Rally Portugal: the preview

Round four of the FIA World Rally Championship - Vodafone Rally de Portugal - is hosted in the Algarve and is the second of six consecutive gravel events on the calendar. It is however viewed as the first ‘traditional’loose surface event and, as such, where the teams will be looking to benchmark themselves against the competition. This year the event starts in Vilamoura but once again returns to the capital city of Lisbon on Friday for an impressive street stage around the Praça do Império.

As well as hosting the WRC crews, Rally de Portugal has attracted a number of contenders in the WRC 3 and WRC 2 categories in an impressive entry list of 72 competitors. This event is also the opening round of the FIA Junior WRC Championship, the category for young drivers competing in identically-prepared Ford Fiesta R2s.

And, for the second year running, the Fafe Rally Sprint is back. Based in the north of the country, the Rally Sprint will take place over the iconic Fafe-Lameirinha stage, providing a spectacular appetizer for the thousands of fans in the country on Saturday 6 April.

CHANGES TO THE ROUTE SINCE 2012

The majority of the 2013 Rally de Portugal route remains the same as last year. However, while part of the Ourique stage now runs in reverse, the entire 22.78 kilometre Loulé stage runs in the opposite direction. And, adding to the challenge, Almodovar - which also runs as the Power Stage -has been increased by nearly 17 kilometres, resulting in a demanding 52.30 kilometre test.

RALLY DE PORTUGAL

— Round: 4/13
— Base: Almancil
— Service Park: Estádio Algarve
— Surface: Gravel
— Weather: Spring weather, with temperatures ranging from 10°C to 20°C.
— Sunrise and sunset on the first day of the rally: 7.02am/8.04pm
— Local time: GMT+1
— Currency: Local currency is the Euro.
— Website: www.rallydeportugal.pt
— Technical information: Spare parts (transmission, subframes, steering racks and turbochargers) are to be shared with the Acropolis (Greece) and Sardegna rallies.
— Tyres: 24 Michelin Latitude Cross tyres to be chosen from 24 hard compound and 16 soft compound tyres.
— Reconnaissance: Tuesday 9 April and Wednesday 10 April, from 7am to 5.30pm.
— Free practice and qualifying stage: Thursday, 11 April from 8am on a 4.98km-long stage in Vale de Judeu, 12.76km from the service park.
— Route: 15 special stages (8 different stages). 386.73km of timed sections. Total distance: 1,639.89km.

RALLY DE PORTUGAL ITINERARY

THURSDAY 11 APRIL
8.00am: Free practice
10.40am: Qualifying stage (4.98km)
1.00pm: Selection of starting positions (Service Park)
1.30pm: FIA Pre-Event Press Conference (Media Centre)
8.30pm: Ceremonial start (Marina Vilamoura)

FRIDAY 12 APRIL
8.30am: Start
9.18am: SS1 – Mú 1 (20.32km)
10.25am: SS2 – Ourique 1 (18.32km)
11.48am: SS3 – Mú 2 (20.32km)
12.55pm: SS4 – Ourique 2 (18.32km)
4.00pm: Regroup 130 min – Lisbon (Pr. do Império)
6.15pm: SS5 – Lisboa (3.27km)
10.00pm: Flexi Service A (45 min)

SATURDAY 13 APRIL
9.00am: Service B (15 min)
10.09am: SS6 – Santana da Serra 1 (31.12km)
11.36am: SS7 – Vascão 1 (25.37km)
12.14pm: SS8 – Loulé 1 (22.78km)
1.45pm: Service C (30 min)
3.09pm: SS9 – Santana da Serra 2 (31.12km)
4.36pm: SS10 – Vascão 2 (25.37km)
5.14pm: SS11 – Loulé 2 (22.78km)
6.30pm: Flexi Service D (45 min)

SUNDAY 14 APRIL
7.00am: Service E (15 min)
8.06am: SS12 – Silves 1 (21.52km)
9.06am: SS13 – Almodovar 1 (52.30km)
11.10am: Service F (30 min)
12.31pm: SS14 – Silves 2 (21.52km)
1.38pm: SS15: Almodovar 2 – Power Stage (52.30km)
3.30pm: Service G (10 min)
4.40pm: Podium
5.10pm: FIA Post-Event Press Conference (Media Centre)