Simone Campedelli returns to Rali Vinho da Madeira, "a competition I remember from my childhood when it was part of the European championship and many of my idols took part. It's a rally that makes me remember when I was just a fan. I have to thank the organisation and The Racing Factory, who allowed this to happen. Sportingly, I don't know what I can expect but I want to enjoy every moment I'm in the car. We'll give it our all and see, class by class, where we go. Everything is unknown. The only certainty is the great pleasure of being at the start".

The 37-year-old Italian, who is driving the colours of Indian tyre manufacturer MRF with a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, made his debut in 2004 with a Citroën Saxo VTS. From then until 2009 he drove various versions of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Between 2010 and 2013 he was behind the wheel of front-wheel drive cars and, from then on, Peugeot 207 S2000, Ford Fiesta R5, VW Polo GTi R5 and, in recent years, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. He regularly competes in the ERC, is the reigning Italian tarmac rally champion and has also won the junior title in 2011, the two-wheel drive title in 2012 and the 2007 dirt rally trophy in his country.