Club Sports da Madeira was authorised to organize the 2021 edition of our “Rali Vinho da Madeira”, the greatest Sports Event of our Autonomous Region and, more than an international sports event, the motorsport festivity, with the intense emotion of how several generations of local people live and feel as a rally of their own.
Unfortunately, it will not yet be this year that all splendour of Rali Vinho da Madeira may be on the roads of the Island. If there is a lesson we can learn, for the time that we have been living with the COVID 19, is that it can be unpredictable, and for that reason, more dangerous than ever. Every day, we are surprised with new waves and variants, with advances and retreats of the pandemic measures to end it. Being so, we are forced to follow the maximum security rules and forced to remove from the program the competition stages that may lead to the concentration of spectators, keeping active all rules included in the Contingency Plan approved by the Health Authorities for the organization of this Sports Event.
As last year’s edition, we rely on you all! With your responsibility and highly civic sense.
Everyone going on the roads must have the conscience and duty regarding social and physical distance, the use of face protection and hand sanitization. Over all, we are summoned to follow our obligations, in order to overcome this pandemic crisis.
Being so, on behalf of the Club Sports da Madeira and my own, for those who want to watch the rally, I suggest you all get vaccinated. The watchwords are to get vaccinated and to get tested, so that we can have a safe rally, in terms of local contamination and Public Health.
Nevertheless, it is imperative that we can go back to the festivity and joy that this International Sports Event brings out in all of us and in its contribution to the tourism promotion of Madeira and for its economic activity’s revival.
I share with you all a market research that FIA performed, recently, about the impact that Motorsports has in World Economy.
According to the presented results, motor sports generates a worldwide turnover of about 160 billion euros, 1,5 million direct and indirect jobs, as there are more than 300.000 technical clerks, 2,7 million competitors and 60.700 motorsports competitions per year, which means about 5.000 per month and about 1.200 per week.
These numbers are impressive and in this time, that we all are trying hard to return to a normal economic activity and prioritize the economy and the creation of new jobs, we can see the real impact that the sports events have in the countries and regions where they are accomplished.
It also gives us the certainty of the enormous competition in all motor sports organized under the aegis of FIA- Federação Internacional do Automóvel (International Automobile Federation).
This is not the forum or the proper place to debate this issue. Nevertheless, we want to reassure the many transformations and challenges that the organizations of these events face, not only because of the number of competitions but also because of its geographic spread, its economic and financial power of the countries and regions and the investment in competitions using cars with new, less polluting energy sources. And so, Portugal must be in the front line, and so should Madeira Island, given the image and prestige that Rali vinho da Madeira has conquered in an international level, that must be valued and appreciated.
We must also analyse the strong economic and social impact of our international Motorsport Events in the economic activity of our country, of our region and our municipalities. Therefore, we must support the organization of such competitions in order to have it included in the Worldwide and European Rallies’ elite.
Due to the budget restraints and circulation of people and goods, the Club Sports da Madeira has kept the same program and itinerary, similar to the 2020 edition of Rali Vinho da Madeira, in order to reduce costs and expenses with its organization.
As for our investment this year, it is in the enhancement of the drivers and competitors’ presence of the National Championships and the Rallies Championship of Coral da Madeira without forgetting Spain, through the Iberian European Rally Trophy, which will be, in the future, a great investment in the Rallies’ Organizations of both Iberian countries. And it is, once again, reassured, the competition and sport fight on the roads of Madeira Island, during the first weekend of August, in the excellent list of 50 entries, as we have 31 competitors from Madeira, two from Spanish and 17 from the Mainland.
The highlight is for the presence of the FIA priority driver, the Madeiran Alexandre Camacho, who is in this selected list, where we can only find 42 other drivers, most of them fighting for the World Championship of Rallies, which is a remarkable fact to be registered as a statement of Madeiran values in a worldwide level, also in the motor sports.
Besides this Champion, we have the Portuguese Champion with a title – Armindo Araújo and the Champion from Madeira, Miguel Nunes, as well as many other former National Champions, Ricardo Teodósio, Bruno Magalhães, José Pedro Fontes, Bernardo Sousa, Pedro Meireles, Adruzilo Lopes and many other very young and promising drivers, in some of the most competitive cars fighting for the European rallies, besides other car debut both in the Region and in Portugal.
Another important highlight is for the presence of the talented young Spanish driver, Jan Solans, officially representing the Spanish Citroen and a Junior World champion, who will perform his debut in our stage queen.
All conditions are, hereby, gathered in order to have one more excellent edition of the Rali Vinho da Madeira, even with all restrictions that are implemented to fight the covid-19 pandemic.
To all, a great rally, always with maximum safety and the certainty that “rally is not from Madeira, is for Madeira”, from all of us!
