Do everything possible to avoid the Vodafone Rally de Portugal going to the North of the country and call the Automóvel Clube de Portugal (ACP) to fulfill commitments made until 2015, related to the race.
This was the commitment made yesterday by the presidents of the seven municipalities that have been hosting the Rally de Portugal since returning to the World Rally Championship and the Regional Tourism Entities (ERT) of the Algarve and Alentejo, in a press conference that served to show union and harmony in the desire to keep this important event in the South.
The possibility of the Rally moving to the North of the country has been put on the table by those responsible for the ACP, which organizes the competition in Portugal, although no definitive decision has been announced. And it is this decision that the mayors and presidents of the ERTs want to avoid.
"It was with great surprise and perplexity that only through the media were we aware of statements, through which other hypotheses are put on the air as to the regions where the rally could take place in the future", said these living forces in a joint statement, read by the president of the Chamber of Faro Macario Correia.
Astonishment, from the outset, because there is a contract signed between the Association of Municipalities Faro/Loulé for ceding the Algarve Stadium to the organization of the Rally, valid until 2015. But also because this intention comes at a time of crisis, in which the event assumes an even greater importance for the economy of both regions.
According to Seruca Emídio, the signed contract does not provide for any compensation, should the ACP decide not to comply with it, as it was signed in a logic of "good faith". Even because, for the entities present at the press conference yesterday, nothing seems to justify this change.
«I don't believe that this decision will be taken, because the same thing that made the Rally come to the South will happen», believes Seruca Emídio. Rally de Portugal left the WRC for reasons related to the lack of safety and its return, with a new costume based in the Algarve, still took a few years to convince those responsible for the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
This relationship of trust, which has been gained from year to year, and the evidence that has been given in the last seven years by the entities involved are, besides, arguments that they consider sufficient not to consider the change.
In addition to the quality of the sections, "which the drivers love", the Mayor of Ourique Pedro Carmo highlighted "the experience gained in recent years", not only by public entities, but also "by the residents of the areas where the Rally passes". , which help the organization.
"We are not in a position to play with fire, because with the change, the race can be lost counting for the WRC", said the mayor from Alentejo. Furthermore, since the first edition of the Rally in the South, mayors have been asked to “get involved directly”.
Turismo de Portugal says it sees no reason to change its location
The president of Turismo de Portugal Frederico Costa assured the responsible for Tourism of the Algarve Desidério Silva that there is no decision and that on the part of the entity that runs "nothing predicts that the Rally will leave here".
A strong support, as Turismo de Portugal is the main sponsor of the event. Still, the message that has been conveyed by ACP officials is that there are very strong pressure groups in the North, willing to invest to see change happen.
An issue that the seven mayors and those responsible for tourism want to clear up in a meeting that has already been requested to the ACP, to take place "in the coming days". “On this issue, we are all united. There is still no decision, this is a position of prevention in relation to what may happen in the future», guaranteed Macário Correia.
The joint position was taken by the mayors of Ourique, Silves, Loulé, Faro, São Brás de Alportel, Tavira and Almodôvar.
Lack of public and passion are reasons given for the change
One of the justifications pointed out by the ACP for moving the rally to another part of the country is the «lack of passion» of the Algarve and Alentejo people in relation to motor sports, when compared to other regions, especially in the North of the country.
A false question, in the view of Desidério Silva, who considers that “what is at stake here is not passion”. "What matters essentially are logistical conditions, infrastructure and security," he said, an aspect in which the Algarve has never failed, given the feedback given by both the ACP and the FIA.
The mayors present, who deal more closely with the organization, assured that the organization had never pointed out any fundamental problem and even received praise on several occasions. In addition, several mayors defended, there has been no shortage of public and the show zones are usually well composed in the respective municipalities.
There is also the financial issue and national strategic interest "to be taken into account", since this event is an oxygen balloon for two regions that are particularly feeling the effects of the crisis, namely the Algarve, where the main economic activity is the tourism. «The Algarve has already been deprived of a series of events and cannot miss this one», summarized Desidério Silva.
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