Hayden Paddon wins the opening ERC stage
Craig Breen the best among the Portugal Rally Championship competitors, who started at the Serras de Fafe, Felgueiras, Boticas, Vieira do Minho and Cabeceiras de Basto Rally.
It was a disputed rally until the Power Stage times were taken, only then it was decided. Hayden Paddon and John Kennard (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), were able to celebrate, when they found out that a flat tire on the second round of the Lameirinha special stage, knocked Mikko Heikkilä and Samu Vaaleri (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) to the eighth position. The Finnish team, that controlled this stage the most, lost 2.41 minutes to the now leaders.
For that reason, most of the men that were at the lead, Mads Østberg and Patrik Barth (Citroen C3 Rally2), finished within seconds, at 10.7 seconds and, Georg Linnamae and James Morgan (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), ended in the third position.
Craig Breen and James Fulton (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) used an offensive tactic for this stage, what made them recover into sixth place. This got them the Portugal Rally Championship’s winning stage, Miguel Correia and Jorge Carvalho (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) followed them and, Ricardo Teodósio and José Teixeira (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) came in third, despite their incident on the last special stage where they had a flat tire. They could, still, hold their place in the podium.
Still regarding national competitions, highlighting the victory of Ernesto Cunha and Carlos Magalhães (Peugeot 208 Rally4) on the two wheel drive.
Foi um rali disputado até à tomada de tempos da Power Stage, pois só aí se decidiu. Hayden Paddon e John Kennard (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), puderam comemorar, quando souberam que um furo na segunda passagem pela classificativa de Lameirinha, atirava Mikko Heikkilä e Samu Vaaleri (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) para a oitava posição da geral. A equipa finlandesa, que dominou grande parte da prova, perdia 2.41 minutos para os líderes.
Dessa forma, outros dos homens que passaram pelo comando, Mads Østberg e Patrik Barth (Citroen C3 Rally2) , terminavam em segundos, a 10,7 segundos e Georg Linnamae e James Morgan (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), terminaram no terceiro posto.
Criag Breen e James Fulton (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) fizeram uma prova ao ataque, que os levou a recuperar até ao sexto lugar da geral. Dessa forma venceram a prova do Campeonato de Portugal de Ralis, à frente de Miguel Correia e Jorge Carvalho (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo), Ricardo Teodósio e José Teixeira (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) foram os terceiros, apesar de não terem escapado a um susto na última classificativa, em que furaram. Mesmo assim deu para segurarem o pódio.
Ainda em termos nacionais, de destacar a vitória nas duas rodas motrizes de Ernesto Cunha e Carlos Magalhães (Peugeot 208 Rally4).