Hugo Lopes returns once again to Rali da Madeira, “the first event I’m competing in again with the Hyundai i20N Rally2, a car I already have some experience with. In 2025, this wasn’t a very easy event with this car, but we now have upgrades that will help us. We already have a good set-up baseline to start with, and that will make things easier. All in all, we’re aiming for a podium finish at the CPR. This is perhaps the tarmac rally I like best and, despite there being new special stages, I’m confident. Let’s see if luck is on our side…”.

Lopes is 29 years old and took his first steps in rallying in 2015. Over the years, he has competed in various two-wheel-drive cars and was national junior champion in 2023 and 2024, the year in which he also won the junior competition of the FIA European Rally Trophy and the Peugeot Rally Cup Portugal. In 2025, he represented Hyundai’s official colours in an i20N Rally2, through the Portuguese Automobile and Karting Federation’s Junior Team programme, and won his first rally at senior level in Viseu. In 2026, he is once again representing the Korean brand, but has faced several challenges in achieving consistent results.