Pedro Meireles won his first event with R5 :) Carlos Vieira won a stage on 4wd and gravel debut.
Rali de Mortágua: http://ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=...-Mortagua-2015
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Pedro Meireles won his first event with R5 :) Carlos Vieira won a stage on 4wd and gravel debut.
Rali de Mortágua: http://ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=...-Mortagua-2015
Has to be said that Meireles win just happened due to Fontes problems and Moura lost time in Fontes dust...nice rally from Martins, Vieira and Ruivo. Last round (Casinos do Algarve, using some former Rallye de Portugal stages) will decide overall title between Fontes and Moura and 2wd titles between Cid, Ruivo and Neto!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67l7Aq8g7q8
PS: Nunes retirement was due to mechanical problems or illicit service?
My bet: Fontes and Ruivo
Motorshow Porto with Juha Kankkunen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ykyIMYmWo
I was there :) Impressive KKK
6 rounds it's a very compact championship. I actually think that if inscription prices are cut let's say in 80%, we could have a 10 round championship. Since Azores was the cheapest this year, and if Madeira could do the same, I think that we really could do it. Going to the islands it's essencial, after all, it's a national championship.
My ideal calendar will be starting with gravel and ending with tarmac:
Gravel:
Fafe
Algarve
Mortagua
Serpa (or something like it)
Azores
Tarmac:
Madeira
Marinha Grande
Guimarães
Castelo Branco
Viana do Castelo
You can also make a Gravel and Tarmac Cup like in ERC.
In other news, probably 3 N4 will be entered in CPR and in 2WD, it's probable that we have some new cars, as well, as in the initiation cup.
Ó TFT e aqui dá pra falar só em tuguês? ;)
Putting aside the expensive Madeira and Açores events, a 2WD champ with 6 events (Fafe, Mortágua, Algarve + Guimarães, Vidreiro and C.Branco) is more than enought* for a secondary series.
Forget making separate tarmac/gravel cups or champs. We need to concentrate competitors, not to disperse them (btw, in ERC those cups are useless).
Those extra N4 and 2WD cars you mentioned are mostly welcome. It's great to get to a rally and see all those top teams with R5 cars, but amateurs crews must be the core of any national rally series and they've become a sort of "on the verge of extinction specie" at PRC!
As you said, Açores and Madeira (and also Rallye de Portugal) are essential, but they should count only for the top (4wd) champ, because even if organizers offer cheaper entries the overall running cost of any of this international rallyes will always be twice than any of the national events.
*in 2013 the 2WD champ had only 5 national events (5+1 international joker in 2014), and nobody really complained!