The first stage of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal is part of the Portuguese Rally Championship. The best Portuguese drivers will try to overcome the favoritism of Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo.
The event, organized by the Automóvel Club de Portugal, marks the end of the dirt track phase. There are 11 stages, including the asphalt superspecial, and 146.5 kilometers to close the first phase of the season. Meeke, the defending champion, has won the last three rallies and is the main favorite. He has more Rally2 experience in the Portuguese event than Sordo, who drives a Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
The current championship leader said he is "excited to be back at the Rally of Portugal. It's a huge challenge, and Friday will be decisive,” said Meeke. He added, “Our main goal is to score maximum points, but we also want to test ourselves against the best in WRC2. We're going to give it our all," said the English driver, who won the Vodafone Rally de Portugal in 2016 with a Citroën DS3 WRC.
Dani Sordo will be driving a Rally2 for the first time at the Portuguese event, aiming for victory. "Our focus will be on the championship and winning with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2," he said. The race will be very demanding, as there are many excellent drivers. We're going to do our best to score as many points as possible and reduce the gap to the championship lead," said the Spanish driver. Another big unknown is who can make the best use of the compulsory Hankook tires in World Rally Championship races.
The main objective of the Portuguese drivers is to score points. But Armindo Araújo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), José Pedro Fontes (Citroën C3 Rally2), Pedro Meireles (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), Pedro Almeida (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), Gonçalo Henriques (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), and Ernesto Cunha (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) will also want to demonstrate their speed to the WRC2 elite. Ricardo Teodósio (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) is the only driver familiar with the South Korean brand's tires, which could give him an advantage in this rally.