How is the Portuguese Rally Championship going?
The Portuguese Rally Championship has not undergone any major changes for 2024 and the calendar consists of the same eight events that defined it last year, divided into two stages, each with four events, both on dirt and tarmac. The season started almost at the end of February with the Serras e Fafe Rally, Felgueiras, Boticas and Cabeceiras de Basto, now out of the ERC. Kris Meeke, again in the Korean brand's Hyundai i20N Rally 2, won, followed by Armindo Araújo and Rúben Rodrigues, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2.
The competition returned to the road in mid-March for the Casinos do Algarve Rally. In the south of the country, the top two finishers were the same, but the lowest place on the podium was the ‘home driver’, national champion Ricardo Teodósio, in Hyundai Portugal's other i20N Rally2.
At the end of April, the Terras d'Aboboreira Rally took place, the other Portuguese event that is also part of the FIA European Rally Trophy. Several foreign competitors took the opportunity to practise for the next round of the WRC, which took place in Portugal.
Absolute victory went to Kris Meeke, followed by Frenchmen Pierre-Louis Loubet and Yohan Rossel in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Citroën C3 Rally2, respectively. When it came to the podium for the CPR, Meeke took the top spot and was accompanied by Armino Araújo and Pedro Almeida in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo.
At the beginning of May, the WRC visited Portugal for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. In the standings extrapolated to the national championship, Kris Meeke once again came out on top, while Armindo Araújo was in the lowest position. Between them was José Pedro Fontes in a Citroën C3 Rally2.
Towards the end of June, the CPR entered its asphalt phase with the Castelo Branco Rally. Meeke once again took the lead, but a problem with his car meant he fell to 6th place. Armindo Araújo won, followed by José P. Fontes and the Spaniard Roberto Blach. Fontes and Spaniard Roberto Blach. For the CPR, third place points were awarded to João Barros in a VW Polo GTi R5.
Classification: 1st Kris Meeke, 122; 2nd Armindo Araújo, 111; 3rd José P. Fontes, 60; 4th Pedro Almeida, 44; 5th Ernesto Cunha and Ricardo Teodósio, 43; 7th Paulo Neto, 38; 8th Lucas Simões, 32; 9th Ricardo Filipe, 26; 10th Rúben Rodrigues, 18; 11th João Barros, 17; 12th Gonçalo Henriques, 15; 13th Pedro Meireles and Hugo Lopes, 12; 15th Anton Korzun, 7. 35 drivers have qualified.