Rali da Madeira

Miguel Nunes Leads Rali da Madeira

Miguel Nunes, driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, is leading Rali da Madeira following the third stage of the event – the second run through the Santo da Serra and Palheiro Ferreiro special stages – which, like the previous one, saw a tight battle for the top places. In second place, 8.4 seconds behind the leader, is João Silva, at the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, who has been struggling to keep up with the pace of the frontrunners on the timed stages. Armindo Araújo has been putting in some very strong performances in another Škoda Fabia RS Rally2; he is third, 12.0 seconds off the top of the standings. Fourth place goes to the race’s former co-driver, Giandomenico Basso, who, in an identical car, lost a great deal of time on the last special stage due to a slow puncture. Rounding out the top five is Rúben Rodrigues from the Azores, who, in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, trails the race leader by 33.8 seconds. Miguel Caires, in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, is sixth, ahead of Pedro Almeida in one of the official Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s. Ricardo Teodósio, in a Citroën C3 Rally2, Pedro Meireles, in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, and Hugo Lopes, in a Hyundai i20N Rally2, round off the top ten after this stage, in which Alexandre Camacho also dropped significantly down the standings after losing a great deal of time due to a puncture during the long second pass through Palheiro Ferreiro. The convoy is now heading for the service park before a double loop through Santana and a stop at Ribeiro Frio, in the north of the island.

Miguel Nunes is the new Leader of Rali da Madeira

Miguel Nunes, at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, is the new leader of Rali da Madeira, following the second pass through Palheiro Ferreiro. The previous leader, Giandomenico Basso, in an identical car, posted a poor time on the final special stage of the third section and dropped significantly down the standings to fourth. João Silva is now in second place; driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, he is 8.4 seconds behind the new leader. In the lowest spot on the podium is Armindo Araújo, who set some very good times on this second run through the same special stages already completed this morning. The top five also includes Rúben Rodrigues from the Azores in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The convoy is now heading for a new service park.

RM 2026 - PA C - KRIS MEEKE

RM 2026 - PA C - MIGUEL NUNES

RM 2026 - PA C - DIEGO RUILOBA

RM 2026 - PA C - JOÃO SILVA

Armindo Araújo wins the Special Stage, Giandomenico Basso remains in the Lead

Giandomenico Basso, at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, retains the lead in Rali da Madeira despite having lost ground to his closest rivals on the first special stage of the third section. On the second run through Santo da Serra, the fastest time was set by Armindo Araújo in a car identical to the leader’s. Following this timed stage, Miguel Nunes, in another Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, retains second place but is now 0.4 seconds off the lead. João Silva, in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, has also reduced his deficit and is now 6.8 seconds behind the leader. Armindo Araújo and Alexandre Camacho remain in the immediate positions behind, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2s. The competitors are now heading for the second stage through Palheiro Ferreiro, the longest special stage of the event, before returning to the service park in Funchal.

RM 2026 - SS 3 Palheiro Ferreiro 1

RM 2026 - SS 2 Santo da Serra 1

Tiago Nunes leads the two-wheel-drive group

Tiago Nunes, at the wheel of a Renault Clio Rally4, is leading the group of front-wheel-drive drivers with a lead of 1 tenth of a second over the national championship leader in the category, João Rodrigues, in a Peugeot 208 Rally4. Four tenths of a second behind, Sandro Teixeira – who set the fastest time on Palheiro Ferreiro 1 in another Peugeot 208 Rally4 – is third. Rounding out the top five are Ukrainian driver Anton Korzun in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 and Emanuel Martins in a Renault Clio Rally4, 3.3 and 4.3 seconds behind the leader respectively. Drivers in this category were also awarded provisional times at Santo da Serra.

Gil Freitas leads the RGT

Gil Freitas, at the wheel of his usual Alpine A110 RGT+, is the leader amongst drivers competing in RGT-class cars. He holds a 6.9-second lead over Filipe Freitas, who is driving a Porsche 991 GT3, and a 30.3-second lead over Paulo Mendes, in a newer Porsche 992 GT3. Close behind are Miguel Andrade and Paulo Carvalheiro, both in Porsche 991 GT3s. These competitors were awarded provisional times on Santo da Serra 1, a Special Stage that was halted due to Gonçalo Henriques’ skidding off the road.

Giandomenico Basso leads after the second Special Stage

Giandomenico Basso is leading Rali da Madeira following the completion of the second special stage of the event, organised this weekend by Club Sports Madeira. The Italian driver holds a 1.6-second lead over Madeiran driver Miguel Nunes, who is also driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Third place is held by João Silva in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, 8.9 seconds behind the race leader. The positions immediately behind are occupied by three other drivers in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2s: Armindo Araújo, Alexandre Camacho and Miguel Caires. Next come the top two in the national championship for this category, Rúben Rodrigues and Pedro Almeida, both in Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s. Also in the top ten are Ricardo Teodósio in a Citroën C3 Rally2 and Hugo Lopes in a Hyundai i20N Rally2. The second section was marked by a collision and significant time lost by Kris Meeke, crashes involving José Pedro Fontes and Gonçalo Henriques, and the withdrawal of Diego Ruiloba due to a gearbox failure in his Citroën C3 Rally2. The rally cars are currently at the service park and are heading for the third section, a second run through the special stages of Santo da Serra and Palheiro Ferreiro.

Miguel Nunes wins special stage, Giandomenico Basso retains the lead

Miguel Nunes and Giandomenico Basso, both driving Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars, finished first and second respectively in the third special stage of Rali da Madeira, clocking a time of 12:4.3. After the first run through Palheiro Ferreiro – the longest special stage of the event organised by Club Sports da Madeira – Basso remains in the lead, now followed by Nunes, 1.6 seconds behind. Third place is held by João Silva, in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, 8.9 seconds behind. Rounding out the top five are Armindo Araújo and Alexandre Camacho, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2s. The second section of the rally was marked by a collision involving Kris Meeke on PEC 2, problems experienced by Diego Ruiloba with his Citroën C3 Rally2, and the retirements of José Pedro Fontes in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale and Gonçalo Henriques in a Hyundai i20N Rally2, both following crashes. The competitors are now heading back to the service park.

Giandomenico Basso is the new leader of Rali da Madeira

Giandomenico Basso, at the wheel of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, is the new leader of the 67th edition of Rali da Madeira, which is taking place this weekend. The Italian was the fastest on the first run through Santo da Serra and currently holds a 0.5-second lead over João Silva, who, at the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, finished second on the first special stage of the second day of competition. In third place is fellow Madeiran Miguel Nunes, who, in another Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, is 1.6 seconds behind the leader. Rounding out the top five are Armindo Araújo in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Diego Ruiloba in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The competitors are now heading for their first run through Palheiro Ferreiro.