July 2022

There is no comparison

José Camacho starts his 36th Rali Vinho da Madeira to try "the best he knows. It is a race in which we have to manage well because it is very long. I would like to be in the middle of the competitors with R5". Camacho, 59 years old, used cars as different as the Ford Escort RS 2000 from his debut in 1995, the 1.6 and 1.9 versions of the Peugeot 205 GTi, Peugeot 309 GTi, Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4, Opel Astra GSi, VW Golf GTi, Seat Ibiza Kit-Car, Peugeot 206 S1600, Fiat Grande Punto S2000 and now the Peugeot 208 T16. His best result was obtained in 2004, when he was fourth with a Peugeot 306 Maxi. Regional Champion in 1990, he only missed the start of the race organized by the Club Sports da Madeira in 2010 and 2011. The driver considers that "there is no comparison between my debut rally and the one which will be on the road next week. Today everything is easier. The cars have evolved a lot over almost 40 years, they curve a lot faster, and that can be seen now".  As an ephemeris, Rui Pinto will have his 30th participation in the event and Bruno Magalhães will participate for the 20th time in a race which he considers to be one of his favourite rallies.

Not very ambitious goals

Paulo Meireles returns, after a long absence, to the Rali Vinho da Madeira with a Hyundai i20N Rally2. His goals in this edition are "not very ambitious. We have to take into account our limitations as I have been out of work for about three years and, in 2022, I practically only did gravel rallies. This rally is beautiful but it is also very demanding. I think I have already participated four times, but the last time I did it was in 2005. So, I'm going to try to get to the end and try to cover a lot of kilometres, gaining pace. Obviously, we will try the best result possible and it will be normal that, along the race, we will improve our performance. Paulo Meireles is 50 years old and drove his first rally in 1991 with a VW Golf GTi 16V, a car he used throughout that season. Between 1992 and 1995, he drove a VW Golf G60 Rallye. After the first break in his career, he returned in 2004 and 2005 with a VW Polo S1600. In 2018 and 2019 he returned once again, this time behind the wheel of Hyundai i20 R5. This year he is driving one of the i20N Rally2 cars of the Hyundai/M&Costas team. He was junior champion in 1992.  

RVM with great enthusiasm and huge mobilization of the population

A meeting with the media took place this morning at the Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira to present the list of entries with the numbers assigned, for this year's edition of the Rali Vinho da Madeira. "There is a clear desire to return to normality" José Paulo Fontes, President of the Organizing Committee of the Rali Vinho da Madeira, mentioned on the occasion the great enthusiasm and mobilization that has been felt by the population and automobile sports fans around this edition of the RVM, "We know that we had the pandemic years, that there is a clear desire to return to normality, and the RVM will return to that normality and will bring those races and events that are always appreciated by the public. In this year's edition, we will have the autograph session, an event that both drivers, the population and the motoring fans look forward to, as it is a moment of contact and conviviality.  There is also the return of the Avenida do Mar Special Stage. The organization is making available the maximum of places, in good locations for people to watch the race, although respecting the limits of available places, as well as the limits of security”. José Paulo Fontes refered that safety will be a priority point in this Special Stage, "we wanted many people to be in Avenida do Mar to watch the race show, but we want them to be safe. There are sponsors with 20 years of connection to RVM The occasion was taken by José Paulo Fontes, to "thank our sponsors, especially our loyal sponsors, because there are more than 20 years that RVM has 4 or 5 sponsors who are present in all competitions and we have to recognize this, we will check the dates since when each sponsor is with us, to then pay tribute to that fact.  In this group, the Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira, the Empresa Madeirense de Tabacos, Meo, PT MEO Altice and BPI are a group of companies which have been official sponsors of the Madeira Wine Rally for many years. The competition is very well covered by the media and with great visibility, the companies feel the return on what they invest in the competition.” Pedro Paixão Pedro Paixão was remembered at this meeting, "we miss Pedro Paixão, he was a driver that we would have loved to have, unfortunately we won't be able to have him, but we miss him and we would certainly have a place reserved for him, to liven up and give more spectacle to the Rali Vinho da Madeira, but we also do this in his memory". The Chairman of the Organizing Committee stated that "we shall continue with the same joy, with the same determination, I would even say, with the same "Passion" to live motorsports and to live the RVM, we shall continue with his Passion in the rally".    

Rali Vinho da Madeira with a luxury entry list

National Champion, Ricardo Teodósio shows number 1
The 63rd edition of the Rali Vinho da Madeira has a list of 61 entries which highlights the great quality of the competitors and vehicles which will be on the road between August 4th and 6th. The list drawn up by the Club Sports da Madeira brings together some foreign names of international prominence to the champions or main participants of the National Championship of the last eight years and those of the regional competition in the last two decades. Over three days, drivers of the calibre of Italian Simone Campedelli, former Junior Champion of his country and one of the protagonists of the ERC, and Spanish Alejandro Cachon, who defends Citroën in the neighbouring country, and Emma Falcon, European Champion in 2018, will evolve in the 17 classifications of the three days of competition. Fighting for the top positions will be previous winners of the event such as Alexandre Camacho, Miguel Nunes, Bruno Magalhães or José Pedro Fontes and many others. At the wheel of the 22 Rally2 vehicles, known as R5, competitors such as Ricardo Teodósio, Bernardo Sousa, Armindo Araújo, Miguel Correia, Pedro Almeida, Pedro and Paulo Meireles, José Camacho, Gil Freitas, Rui Pinto or José Paula are also registered. The list also includes the two powerful Porsche 991 GT3 of Filipe Freitas and Paulo Mendes, the Ford Fiesta Rally3 of Daniel Nunes or the references of the front wheel drive cars with drivers like Vítor Sá, Rui Jorge Fernandes, Dinarte Baptista, Ivo Sardinha, Renato Pita, Miguel Caires and the returning of João Silva. Adruzilo Lopes, in the local debut of the Toyota Yaris GR, and Cláudio Nóbrega, "king of the show" with his Datsun 1200, are also worthy of mention.  

Feeling homesick of Chão da Lagoa

The 63rd edition of the Rali Vinho da Madiera will recover some routes which have not been used in the last two years. One of the Special Stages covered is Palheiro Ferreiro, the longest of the Club Sports das Madeira organization, with 19.01 km. In 2022 this timed section will once again include the passage through Chão da Lagoa, in the heart of the Funchal Ecological Park and one of the "institutions" of the event. The campsites and a large human frame in the area are one of the icons of the competition. What will be the Special Stages 3 and 5 will start on ER 201, commonly known as Caminho dos Pretos, near São João Latrão, towards Terreiro da Luta and, this year, without passing by the “jump” next to CD Nacional's stadium. At the junction with ER 103, the caravan goes up to the South Gate of Chão da Lagoa and from there to the North exit of the park. Then comes the steep descent to Poiso, with a chicane at the crossroads of that locality, and the continuation on ER 202, for about 500 meters, towards Santo da Serra.  

Message from the City Hall's Mayor of Funchal for the 2022 RVM edition

The 63rd Rali Vinho da Madeira edition, ongoing during the first weekend of August, will certainly be a huge success, above all, because during this edition, normality has returned, with the event similar to the ones organized before the pandemic, to which an extraordinary list of competitors is added, allowing to foresee it as an extremely competitive race. As Mayor of the biggest council of the Autonomous Region of Madeira – also being a rally performer and fan, that is so important for the Madeiran and awakens so much passion and interest – it is with enormous satisfaction that we have, in Funchal, the Special Stage Show in Avenida do Mar, always so spectacular and appealing for its spectators. It is also with great delight that we host, for the first time, in Praça do Município, the Parc Fermé of Rali Vinho da Madeira, which will allow a greater and better connection between such sports, the drivers, the spectators and the local commerce of the city, as it is also delightful to have once again the competition in the emblematic Ecological Park of Funchal. Therefore, I would also like to highlight the extraordinary work of the Organizing Committee of Rali Vinho da Madeira, its devotion and commitment, which allows us to have one of the best European competitions, not only due to the quality of the drivers, but mainly for its safety, sustainability and environmental concern in each edition. As for the spectators, always so passionate for this motorsports, crowding the mountains and roads of every municipality, I salute you for being so fond of the rally, but most of all, for the civic behaviour that you have been showing, throughout the decades, following this competition that, I recall, for us Madeirans, is not just a sports event, but both a cultural and social gathering of festivity. As President of the Municipalities of the Autonomous Region Association, I would like to show my gratitude towards the regional municipalities for the support that they have been giving through the years to motorsports, which has allowed that this is, in Madeira, a Queen sport, with values and an excellent list of vehicles, appreciation that I would also like to address to the Regional Government for neither having disregarded the importance of the Rali Vinho da Madeira, nor abandoned its motorsports support. To sum up, I would like to use this opportunity to equally wish every driver an excellent rally!  Sportive greetings Pedro Miguel Amaro de Bettencourt Calado 

Winning the RGT

 Filipe Freitas is once again going to race the Rali Vinho da Madeira with the main goal of “winning the group RGT. We don’t have any specific goal in terms of absolute standing, where we are, still, we will try to finish as close to first as possible and try to equal our opponents that drive R5 vehicles. The knowledge of the roads can be an important factor. Over all, we want a rally without any mishaps and with a strong rhythm. Since April the drivers, all over Europe, who use Porsche RGT have been struggling with the unavailability of the only tyres approved for rallies by the international federation. In order to be able to participate in the Rali Vinho da Madeira, the teams with these vehicles have been granted a derogation by the Portuguese Car and Karting Federation in the sense that "we shall have used circuit tyres with flaws. It was understood, through several contacts, that the situation was not our bad will and that, with the solution found, we would not have any competitive advantage". Filipe Freitas is 50 years old and made his rally debut as co-driver of a Citroën AX GTi in 1998. He moved to the steering wheel the following year and quickly stood out in the promotion formula. He has passed through numerous cars, although he has been using Porsche RGT since 2019. He was the Regional Champion of 1.600 cc in 2009 with a Renault Clio S1600 and RGT Champion two years ago. He has two absolute regional titles to his name, in 2013 with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and in 2016 with a Porsche 911 GT3.  

RVM' s safety is priority

A meeting between several entities was held today, at the headquarters of the Regional Civic Protection Service, in order to approach topics related to the safety of the RVM. The Regional Civic Protection Services, the Forest and Nature Conservation Institute and the Police Department attended the meeting. As for the Organizing Committee, the President, the Clerk of the Course, the Safety Officers and the members of several teams connected to the organization of the RVM also took part of the meeting.   

RVM is an outstanding competition

José Paula is one of the drivers focused on the conquer of an excellent outcome in FIA ERT Iberian Rally Trophy, a competition part of the Rali Vinho da Madeira. The driver of the Citroën C3 Rally2 faces this race, organized by Club Sports da Madeira as “part of the project that we have designed this year. If we are successful, we plan to be in the other competitions for the trophy. Rali Vinho da Madeira is an outstanding competition. I hope I can find, once more, an excellent organization and fantastic crowded spectators who always welcome us so tenderly. Being so, I face this rally with ambition but, most of all, I intend to finish it. I will try to start with speed, see where my position will be set and then try to achieve an important outcome. I do have motivation and will to win…” Paula, who lives in Pico, Azores, started the rallies back in 2006 with a Peugeot 205 GTi. Soon after, he was behind the wheel of a VW Golf G60 and drove, between 2010 and 2016 a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. In 2018, he has purchased a Peugeot 208 T16, with which he has reached the podium in several events. In 2022 he was the 15th in the Rali Terras d’Aboboreira and in the Rali Vinho da Madeira he will be driving the same car that led Bernardo Sousa to the triumph of the Rally of Lisbon.  

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