Ricardo Moura guaranteed victory in the Portuguese Rally Championship this weekend, by winning the 42nd edition of Rallye Casinos do Algarve. The Portuguese driver won the third consecutive absolute rally title in his Skoda Fabia S2000, accompanied by António Costa. Pedro Meireles, on the other hand, guaranteed the vice-championship, taking advantage of the withdrawal of Bernardo Sousa, who led the championship before this race.
In the race that took place on Friday and Saturday, Ricardo Moura still had to sweat to win. The Azorean driver was the first leader of the rally, but Bernardo Sousa took the lead when he was fastest on the first pass at Fóia. But a puncture by Bernardo Sousa in the 3rd special, which made him lose three minutes, and engine problems in the 5th stage, which I forced him to abandon, put the title contender out of the race.
With less pressure, Ricardo Moura opted to measure the pace and controlled the main opponents. The strategy paid off, winning the rally and revalidating the title for the Azores. Pedro Meireles did a consistent race, always on the lookout for an opportunity. He added a victory in a special, and was crowned rally national vice-champion.
Adruzilo Lopes also stood out in the Algarve race, guaranteeing the best time on the Power Stage, adding bonus points and third place on the podium.
In Regional Sul, the victory went to the team formed by Márcio Marreiros and Rui Serra, in Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI. After a consistent race, the team secured the leadership of Regional Sul.
Ricardo Teodósio was the fastest in the five sections that made up the competition, but retired on the last call. Walking in the back of the peloton Ruben Tabaio and Luís Nunes had an animated fight, and ended up on the podiums and separated by 13,4 seconds.
Paulo Santos, in the debut of Citroen Saxo, had a consistent race, and increased his advantage in the championship, allowing him to enter the last race with a little more ease. With some cash problems, Marco Ferreira ended up in second place in the 2RM, more than 2 minutes from the winner. To register the abandonments of José Coelho and José Martins that compromise the aspirations of the title.
«Before the rally started, João Barros won the CPR2 title, due to the absence of Ricardo Marques, and chose to participate with the Fiesta R5 as car zero. The attention turned to Diogo Gago who dominated in the two-wheel drive, adding very fast times and finishing in fifth place with the Peugeot 208 R2. Good performance for Paulo Neto, who was second in the two driving wheels, winning three more points in the last special. Joaquim Bernardes in the Renault Clio R3 was very regular and ended up in third position in the category, ahead of Armindo Neves with Peugeot 207 RC», revealed the organization.
The Rally Casinos do Algarve had the support of Casinos Solverde and the Municipalities of Portimão and Monchique.
Nuno Pimenta's Photos
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