AND NOW, "Rali da Madeira"

A warm welcome to the Autonomous Region of Madeira and to the "Rally Festival," the sporting event with the highest international visibility, which perfectly combines and fulfils the dual goals of promoting Madeira's tourism abroad and boosting its domestic economic activity.

The enthusiasm with which successive generations of Madeirans embrace their rally continues and is renewed year after year, compelling the Board of Directors of the Madeira Sports Club to assume a lofty ambition to continue to affirm the history and national and international prestige of the oldest event on the Portuguese Rally Championship calendar.

This tremendous and spontaneous connection of an entire region to this sporting event, and the collective and contagious experience among all who attend this sporting spectacle, are more than enough reasons to continue to affirm Madeiran values more broadly, through its rebranding, with vision, strategy, and future positioning.

Starting this year, we are "Rali da Madeira." We have adopted the "Madeira Brand" for international projection and positioning, while continuing to promote our traditional products and, particularly, the famous and renowned "Madeira Wine," our institutional partner for over forty years.

To demonstrate the prestige and international reputation of the "Rali da Madeira 2025," simply look at the extensive entry list, which surprised everyone. We can see the excellent quality of the competitors. Highlights include several previous winners of Rali Vinho da Madeira, other drivers who are renowned for their speed on asphalt and are familiar with our roads. Joining them are the feared Madeiran drivers and the most highly acclaimed continental drivers, as well as the renowned and world-class FIA driver Dani Sordo, the 2024 Portuguese Championship winner Kris Meeke, and the 2024 RVM winner Diego Rui Loba. There are many reasons to follow "Rali da Madeira 2025" closely along our roads in the various municipalities, or via RTP-Madeira, RTP Internacional, and streaming channels, which will provide coverage and broadcast of all the special qualifying rounds.

Competitively, we have no doubt that we will witness a very healthy battle for the top spots in the standings. But there are other reasons for interest, including other "rallies," both in the RGT category and the RC4 class, where drivers from the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica Trophy will be joined by many others in vehicles of the same class.

We are convinced that we will have a highly competitive race and many fans watching the caravan of competitors pass along our winding and challenging roads.

With such a high number of participants, there's no room for error, carelessness, or oversaturation. Close to the excitement, but far from danger.

Affirming the international brand "Rali da Madeira" means having a race that is both safe and environmentally sustainable. And it all depends on the behaviour, civic-mindedness, and attitude of each person.

We must have, in each spectator, an element of our safety.

We count on all of you!

The rally doesn't belong to "Madeira." It's the "Rali da Madeira."

For all of us!

José Paulo Fontes

President of Club Sports da Madeira