Rally Portugal

Portugal has a long association with rallying and the World Rally Championship. The Iberian gravel stages are some of the toughest in Europe making it a proper test for each competing crew.

The WRC’s round in Portugal dates all the way back to 1973 when the event was based in Estoril beside the country’s capital city Lisbon.

Matosinhos currently hosts Rally Portugal with stages split to the north and south of Porto. The rally is known to be a test of car and crew with high temperatures coupled with rough and rocky gravel terrain.

The passionate Portuguese fans are an ever-present attraction of Rally Portugal. Memories of the tragic events in 1986, which spelled the end of Group B rallying, are a reminder of the importance of the much higher modern-day standards of spectator safety.

Markku Alen and Sebastien Ogier are Rally Portugal’s most successful drivers, both have won the rally five times. Ott Tanak claimed victory on the most recent running in his title-winning campaign in 2019.

Rally Portugal is set to take place on 20-23 May 2021. The rally has tended to run between 300 and 350 stage kilometres across around 20 stages.