The Rally de Portugal will have a super special in Coimbra, on the 19th of May, and the urban route chosen for the race is in Santa Clara.

The University section to the Clara Stadium Planned towards the right side of the Mondego River, will finally take place on the bank next to the Convent of São Francisco, the Convent of Coimbra and Portugal.

The complete route at the roundabout with a turn of about three kilometers, goes around Avenida João das Regras, goes around Avenida João das Regras, goes back to Avenida João das Regras, covered a little bit of Avenida Inês de Castro, backwards , turn towards the Santa Clara bridge, then onto Avenida Conímbriga, turn back along the model radio track and follow the opposite route until it ends at Avenida João das Regras.

The part of its route from Coimbra, next to Avenida Conímbriga, has the city as a backdrop.

This will be the first special competition of the event, the ‘appetizer’ of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, and on the following day (20th) the competitors start at Lousã, Góis, Arganil, with a double pass through the sections and then through Mortágua, before the final in Lousada.

The 55th edition of the Rally de Portugal will bring together, between the 19th and 22nd of May, three champions and will have the presence of former winners of the event to mark the 50th anniversary of the World Cup (WRC).

The French The French Ogitien Ogier, Sébastien in the title, and Sébastien Loeb (Ford Puma), winner of the opening race of the season, in Montem-se ao est Ott Tanäk (Hyundai i20), winner in 2019, as headliners of a peloton with a record of 100 teams registered, announced this Thursday the organization, in charge of the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), during a presentation of the race.

The two French drivers are the most titled in the history of the championship, with 17 titles between the two (nine for Loeb, between 2004 and 2012, and eight for Ogier, from 2013 to 2018 and in 2020 and 2021).

The Portuguese event was chosen by the championship promoter to mark the 50th anniversary of the World Rally Championship, with the presence of some of the cars that marked the World Cup, such as the Fiat 131 Abarth, the Alpine-Renault A110, the Lancia Rally 037, the Lancia Delta S4, the Lancia Delta Integrale, the Opel Ascona 400 or the Audi Quattro, which will be on permanent display at Exponor (Matosinhos), with free access.

Some rally legends will also be in this fourth round of the championship, such as the Finnish Marku Alén (record holder of victories in Portugal, with five triumphs) and Marcus Grönholm, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, the Italian Miki Biasion, the German Walter Rohl, the Finnish Ari Vatanen, among others.

The Rally de Portugal, fourth of the 13 stages of the rally world championship, will again be held in the Center and North of the country, but, for the first time, by cars with the 1.6-liter gasoline engines used since 2011, complemented by with electric motors, capable of giving an extra boost of 100 kW (136 horsepower).

After the traditional ‘shakedown’ in Baltar, in the municipality of Paredes, scheduled for May 19, between 9:01 am and 2:01 pm, the first of the 343.3 timed, divided by 22 stages, will be played in Coimbra, with the first of the three super specials, starting at 7:03 pm (the rest will be in Lousada, on the 20th, and in Porto, on the 21st), which will be a debut in the Portuguese race, with a route of about three kilometers without urban perimeters of the city.

After the start, the first full day of competition follows, on Friday the 20th of May, with the three emblematic sections in the center of the country of Lousã, Góis, Arganil, all races twice, and Mortágua, before the Lousada’s super special.

The following day, Saturday 21st of May, the Rally de Portugal heads north, with the double passes through the stages of Vieira do Minho, Cabeceiras de Basto and Amarante, the latter departing from Mondim de Basto, ending the day with the super special do Porto, the second in the urban route.

The last day of the Portuguese rally includes the ‘specials’ of Felgueiras, Montim and Fafe, with the second passage through the Fafense section having the status of ‘power stage’, awarding the top five with points.

The 55th edition of the Rally de Portugal has a total distance of 1,535.35 kilometers, of which 343.3 are timed, in a total of 22 stages.

The president of the ACP, Carlos Barbosa, highlighted the “fabulous return of 140 million euros for the country, about half in expenses”.

The British Elfyn Evans (Toyota Yaris) won the 2021 edition of the Rally de Portugal, which has the Finnish Markku Alén (1975, 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1987) and the French France Sébastien Ogier (2010, 2011, 2013) as record holders. ), 2014 and 2017).

In addition to being part of the commemorative edition of the 50th anniversary of the WRC, WRC2 (Open, Junior and Masters) and WRC 3 (Open and Junior), the Rally, which once again has the assistance park at Exponor, in Matosinhos, is part of the of the Portuguese Rally Championship (CPR), in a competition for Portuguese drivers shortened until Saturday (PEC9), and the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica and Toyota Gazoo Racing Iberian Cup.