Diogo Marujo and co-driver Jorge Carvalho emerged victorious in the inaugural round of the Castrol Portugal Rally Series, held on the demanding roads of Vila Velha de Ródão. After a tightly contested battle that went down to the second, the duo extended their lead on the challenging Vilas Ruivas stage, leaving the strong competition behind. “It was a very good race, I really enjoyed it and we managed to win… for the rest of the season, I hope to fight for the Rally Series, get more overall victories and keep improving,” said the 20-year-old young driver.
Defending champions Pedro Lago Vieira and Paulo Lopes started their title defence with a second-place finish, recovering after a spin on the first stage set them back. Adruzilo Lopes and Vítor Hugo continued their progress aboard the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo in its competitive debut, finishing third overall. That result also earned them the Gentleman class win, a positive start to the season according to the driver.
Pedro Silva and Ricardo Moura secured a home triumph, with their first pass through Vilas Ruivas proving decisive as they doubled their advantage over the competition. Paulo Antunes and Paulo Amorim took second place in their competitive debut with the iconic Ford Escort MK2, also winning the FIA Historic category. Francisco Piçarra, driving a Peugeot 208 R2, completed the podium while also claiming victories in the 2WD non-homologated and Junior classes. In the Sideways category, Vítor Pascoal and Ricardo Faria won ahead of Paulo Antunes and Paulo Amorim, adding the GT3 Rally Trophy win to their tally.
Miguel Carvalho and António Reis triumphed in the N5 Cup by
