Rali Vinho da Madeira hits the roads tomorrow

The 63rd edition of the Rali Vinho da Madeira, an organization of the Club Sports da Madeira dating back to 1959, begins tomorrow with the Qualifying Rally. The competition, included in the FIA European Rally Trophy and in the national and regional championships of the sport, shall be held over three days, from 4th to 6th August. The first day includes the Qualifying and Shakedown and, in the evening, the first qualifying stage, the Avenida do Mar Super-Special, which returns to the programme after the pandemic.The remaining first stage will be disputed on Friday, August 5th, with eight special races, double round by Golf Course, more extensive and ending in Referta, Palheiro Ferreiro, timed section that again includes the passage in Chão da Lagoa, Boaventura and Cidade de Santana. The second and last stage will take place on Saturday, August 6th, with eight more special stages, with a double passing through Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol, Ponta do Pargo and Rosário. In terms of sports, the competition promises a lot of emotion with a list of 61 participants marked by a great quality of vehicles and joining many sounding names of this sport. The Italian Simone Campedelli and the Spaniards Alejandro Cachon and Emma Falcon are joined by the drivers who usually fight for the first positions in the Portuguese championship of this specialty. Ricardo Teodósio, Armindo Araújo, Bruno Magalhães, José Pedro Fontes, Bernardo Sousa or Miguel Correia, among others. Winners of the last editions of the event, also the Madeirans Alexandre Camacho and Miguel Nunes are at the start and promise to keep the victory trophy "at home". In a long and high-quality entry list, there are many more reasons to follow closely the fight for the absolute first places as well as in other classes and particular competitions. The Rally party is back!

Power Stage with Media area

The Power Stage is, in some championships, a qualifying stage that gives bonus points to the fastest. While the concept does not exist for the FIA European Rally Trophy nor for the Madeira CORAL Rally Championship, this timed section is regular in the Portuguese Rally Championship and awards 3 to 1 point to the three fastest. In the 63rd Rali Vinho da Madeira, the Power Stage will be SS 17 - Rosário 2, the last one organized by the Club Sports da Madeira. In 2022, the team led by José Paulo Fontes created an area, implemented right after the Power Stage, for the accredited media and which will be located at Meia Légua, Ribeira Brava.

How is the FIA ERT Iberian Rally Trophy doing?

So far there have only been two races in the Iberian area of the 2022 FIA European Rally Trophy. The Sierra Morena Rally was held in Spain at the beginning of April and the Terras d'Aboboreira Rally in Portugal in the middle of the same month. No driver scored simultaneously in the two events. The league classification is, as such, led by the winners of the already completed races, Pepe Lopez in the surroundings of Cordoba and Miguel Correia in Amarante. The remaining positions are shared by Spanish and Portuguese drivers, with exactly the same points. After the Rali Vinho da Madeira, two races will take place in Spain, the Princesa de Asturias Rally, from 8 to 10 September, and the Nucia-Mediterranean Rally, on 4th and 5th November: FIA ERT IRT: 1st Pepe Lopez and Miguel Correia, 30; 3rd Ivan Ares and Armindo Araújo, 24; 5th Efren Llarena and Bruno Magalhães, 21; 7th Surhayen Pernia and José Pedro Fontes, 19; 9th Eduard Pons and Pedro Almeida, 17. 30 drivers are classified.

RVM Special Stages (Leg 2)

SS 10 and 14 – CÂMARA DE LOBOS Câmara de Lobos joined the Rali Vinho da Madeira a few years ago and is run between Caminho das Fontainhas and Est. Ribeira Garcia. It is practically divided in two halves, the first one uphill and the second one downhill. It alternates some straights with sequences of very technical curves and even some sequences of "hooks" favouring the spectacle. It also joins forested and agricultural areas with areas of houses. How to get there: Through Câmara de Lobos: Cam. Velho Igreja, Cam. Francelheira and Cam. Luzirão. SS 11 and 15 – PONTA DO SOL Ponta do Sol starts at Est. Vale e Cova do Pico and evolves in very fast areas where in the middle there are some hairpin bends until Carvalhal, a traditionally spectacular area on the roads neighbouring the municipal stadium and from there begins a descent that becomes chilling in the last metres before the Ribeira da Madalena do Mar. How to get there: From Ponta do Sol: by Cam. Lombo do Meio, by Est. Eng. Ribeiro de Sousa and ER 222. SS 12 and 16 – PONTA DO PARGO This special competition whose classification is mostly determined by the skill of the drivers because it is very demanding in the sequences of long “hooks” and curves in both directions very close. Its surface varies from very wet in the tree lined area to very dry and abrasive in the bare areas. As it is all very identical along its entire length, it forces good ongoing notes. How to get there: From Ponta do Pargo: municipal road which gives access to Pedregal and Serrado. SS 13 and 17 – ROSÁRIO This trail crosses the Island along the imaginary line between São Vicente and Riveira Brava from Rosário to Serra d'Água, passing through Encumeada. It requires a lot of driving on the way up to Encumeada and then a great courage on the vertiginous descent until the end. It is one of the special races that gathers more spectators in the Rally. How to get there: With no alternative access roads, it requires time to travel through the start and finish.

RVM Special Stages (Leg 1)

SS 1 – AVENIDA DO MAR The Avenida do Mar Super Special Stage returns to the Rali Vinho Madeira, bringing a lot of excitement and animation to downtown Funchal. It is a classification designed for exhibition, with some roundabouts, 90º turn and several chicanes to reduce the speed of the competitors. How to get there: Downtown Funchal.   SS 2 and 4 – CAMPO DE GOLFE This Special Stage starts on ER 207, after the entrance to the local Campo de Golfe and includes a short sequence of straights to Santo da Serra. From there and up to Fonte de Santo António, the course is quite winding and narrow. It is followed by the also very fast evolution to Ribeira de Machico, followed by the demanding climb to Lombo das Faias and a flat area until the "snail" of Portela. The timed section again contemplates the steep descent to Referta. How to get there: From Santo da Serra: at the cross road with Est. Fonte de Santo António, through EM Caramanchão and ER 102 at Lombo das Faias. From Machico: at Ribeira de Machico (Warning: emergency exit), Portela by Cam. Fajã dos Rolos and by ER 108 at the cross road with Est. Fonte de Santo António. SS 3 and 5 – PALHEIRO FERREIRO ER 201, commonly known as Caminho dos Pretos, is the "cathedral" of Madeira rallies and, in the past, few races that did not include it in their itinerary. It is done "uphill" between Palheiro Ferreiro and Terreiro da Luta with a route that mixes almost perfectly the fast areas with those that require a lot of technique, this year without the famous Choupana jump. After Terreiro da Luta follows the climb to the South Gate of Chão da Lagoa, the passage through the Funchal Ecological Park and the fast descent from the North Gate of Chão da Lagoa to Poiso and a few more hundred metres on the ER 202. How to get there: From Funchal: Cam. São João Latrão, through Rua Nova Curral dos Romeiros and in Choupana, by Cam. Meio and Cam. Terço, and Terreiro da Luta by ER 103; from Camacha, Poiso by ER 203 and Portão Sul do Chão da Lagoa by ER 203 and ER 103.   SS 6 and 8 – BOAVENTURA  Boaventura was for many years the only special stage disputed only in the northern part of the island. For many years it was also absent from the Rali Vinho da Madeira itinerary. It requires a lot of technique in the constant change between climbs and descents and fast and slow zones in a sometimes narrow course between Boaventura and Arco de São Jorge.   PE 7 and 9 – CIDADE DE SANTANA Introduced 13 years ago in the Rali Vinho da Madeira itinerary, it starts near the centre of the parish of Ilha and ends at Est. Eiras. It is almost always uphill, with the exception of some flat and very fast areas. On its route there are very technical areas where there are some "hooks". Its dispute is often marked by weather conditions different from the rest of the island. How to get there: From Santana: by Cam. Queimadas, by Est. Padre Agostinho J. Cardoso, by Rua Joaquim S. Branco (Warning: Emergency exit) and by Cam. Feiteira do Nuno.    

How is CPR doing?

The Rali Vinho da Madeira is the sixth race of 2022 in the Portuguese Rally Championship. The season opened with the Fafe, Felgueiras, Cabreira and Boticas Rally in March, a race won by Armindo Araújo. Still in the same month, the caravan headed to the Azores Rallye and in São Miguel the best was Ricardo Moura in his only participation this year so far. In mid-April, the championship returned to the north of the country for the Terras d'Aboboreira, race in which Miguel Correia made his first triumph in this competition. About a month later, the Vodafone Rally of Portugal took place, event also included in the WRC, in which the maximum score went to Ricardo Teodósio. In this race the gravel phase of the championship ended. In tarmac, at the beginning of June, the competition headed to Castelo Branco and the winner was again Armindo Araújo, the first to win again this year. Also very constant in the points, it is normal that Araújo leads the table with a good advantage to Miguel Correia. The third position is occupied by José Pedro Fontes, who scored points in every event, followed by Bruno Magalhães, who was on the podium three times but had to drop out in the most important race of the year, and Ricardo Teodósio, who had two withdrawals. After the Rali Vinho da Madeira, the Água Rally on September 2nd and 3rd and the CAMG Rally in Marinha Grande on October 7th and 8th are still to come. CPR: 1st Armindo Araújo, 121; 2nd Miguel Correia, 97; 3rd José Pedro Fontes, 77; 4th Bruno Magalhães, 71; 5th Ricardo Teodósio, 38; 6th Pedro Almeida, 33; 7th Ricardo Moura, 28; 8th Pedro Meireles, 28; 9th Paulo Neto, 22; 10th Paulo Caldeira, 16; 11th Lucas Simões, 15; 12th Gil Antunes, 15; 13th Daniel Nunes, 14; 14th Ernesto Cunha, 13; 15th Paulo Meireles, 10. 16 drivers are classified.  

Administrative checks and scrutineering this afternoon

This afternoon between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., the scrutineering for the 63rd Rali Vinho da Madeira will take place. The program foresees the administrative checks, in which all the documentation of the teams and their cars will be checked between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at Praça CR7. The initial scrutineering will start 15 minutes later, at 6:15 p.m., and continue until 9:30 p.m. at Pier 6 of the Funchal Harbour. Parallel to this check, the turbos and gearboxes will also be sealed. Besides the Autograph Session, held yesterday at Madeira's Casino, the checks are usually used by the many fans of Madeira's rally and motoring festival to be closer to the protagonists of the race, drivers, co-drivers and their machines.  

Crowded autograph session at Casino

The Autograph Session for the Rali Vinho da Madeira was much better attended than expected. Hundreds of fans went to Madeira's Casino to meet their favourite drivers, creating long queues. The first fans arrived at 7p.m. to save their place and be the first to ask for autographs.  This much awaited moment was scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m., ending at 11:00 p.m. Given the high number of enthusiasts still waiting for their turn, the organization decided to extend the schedule, however, and despite the effort, not all got their autographs. The demanding schedule of the drivers for these days, did not allow to extend for much longer the autograph session.  Furthermore, the organization asks for the understanding for what happened and invites all the population to stop by the Service Park, in Avenida Sá Carneiro, where they can see up close the teams participating in the RVM.

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