There were tears, a lot of emotion, applause from fans and even congratulations given for a banner pulled by a plane and even a proposal of marriage. It was like this, yesterday afternoon, in Portimão, the celebration of the victory of the Algarve Ricardo Teodósio, the first, in the Portuguese Rally Championship.
In a rally marked by the huge presence of the public in both qualifying and super-specials in Lagos, the party at the Hotel Algarve Casino was marked by a flourishing yellow tone in the huge human mass of support for Ricardo Teodósio and José Teixeira, with the driver taking advantage of the occasion to ask your partner in marriage, as can be seen in the photo.
Ricardo Teodósio and José Teixeira are, thus, the new national rally champions, after an intense battle with their direct opponents.
The Skoda Fabia R5 duo ended a brilliant season with 2nd place at home, in the decisive Rallye Casinos do Algarve.
Ricardo Teodósio reached the ninth and final CPR race with three very strong opponents and an even greater certainty: no one would take away the title of national rally champion.
The popular Guia driver, who had already won the CPR races in Fafe and Mortágua, as well as being on the podium in the Azores, Rally de Portugal, Castelo Branco and Vidreiro, knew that it was enough to manage his position against his direct rivals to celebrate the title in the most special rally of the year for you.
And that was exactly what happened, through a 2nd place final and two more classifications won for the CPR, culminating one of the most disputed championships in the history of the Nacional de Rally, created in 1956.
“It's like getting to the top of the mountain,” said Ricardo Teodósio, about the most important moment in his career.
“On the first day we wanted to see how our opponents were doing, but today we tried to go faster and won two stages. When we passed the time-taking of the last section, I thought about a lot. In my family, in my friends, in all the people who helped me get here, in the affection and support I feel in all the rallies, especially at Casinos do Algarve, of course”.
“It's a difficult feeling to explain. We worked hard to be champions, the ARC Sport team did a fantastic job over the years, our sponsors… they were all crucial to this title. Thank you all!”, highlighted the Algarve driver, who from an early age showed all his natural talent, including in karting and formula championships.
Other points of interest marked the race, such as the fight for the ERT2 title in the Iberian Rally Trophy, disputed between José Merceano and Adruzilo Lopes, which was won in extremis for the first, since, since the end of the first day of the race, his car showed signs of not withstanding the effort until the end, despite the attack by Adruzilo Lopes, who was also a victim of bad luck, when he had to restart the race on Sunday in Rally 2 after having to retire on the first day.
In the two driving wheels, João Marcelino debuted to win in the CPR, being followed by Rafael Cardeira and Hugo Araújo, who was the first among the RC5.
Luís Mota saw Pedro Leone give up on the first day and thus added the title of Portuguese Champion of Rally Classics to his vast achievements, in a race that was won by the Irish duo Richard Hall/Rory Kennedy.
In the southern rally championship, Márcio Marreiros sealed with a golden key the conquest of the sixth title in this competition, ahead of Ricardo Filipe and João Bica, with Vítor Vilela being the best among the two driving wheels, in fourth place overall.
This was the first time that a rally of the Portuguese rally championship was certified as an Eco-event, in this case by Algar. This was a race organized by the Clube Automóvel do Algarve (CAAL), under the aegis of the Portuguese Federation of Automobile and Karting, and told with the support of Solverde Casinos e Hotéis and the municipalities of Lagoa, Lagos, Monchique and Portimão.
See the photos of the party in the gallery above, captured by the reporter's lens Nelson Ignatius, at the service of Sul Informação.
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