It is with great satisfaction and pleasure that I address you, on behalf of the centenary Club Sports da Madeira, a warm welcome to Madeira and to the "Rali Vinho da Madeira", the international sporting event that most promotes the Madeira tourist destination and its secular and famous export product.

It is the oldest motor rally event in Portugal, because it is enough to remember the first "Tour of the Island" to realise how it has always been lived and cherished by all Madeirans who, in a very unique way, positioned themselves on its narrow and winding roads to closely follow the challenges that were launched to drivers and their vehicles, to overcome the difficult orography and microclimate of the Island.

This enthusiasm with which successive generations of Madeirans receive Rali Vinho da Madeira is maintained and renewed every year, which forces the organising committee to always maintain a high ambition in order to meet the expectations of our fans and continue to affirm all its history and prestige in the context of national and international motorsport.

There is no other sporting event that perfectly combines the external promotion of the Region and intensifies its internal economic activity. It is enough to mention the contribution to the economy, measured not only by its media return generated, more than 12.7 million euros of AVE (Advertising Value Equivalency), by the revenues generated directly in stays and meals, by all competitors, their teams and companions, in addition to indirect taxes on consumption and the contracting of supply companies with tax headquarters in the Region. It is urgent to carry out a study on the strong impact that the Event has on the economy of Madeira, but there is no doubt that in an analysis of the cost / benefit ratio, Rali Vinho da Madeira is economically sustainable and a positive contribution to regional and municipal revenues. In sporting terms, Rali Vinho da Madeira 2023, scores points for the FIA European Rally Trophy, for the Portuguese and Coral Madeira Rally Championships and, this year, for the Peugeot Rally Cup Trophy Iberica, a mono-brand competition that will bring to Madeira, about 14 competitors to which four Madeiran teams will join, in what will be "another rally" within this edition of the event.

To prove the prestige and international image of our rally, it is enough to go through the list of entries, not only for the high number of entries in an island competition, which surprised everyone, but also for the quality and the fact that we have several drivers who are former winners of the Rali Vinho da Madeira which, from the outset, will be decisive to have a lot of competitiveness on the roads of the region.

President of Club Sports da Madeira and the Organising Committee of RVM 2023

José Paulo Fontes