Gonçalo Félix and Henrique Freitas, in a Fiat Cinquecento, will once again lead the way on the first stage of Rali da Madeira. The event, organised since 1959 by Club Sports da Madeira, will follow a starting order in reverse order of the entry list, with a few exceptions. Competitors with numbers between 60 and 64 will set off immediately before those in RC2 cars and after those in RC4 cars. Furthermore, there may be time gaps of up to 2 minutes between some competitors. Today’s programme for the 67th edition of Rali da Madeira also includes the start ceremony, taking place from 16:00 at Praça do Povo, and the Cidade do Funchal Super Special Stage, scheduled to start at 19:30. The starting order for the first day of competition can be viewed here.

Kris Meeke was the fastest driver in Rali da Madeira Shakedown, which took place this morning in Água de Pena. The British driver, in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, completed three runs on the stage, improving on his time on each occasion and setting a best time of 1:49.9. The second-fastest was the Italian Giandomenico Basso, who completed four runs in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and clocked 1:50.0, one-tenth of a second behind the fastest time. Spain’s Diego Ruiloba, winner of the event for the past two years and once again driving a Citroën C3 Rally2, also completed four laps and finished four tenths of a second off the pace. They were followed by Miguel Nunes from Madeira and Armindo Araújo from Portugal, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2s, who were seven tenths and one second and three tenths of a second behind the session’s fastest time respectively. Rali da Madeira hits the road this afternoon, with the start ceremony taking place at 4:00 P.M. in Praça do Povo. The list of times recorded in the Shakedown can be checked here.

Tomorrow, 30th July, the 67th edition of Rali da Madeira hits the road. The event, which has been organised by Club Sports da Madeira since 1959, forms part of the FIA European Rally Trophy and the Portuguese and Madeiran rally championships. The event, with Filipe Sousa as the Clerk of the Course, has a field of 86 high-calibre entrants, promising excitement, competition and a lively atmosphere throughout the extensive convoy and the three days over which the event unfolds on the island’s roads. With a total distance of 801.12 km, of which 202.52 km are on special stages, the event – which has long been a real celebration in the archipelago – remains divided into two legs and now features 15 special stages. The sporting programme begins tomorrow morning with the Shakedown, an official session in which competitors make final adjustments to their cars, and, in the late afternoon, the Funchal city centre super-special stage, which takes place in the host city’s downtown area, surrounded by a crowd of tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators. The first leg continues on Friday, 31st July, and includes two runs through Santo da Serra, Palheiro Ferreiro and Santana, alongside a new version of the Ribeiro Frio stage. The second and final stage takes place on Saturday, kicking off with a run through Chão da Lagoa and including two passes through the Ponta do Sol stages – which return to a format used in the past – the returning Ponta do Pargo stage and the iconic Lameiros stage, an extended version of Rosário. The start ceremony will take place tomorrow at 4.00 pm at Praça do Mar, on Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses, which will also host the awards ceremony on Saturday 1st August at 7.30 pm. In sporting terms, the entry list needs no introduction and promises a fierce battle for the much-coveted victory or even a place in the top ten at the finish. The line-up includes names such as Diego Ruiloba, winner of the last two editions; Giandomenico Basso, a four-time winner; and World Rally Championship driver Kris Meeke, who is eager for his first triumph. The stars of the national championship – Rúben Rodrigues, Pedro Almeida and José Pedro Fontes (who has also won the rally before), Ricardo Teodósio, Gonçalo Henriques and Hugo Lopes – along with the Madeiran specialists Miguel Nunes, João Silva, Miguel Caires and Alexandre Camacho, the event’s all-time record holder for wins, will also be in contention for the top places. With a strong line-up and a diverse range of entrants across the classes and other competitions, Rali da Madeira also features 25 Rally2 cars, 5 RGTs and 22 Rally4s, as well as many drivers and cars promising a spectacular show over the course of around an hour and a half as the drivers make their way through the island’s characteristic special stages. With safety and environmental considerations firmly in mind, the conditions are in place for Rali da Madeira to be another success and a new edition of the festival it has become since 1959.

Ponta do Sol starts at the Serrado and Cova do Pico service park and winds its way through some very fast sections, interspersed with a few hairpin bends, all the way to Carvalhal – an area traditionally known for putting on a spectacular show on the streets surrounding the municipal stadium. From there, the special stage begins the climb up to Paúl da Serra. This section is characterised by very fast sections, interspersed with a few hairpin bends and other sections requiring great concentration, until it reaches the beautiful plateau. Access routes: Via Ponta do Sol: via Cam. Lombo do Meio, via Est. Eng. Ribeiro de Sousa and the ER 222.