The 59th edition of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal started from the university city of Coimbra on Thursday afternoon.
At the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin had the honour of opening the road on this sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
With the starting ceremony taking place on the left bank of the Mondego River in Santa Clara, the rally caravan then headed towards the start of the Águeda/Sever special stage.
This 15.98km stage opens proceedings for the 67 teams present in this year's edition, hosted by the Automobile Club of Portugal.
One hour later, crews will tackle the second Sever/Albergaria stage (20.24km), which also includes 14 participants from the Portuguese Rally Championship.
There was an electric atmosphere on the left bank of the Mondego River with Ana Abrunhosa and Carlos Barbosa, respective presidents of the Coimbra City Council and the organising committee of the Vodafone Rally of Portugal, on hand to flag off the cars.
Evans and Martin arrive in Portugal leading the World Rally Championship, with a two-point advantage over the Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta, who also drives Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
After stage two, competitors take the asphalt road towards Figueira da Foz to finish the day with a short super special in the coastal city