The Vodafone Rally de Portugal will run again between the 3rd and 6th of April, with the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo roads being the main stage of the most important annual automobile event held in Portugal. This may be the last time the South is chosen to be the base of the competition, but, guarantees the organization, nothing has been decided.
«We have no guarantees, I can only assure you, and I think I interpret the sentiment of my colleagues in the Algarve and all economic agents in the region, is that we, the Algarve, are very keen on maintaining the race and are willing to do whatever it takes. possible for it to continue in the Algarve», revealed the mayor of Loulé Vítor Aleixo this Tuesday, on the sidelines of the presentation of the 2014 edition of the Rally, in that city.
The race director Pedro Almeida admitted that "several scenarios are being studied", even so that "there are alternatives, in case of need", but assured that the management of Automóvel Clube de Portugal, the organizing body, has not yet taken a decision. .
«Algarve and Baixo Alentejo are a perfect solution in many respects, but it is necessary to have others, in order to always find the ideal solution at all times. In that aspect, things are open”, he added.
The only thing that is certain is that in April the Rally de Portugal returns to the place where it has been held for ten consecutive years. As happens this year, many of these ten editions counted for the Mundial de Rallys (WRC), a championship that brings together the biggest names in the sport and in which the Portuguese rally was once again included in 2007, after many years away.
The chosen model has been successful, said Pedro Almeida, and, therefore, it will not have major changes compared to previous years. In terms of novelties, emphasis is placed on the changes in the traditional Santana da Serra section, which will be the longest in this edition of the race (31,9 kilometers) and which will be covered in the opposite direction to what is usual.
The Power Stage, the final stage that gives points to double, will also be very different from 2013, ie much shorter, as a result of the new format approved by the International Automobile Federation, which limits this type of qualifying to distances between 10 and the 15 kilometers (km).
The Loulé section (13,81 km) receives the second-to-last and last qualifying, on Sunday, the 6th, with a passage on the São Brás de Alportel section (16,21 km) in the middle. On the last day, the cars will only go out on the road from 11 am, so that the Power Stage can be broadcast live "to the whole world".
In the first days on the roads of Baixo Alentejo and Algarve, the 85 cars entered in the race this year will have to travel three sections twice. On April 4, there are double crossings in Silves (21,5 km), Ourique (25,4 km) and Almodôvar (26,48 km). This last qualifying was “relegated” compared to last year, where it was the Power Stage stage, the longest ever in a WRC race, with 52 kilometers.
On the 5th, Saturday, the sections to be covered are Santa Clara (19,09 km), Santana da Serra (31,9 km, contrary to what is usual) and Malhão (22,15 km).
Before heading south, on April 3, Rally de Portugal has a Super Special stage in Lisbon, at Praça do Império, as has been happening in recent editions. Before the first stage, the cars will concentrate on the Estoril Casino garden and travel along the Avenida Marginal, as was the case in the past.
Algarvians must "fall more in love" with Rally de Portugal
“It was good that the people of the Algarve allowed themselves to be captivated, fell in love more and showed up in greater numbers at the moments of competition in the competition”, appealed Vítor Aleixo.
The mayor of one of the host municipalities of the event and those that gives the event the greatest support, admitted that greater enthusiasm on the part of the living forces and the population of the Algarve in relation to the event could help to keep the race in the South, one of the issues that the ACP has raised when it talks about the possibility of heading North.
Not least because, as those responsible for the ACP have said to Vítor Aleixo, “the money is not at issue”. "If there are reasons to take the test from here, they won't be financial," he said, repeating what he was told.
Pedro Almeida, on the other hand, did not deny that the choice of the location where the next Portuguese rally will take place depends "on economic factors", but, he added, it is also linked "to logistical and safety factors", among other aspects. "It is obvious that the greater the commitment of people, municipalities and entities in the region, the better the position of that region," he said.
The director of Vodafone Rally de Portugal added that he has felt greater support from the southern municipalities, "especially since the possibility of the rally leaving here was raised." And he again stressed that the Rally is from Portugal «and not from the Algarve».
«The Rally de Portugal is organized by the ACP, whose management understands that it is their responsibility to find the best possible scenario to guarantee the future of the race in the World Championship. It can be in the North, the South, Madeira, the Azores or even the Berlengas Islands. What is important is that the race continues to count for the WRC», illustrated Pedro Almeida.
Algarve has to be "proactive" to keep Rally de Portugal
«We have to keep fighting so that the process [of maintaining the Rally de Portugal in the Algarve] does not have an inversion. The partners in the region have to organize themselves. We cannot wait for the decision, we have to be proactive», considered the president of the Algarve Tourism Region Desidério Silva, after the presentation of the new edition of the competition.
“The process is not closed and I think that the local authorities, RTA and AMAL have a say. It is necessary to do what is necessary: show the will of the region and have all the necessary conditions to host the event», he considered.
“It is time for us all to get involved, whether public or private, because they are the ones who have the logistical conditions. This signal has to be given and by the representative associations of the region in these areas.
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