The Rali Vinho da Madeira is a tarmac

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

held in

Madeira Island Madeira is a Portuguese island, and is the largest and most populous of the Madeira Archipelago. It has an area of , including Ilhéu de Agostinho, Ilhéu de São Lourenço, Ilhéu Mole (northwest). As of 2021, Madeira had a total population o ...

, Portugal, and it is the biggest annual sporting event of the island, bringing thousands of people into the roads to watch the drivers compete through the hilly terrain and the natural landscapes. Its first edition was in 1959, having later entered the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

in 1979, and remained in its calendar until 2012. It has also been part of the

Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport, Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers ...

since the championship was first held in 2006, which brought further exposure to the event as

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

broadcasts footage of this championship to many countries. The rally is traditionally run in the summer, in early August or late July. The stages of Chão da Lagoa,

Paul da Serra Paul da Serra in the municipal county of Ponta do Sol, Madeira, is the largest and most extensive plateau of Madeira, at about , with an altitude averaging about . Its highest point is the peak pico do Paul at from where the length of the entir ...

and the Encumeada downhill are known as its biggest driving challenges. Several drivers of international note such as

Ari Vatanen Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finns, Finnish rally (sports), rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and t ...

Henri Toivonen Henri Pauli Toivonen (25 August 1956 – 2 May 1986) was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his younger brother, Harri, became a prof ...

, Massimo Biasion and

Andrea Aghini Andrea Aghini Lombardi (born 29 December 1963 in Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian rally driver. He won the 1992 Rallye Sanremo and took four other podium finishes in the World Rally Championship from 1992 to 1995. In 1992, he also won the Race of ...

have won this rally before going on to win

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

rounds and championships. Aghini is the most successful driver in the events history, winning four times between 1992 and 2002. In 2013

Giandomenico Basso Giandomenico Basso (born 15 September 1973, in Montebelluna) is an Italian rally driver. Rally career After competing in karting from 1981, Basso has been rallying since 1994. Basso has driven Fiats throughout his rallying career. He made his Wor ...

became the second driver to achieve a fourth victory, the same happened in 2015 with

Bruno Magalhães Bruno Magalhães (born 10 July 1980) is a Portuguese rally driver. He is a regular competitor in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, driving a Peugeot 207 S2000 for Peugeot Sport Portugal. He is a twice-podium finisher on the Rali Vinho da Mad ...

. The event is named after the Madeira wine.

Winners

References

External links

Official websiteRallybaseYoutube - onboard video of the Encumeada stage

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

Vinho Vinho {{rally-stub