Sandro Teixeira heads to Rali da Madeira “aiming to fight for the top positions in the two-wheel-drive category. We’re going there to compete. We want to finish what is a long rally, but we’re preparing to try and fight for victory. In this rally we’ll face even more interesting rivals, which will make for a tougher contest, but I don’t like things to be too easy – I like a challenge. In the championship, I wasn’t expecting our main rival to adapt so quickly. We have different cars and, on an island with terrain like ours, his car has the advantage on many occasions.” Sandro Teixeira is 41 years old and made his rally debut in 2022 in a Toyota Yaris. Later that year, he switched to a Citroën C2 R2, which he drove for a further two seasons. He consistently achieved good results within his class and, in 2024, finished runner-up in the Eng. Rafael Costa Trophy. Last year, he switched to the current Peugeot 208 Rally4 and finished second in the Madeira championship for two-wheel-drive cars, a position he is once again holding in the same competition in 2026.

Pedro Câmara, from São Miguel, is making his debut at Rali da Madeira, “which will, in practice, also be my second tarmac rally. I’m aware of my limited experience and I won’t be setting my sights on any specific results; I’ll be looking to continue improving. I’m absolutely delighted to be taking part in this rally; it’s a dream come true. However, this is a very tough event, covering many kilometres, with gruelling roads and a crowd that no one can remain indifferent to. We want to learn as quickly as possible and we’ll be testing before the event to fine-tune our set-up and draw some conclusions. It’s going to be a very demanding rally, but we’re confident we’ll do a good job.” The son of the driver of the same name, Pedro Câmara is 19 years old and made his rally debut in 2025 at the wheel of a Renault Super 5. He was subsequently selected for the FPAK Junior Team and competed in several rounds in a Peugeot 208 Rally6, in which he consistently led his class. 2026 is a pivotal year for his career and he has been splitting his time between the Azores championship in an Opel Corsa Rally4 and the Peugeot Iberian Cup in a Peugeot 208 Rally4. He is the leader of the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica, third overall in the Azores Championship and fourth in the CPR two-wheel-drive category.

Gonçalo Henriques returns to Rali da Madeira – this time in a Hyundai i20N Rally2 – describing it as “a very beautiful rally, but one we didn’t take part in back in 2025. We’ll try to see where we can position ourselves and how the upgrades we’ve made to the car will perform. It will be very difficult to fight for the lead, but we hope to be closer to the drivers who are likely to be battling for overall victory. We promise to do our best in that regard. This year we haven’t had a single ‘clean’ event yet, with minor issues in every race, and we’d like to turn that situation around and improve our position in the championship.” The driver is 27 years old and made his rally debut in 2018 in a Renault Clio Williams. He drove that car until 2021 and in 2022 switched to a Kia Picanto GT, in which he won the FPAK junior championship. The following year, he split his time between the Renault Clio Rally5 and Rally4 and won the national two-wheel-drive championship, a feat he repeated in 2024. Last year, he began representing Hyundai Portugal, a team he remains with in 2026 and with which he is currently fourth in the Portuguese Rally Championship.

Rali da Madeira 2026 will be officially unveiled next Thursday, 23rd July, at a press conference organised by Club Sports da Madeira, the event’s organising body. The event will begin at 12.00 pm at the Madeira Maritime Station – Pontinha, in the Harbour of Funchal, where the Madeira Rally Operations Centre is based. The press conference will mark the official launch of the 2026 edition of the event, with key details being presented about one of the most important sporting events in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Club Sports da Madeira invites the media to attend this presentation, which marks another important milestone in the preparations for Rali da Madeira 2026.

Ricardo Teodósio is heading to Rali da Madeira in a Citroën C3 Rally2, aiming to “be as fast as possible and achieve a good result. We’re once again with a new car and have had very few kilometres of testing. We’ll be testing before the event and, as well as the car, I need to fine-tune my own driving and adapt to the car. When we’re not in sync, we ease off the accelerator. I’ve been driving different models over the last few years and have always had to adapt. However, I had a good feeling in Lisbon; it went quite well and I even won a special stage. Here, with the kilometres, we’ll see how it goes.” Aged 50, Teodósio made his rally debut in 2001 in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III. He drove models from the three-diamond brand for many years and, during that period, won the Southern Regional Championship in 2010 and 2011. In 2019, he switched to driving Rally2 cars and was crowned national champion three times: in 2019 with a Škoda Fabia R5, in 2021 with a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, and in 2023 in a Hyundai i20N Rally2. In 2025, he was at the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and this season he is driving a Citroën C3 Rally2. He is sixth in the Portuguese Rally Championship and third in the national Masters championship.

José Camacho will be taking part in Rali da Madeira for the 42nd consecutive time. The Skoda Fabia R5 driver approaches it “as if it were the first time, with the same enthusiasm. We want to give it our all, and to that end we’ve prepared down to the last detail. The Masters Championship hasn’t gone as well for us as it did in 2025, but it’s not easy competing in a first-generation RC2 car against drivers with newer cars, or even against Gil Freitas, whose Alpine is very competitive. We’re aware of the limitations, but we’re going to give it our all. Over all these years, everything has changed – usually for the better – even me… I’ve kept up with all the developments and always stayed up to date. Forty years ago, everything was different. One thing that’s been lost is the friendship; today, everything is very individual and we lack that connection that used to exist between teams and even with other people involved in the sport. The differences are huge, but the costs are also very different. Of course, today’s cars are nothing like the ones I used at the start of my career. They’re much easier…” At the age of 63, José Camacho made his rally debut in 1985 in a Ford Escort RS 2000. He later drove a Peugeot 205 GTi and it was in this model – in its 1.9-litre version – that he became a two-time Madeira rally champion in 1990 and 1991. He has since driven countless models and, although he has not competed regularly in the island championship, he has always lined up at the start of Rali da Madeira – which he will do for the 42nd time this year – and holds the record for the most appearances in the event organised by Club Sports da Madeira. Camacho was regional Masters champion in 2025 and is currently second in that competition in 2026.

André Freitas is setting off for what will be the fourth Rali da Madeira of his short career, with his “main aim being to finish. However, of course we’d like to win the RC5 class and score points in the Eng. Rafael Costa Trophy. There’ll be fierce competition in this event, but we’ll try to stay at the front of these classes. It’s a very demanding rally, both technically and physically, due to the large number of Special Stages it comprises. We need to be great physically, and also know how to manage things at times to try and reach the finish line. Our car is very reliable and already incorporates the latest upgrades. It’s very good concerning and shouldn’t cause us any concerns.” Freitas is 28 years old and began his rallying career in 2023, already driving the model he currently competes in, the Renault Clio Rally5. Throughout his four years of competition, he has consistently been in contention for the lead in the RC5 group and, as such, has also been in contention for a podium finish in the Eng. Rafael Costa Trophy. With three victories in his group, in 2026 he is the leader of that trophy, which pays tribute to a figure who was a major influence on motor racing in Madeira and across the country.