers took advantage of the Shakedown to get their cars even better tuned. This was the case for Alexandre Camacho, who continued to adapt to the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and achieved the fastest time in this session. Miguel Caires was 0.9 seconds worse off in his usual Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. The same record was achieved by Belgian Joachim Wagemans in his Alpine A110 RGT. Full list of times here.

Madeira wine on the RVM

As in previous years, the winning teams of the 2024 Rali Vinho da Madeira will each receive a selected bottle of Madeira Wine. This gift has been kindly provided by three companies linked to the production of Madeira Wine and is the result of a partnership between the RVM and IVBAM. The winners will therefore receive 1st prize - Barbeito Sercial 1978 2nd prize - Pereira D'Oliveira Tinta Negra 1995 (medium dry) 3rd prize - H.M. Borges Malvasia 20 years old In addition to these prizes, IVBAM offered: 12 bottles of Madeira Wine - 10 years old Tinta Negra Semi-Sweet - in the stewards' room and 3 bottles of Madeira Wine - 10 years old Tinta Negra Semi-Sweet, for the toast at the awards ceremony.  

Diego Ruiloba was the fastest in Qualiftying

Diego Ruiloba, at the wheel of a Citroën C3 Rally2, was the fastest driver in the Qualifying round of the 65th Rali Vinho da Madeira, which will start competitively this afternoon in Funchal. The young Spanish driver clocked 1.51.252, 0.437 seconds less than the second fastest driver, Italian Simone Campedelli, in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The third fastest time belonged to Briton Kris Meeke, in a Hyundai i20N Rally2, with a time of 1.51.895. The fastest driver from Madeira was João Silva, author of the seventh best time in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo.

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