Vodafone Rally de Portugal

Route

• After last year’s successful return to the north of Portugal, the 2016 event remains based at Matosinhos, north of Porto.
• The route is virtually identical to 2015, with just 6.52km of the 368.00km of action different to last year.
• A Thursday afternoon ceremonial start at Guimarães will be followed by an evening super special stage at Lousada rallycross circuit.
• The first full day heads north for stages around Ponte de Lima, near the Spanish border. 
• Saturday’s route, the longest of the rally, journeys east for tests near Amarante.
• Sunday’s leg has just three stages, with the focus on the classic Fafe test.

Challenge

• Sandy roads ensure grip is at a premium for the early starters during the first pass through the stages. 
• Hard or soft? That’s the big tyre question for drivers searching for the best grip on the soft tracks, whilst also trying to manage the wear over a group of stages. 
• Rocks and deep ruts present an altogether different hazard for the second pass, requiring teams to raise the ride height on their cars to avoid mechanical damage.

Car spec

• Gravel suspension.

History

• First held in 1967 and one of the founding events in the inaugural 1973 WRC.
• Initially a mixed surface rally, it switched to a pure gravel format but lost its place in the calendar after bad weather ruined the 2001 event.
• Organisers moved from the north to the Algarve holiday region in the south and it regained its place in 2007.
• Named ‘Best Rally in the World’ on five occasions.

What’s new for 2016

• Double fun over a new 1.85km street stage in the centre of Porto, which competitors drive twice at the end of Friday’s leg. 
• Sunday includes a second pass over the Vieira do Minho test, alongside the classic Fafe.

Don’t miss

• A visit to Fafe. Head to the big jump and soak up the atmosphere alongside tens of thousands of fans. 
• Remember to take a look at Jari-Matti Latvala’s dramatic 2009 crash when he rolled a Ford Focus RS WRC 17 times down a hillside. See it again at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrRNxB3i9rg

VIDEO

PHOTOS

Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2015