Hello!

The first weekend of August.

That is when the Madeira Wine Rally will once again take to the road.

Counting once more on the recognition on the part of the FIA, being part of the European Rally Trophy, the Iberian Rally Trophy, the most important FIA series for amateurs, since the other competitions, be they European, be they world, sponsored by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, are basically reserved for very professionalized or indeed professional competitive  structures.

It also counts, as an example of what has become habitual, towards the National Rallies Championship and the 'Coral' Rallies Championship of Madeira.

As something new this year, we have in competition a new international series, the Tour European Rally, a group of rallies originating from touristic zones of excellence which come together as a group promoting the Regions from where they are entered. It's a 'zero' year for this European competition and the Madeira Wine Rally once again stands as present.

This year we are keeping the Thursday, Friday and Saturday pattern with the exhibition stage of the Avenida do Mar scheduled to start off the rally on the Thursday afternoon, following on from the opening ceremony on the podium in front of the headquarters of the Club Sports da Madeira.

Due to FIA regulations, it has been necessary to readjust the length of some of the special stages which we have done without taking anything away from the spectacle which is always present on our roads.

On the Friday, we proceed to the 'leap' of the National as with all the already iconic 'specials' of the Madeira Wine Rally. On this day, for those who long for night-time competitions, the rally is counting on the last two special stages of the day to be contested during the night.

On the Saturday, as well as the usual run through Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Pargo and Encumeada, we return to Ponta do Sol with a spectacular run through the zone of Carvalhal.

For the rest, the structure of this year's Rally is identical to the last editions, with, as I already mentioned, slight alterations in some departure and arrival points of the special stages, motivated towards a better quality, placing once again special emphasis on the safety aspect, particularly that of the drivers and the spectators, it being expected that in spite of the crisis which has been mentioned before, both will be there in great number on the roads of Madeira. Also it can never be remembered too much that impeccable behaviour, as is usual among the Madeira public, is an indispensable condition for the success of the Madeira Wine Rally.

We look forward to seeing you on the roads of Madeira, close to all the thrills and well away from any danger.

Pedro Melvill de Araújo

Director of the Competition