August 2021

Ongoing Checks

The Administrative Checks and Scrutineering of Rali Vinho da Madeira are happening since 6 p.m. and until 9:30 p.m. These procedures allow to ensure the authenticity of the information given by the competitors, as well as check the information of the vehicles with their technical passport and safety equipment demanded to the drivers, co-drivers and racing cars.  Many Madeirans took the advantage of this first opportunity to watch, next to their vehicles and many of their idols informally, along with the possibility to hear the sound of the engines that, starting tomorrow, will dream on the roads of the 10 municipalities within by the competition organized since 1959 by Club Sports da Madeira.    

22 Competitors for Shakedown

There are 22 teams ready for Shakedown, the perfect moment that allows the competitors to finalize the settings of the vehicles. As in last year’s edition, Shakedown will be at the same place as Qualifying and will happen between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. During Shakedown, the teams will not be qualified and the timing achieved by the drivers in the uphill, being only used as reference for the teams in the measuring of the competitiveness of their performances. As in Qualifying, there will a specific assistance park for the event, at Água de Pena Sports Park. The teams for Shakedown are: Alexandre Camacho/Pedro Calado (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Armindo Araújo/Luis Ramalho (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Miguel Nunes/João Paulo (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Ricardo Teodósio/José Teixeira (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Bruno Magalhães/Carlos Magalhães (Hyundai i20 R5); José Pedro Fontes/Inês Ponte (Citroën C3 Rally2); Bernardo Sousa/Victor Calado (Skoda Fabia R5); Pedro Meireles/Mário Castro (VW Polo GTi R5); Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (Citroën C3 Rally2); Luis Miguel Rego/Hugo Magalhães (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Miguel Correia/António Costa (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Pedro Paixão/Jorge Henriques (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Paulo Neto/Vítor Hugo (Skoda Fabia R5); Paulo Carvalheiro/Décio Carvalheiro (Porsche 993 GT3); Gil Freitas/Duarte Miranda (Subaru S14 WRC); João Silva/Rui Rodrigues (Renault Clio Rally4); Paulo Caldeira/Ana Gonçalves (Citroën C3 R5); João Figueiredo/Fábio Ribeiro (Citroën DS3 R3T); Miguel Caires/Duarte Lagos (Ford Fiesta Rally4); Roberto Canha/Diogo Paulino (Peugeot 208 Rally4); Ernesto Cunha/Rui Raimundo (Peugeot 208 Rally4); Caetanovich/Nuno Mota Ribeiro (Ford Fiesta Rally3) and Miguel Gouveia/Luis Boiça (Opel Corsa D OPC).  

Qualifying is tomorrow

The first official contact of the competitors with their vehicles will start tomorrow morning in Qualifying. This first session, for drivers with priority only, will take place at Estrada dos Cardais and Regional Road 224. It will start at 8:15 a.m. and finishes at 10:50 a.m., being divided between the two uphill roads for reconnaissance and final uphill, this one being the one that determines the best timing. The drivers taking part of this stage will take part, after 1 p.m. at Praça CR7 in a ceremony where the starting order will be determined for Leg 1.  To the fastest driver of Qualifying, will be given the opportunity to choose the starting order, to the second, and so on. There are 14 teams able to take part of Qualifying: Alexandre Camacho/Pedro Calado (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Armindo Araújo/Luis Ramalho (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Miguel Nunes/João Paulo (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo; Ricardo Teodósio/José Teixeira (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) ; Bruno Magalhães/Carlos Magalhães (Hyundai i20 R5); José Pedro Fontes/Inês Ponte (Citroën C3 Rally2); Bernardo Sousa/Victor Calado (Skoda Fabia R5); Pedro Meireles/Mário Castro (VW Golf GTi R5); Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (Citroën C3 Rally2); Luis Miguel Rego/Hugo Magalhães (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Miguel Correia/António Costa (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Pedro Paixão/Jorge Henriques (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo); Paulo Neto/Vítor Hugo (Skoda Fabia R5) and Paulo Carvalheiro/Dércio Carvalheiro (Porsche 991 GT3). This list will not be changed in case one of the teams can’t attend the session.    

How is FIA Iberian Rally Trophy doing?

FIA European Rally Trophy of the Iberian area was one of the least affected until now due to the pandemics, as there was no change in the calendar initially predicted, except the cancelation of the Casinos do Algarve Rally, which was the last competition of the season. Until now, two Spanish Rallies Sierra Morena and Villa de Adeje were organized. In the first one, set between 8th and 10th April near  Córdoba, won with a great standing of José António Suarez, in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, followed by Jan Solans, driver who will be in this Rali Vinho da Madeira Edition. In the second event, which has already taken place between the 13th and 15th May in Tenerife, the victory belongs to Yeray Lemes with a Citroën C3 R5 reduced to Surhayen Pernia with a Hyundai i20 R5 but with a great distance for Luis Vilarño em Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. This last one, however, is one of the few to get points from both competitions and is the standings leader, followed by the two events’ winners. After Rali Vinho da Madeira, they will take part of the rallies Princesa de Asturias and La Nucia – Mediterranean, both in Spain.  Standings: 1st Luis Vilariño, 45; 2nd José António Suarez, 40; 3rd Yeray Lemes, 39; 4th Surhayen Pernia, 33; 5th Jan Solans, 31; 6th Sérgio Passos, 26; 7th Javier Pardo, 25; 8th Francisco Pacheco and Joan Vinyes, 23; 10th Fabrizio Zaldivar, 15; 11th Francisco António Lopez, 13; 12th Eduard Pons, 11; 13th Oscar Palacio, 9.  

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