August 2020

A Rally of Champions Besides the four champions in title, Alexandre Camacho, the Madeiran champion, Luís M. Rego, the Azorean champion, Ricardo Teodósio, the Portuguese champion and "Pepe" Lopez, the Spanish champion, at this year's edition of the Rally Vinho da Madeira other five national champions, plus four absolute regional champions will be present.    A tie or a tie breaker? Three are the drivers who have previously won the Rally Vinho da Madeira four times: Américo Nunes, Andrea Aghini and Bruno Magalhães. By having managed three cosecutive wins, these past three years, the current champion, Alexandre Camacho may come to join the group in case he wins this 2020 edition. On the other hand, in case Bruno Magalhães comes out the winner, he will become the absolute record holder of the event. The Lisbon driver, in case he goes on to hold a place at the podium, may also become the first to manage the feat of doing so in nine different editions.    Geographical distribution: Of the 60 enrolled competitors in this edition of the Rally Vinho da Madeira, 21 come from outside the archipelago. If all goes as planned, this edition will count with 39 Madeiran teams, 17 teams from Peninsular Portugal, two Azorean teams, one Spanish driver and one Portuguese competitor residing abroad.    Excellent cars: In the entry list of enrolled participants in this edition, there are  22 RC2 vehicles (18 R5, 1VR4K and a 3 NR4), two RGT, five RC3, ten RC4, one RC5, one P3 (WRC), seven X2, three P2 and eight P1.  

It is already tomorrow, August the 7. th, that the 61. st edition of the Rally Vinho da Madeira hits the roads. The race, organized by the Club Sports of Madeira and directed by Pedro Melvill Araújo, is, this year, shortened, with sixteen Special Stages divided into equal numbers amongst the two days of the competition. This reduction of this year's event route came up as a result of the necessity to reajust the competition to the economic consequences brought upon by the pandemic. It also functions as to avoid places that, traditionally, are places of large gatherings, facilitating this way the enforcement of the sanitary and distancing rules.  Sports-wise, the Organizing Committee, presided by Paulo Fontes, managed to pull together a list of 60 enrolled competitors, from which four current title holders, Madeira, the Azores, Portugal and Spain, as well as names that usually compete nationally, regionally and both at the absolute level and in specific groups. The multi-time winners of the race Bruno Magalhães (Hyundai i20 R5), Alexandre Camacho and José Fontes (Citroën C3 R5) will try to conquer another victory, one which, in normal conditions, might also fall on the shoulders of the Madeirans Miguel Nunes and Pedro Paixão (Skoda Fabia R5) or the Spanish José Maria "Pepe" Lopez (Citroën C3 R5). Thinking about conquering the biggest sum of points possible for the Portuguese Rally Championship, the current title holder, Ricardo Teodósio (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo) and Armindo Araújo, in an identical vehicle, or even the Madeiran Rui Pinto (Ford Focus RS WRC), will also try to get a top standing. The superior quality of those enrolled also allows for the anticipation of an animated fight for the second spot, both at general standings as well as at groups and classes. The First Leg of the Rally Vinho da Madeira establishes a double passage by the Special Stages of the Golf Court, Palheiro Ferreiro, Boaventura and Santana City, in a competitive total of 80, 38 kilometers.   

The comeptition that awards the statute of a FIA race to the Rally Vinho da Madeira is the FIA European Rally Trophy. This competition has, for some years to this part, been divided into different geographical zones, and, at the close of the year, organizes a final for which the five best standing of each zone and category are classified. The Iberian zone, in which Portugal is inserted, gathers this year the rallies of Serras de Fafe and Felgueiras, the Rally Vinho da Madeira, the Rally Princess of Astúrias, in Spain, and the Rally Casinos do Algarve. Initially it also accounted for the rallies of Sierra Morena and Villa de Adeje, in the neighboring country, but which have, since then, been cancelled.   The Rally Serras de Fafe and Felgueiras was up to last week, even at the general FIA European Rally Trophy level, and, due to the cancelling of eleven events and the dellaying of many others, the only race to have actually taken place. Without the presence of qualified Spanish drivers, the current standings is lead by the three drivers who occupied the podium at the national rally: Armindo Araújo, Bruno Magalhães and Ricardo Teodósio. 2020, due to the cancelling of two Spanish races is a year which offers an opportunity for the Portuguese FIA ERT Iberian Rally Trophy to triumph, as well as a possible classification for the final, to be fought in Germany as well as, in the beginning of November, at the ADMV Lausitz Rallye. During the same weekend that the Rally Vinho da Madeira will be going on, also, in Poland and the Tchecz Republic, the Rzeszow Rally and the Valmez Rally, both of the Central Zone, will be taking place.  Standings: 1. st Armindo Araújo, 40; 2. nd Bruno Magalhães, 30; 3. rd Ricardo Teodósio, 27; 4. th José Pedro Fontes, 21; 5. th Pedro Heller, 18; 6. th Miguel Correia, 15; 7. th Manuel Castro, 13; 8. th José Pelaez, 11; 9. th Javier Pardo Siota, 9; 10. th António Dias, 7; 11. th Gustavo Sosa, 5; 12. th Joan Vinyes, 4; 13. th Adruzilo Lopes, 3; 14. th Juan Castro, 2; 15. th Luis Mota, 1.

Due to the canceling and postponing forced by the current pandemic, up to now only the Rally of Calheta came into being, the first of five races that compose this year's motor-racing regional sport season. Miguel Nunes was always positioned ahead in the overall classification, even though he debuted his Skoda Fabia 5 Evo there. The driver resisted well to pressure imposed in the first kilometers by Alexandre Camacho, who ended up retiring early after getting off the road, and is now obliged to obtain very positive results in order to recover from his lower position. Also, Nunes knew how to control Pedro Paixão's éllan, who revealed himself to be very strong in the Southwest coast of the island, in his first version of the Skoda Fabia R5. Equally strong was Rui Pinto, who benefited from a new arrangement on the competitive Ford Focus RS WRC. In a race in which many drivers from the national championship were present, two drivers stood out on the Porsche 997 GT3, Filipe Freitas and Gil Freitas, and also Filipe Pires, returning to the Madeiran competition with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Rui Jorge Fernandes, on his hand, dominated amongst drivers racing on rear traction vehicles. Standings: 1. st Miguel Nunes, 29; 2. nd Pedro Paixão, 21; 3. rd Rui Pinto, 17; 4. th Filipe Freitas, 14; 5. th Gil Freitas, 12; 6. th Filipe Pires, 10; 7. th Rui J. Fernandes, 8; 8. th António Dias, 6; 9. th Vítor Sá, 4; 10. th André Silva, 2; 11. th Nuno Ferreira, Miguel Caires, José Jarimba, Américo Gouveira, Cláudio Nóbrega, Filipe Silva, Bruno Coelho, Rui Nunes, Ricardo Gonçalves, Filipe Pequeneza, Ângelo Escórcio, Eduardo Alves, João Ferreira and João Quintal, 1.