ACP considers safety essential to maintain Rally de Portugal in the WRC – Motores

Safety and the absence of accidents involving the public, in a dangerous sport, are fundamental to keeping Rally de Portugal in the World Rally Championship, warned, this Tuesday, the president of the Automóvel Clube de Portugal (ACP).

Intervening, in Figueira da Foz, in the protocol signing session with the regional tourism entity and the six municipalities in the Central region that will host, in their territories, on the 9th and 10th of May, the 2024 edition of the World Cup competition (WRC ), Carlos Barbosa considered the rally very dangerous and criticized the GNR’s policing costs.

“The rally is very dangerous and therefore [apelo] that people do not fail to comply with the safety rules imposed by the very expensive GNR, which takes us leather and hair, every year, to keep the race safe and, above all, by the ‘marshalls’ [voluntários da organização] also, who help to make this rally”, said Carlos Barbosa.

To the Lusa agency, the president of the ACP budgeted the costs of policing the GNR at 605 thousand euros, borne by the organization of the event.

On the sidelines of the session, asked by Lusa about the importance of security in maintaining the Portuguese stage of the World Rally Championship, Carlos Barbosa noted that, nowadays, “it is the public itself that already provides security for the public itself, which is very important”.

“People have the exact notion that, if there is an accident, we will lose the rally. Right now, there are six countries to enter the world championship in Europe [o continente europeu congrega, atualmente, 10 dos 13 ralis do Mundial] and, therefore, we cannot allow, in any way, that there be any risk in the Rally de Portugal and that [isso] could lead to us losing the rally, because of a person who is not aware of the danger of the rally”, he argued.

According to Carlos Barbosa, currently, with the combination of the North and Center region classifications, Portugal “has the ideal rally”.

“The rally, every year, has been improved in terms of route, to make it more spectacular and, above all, for us it is very important to attract the public. The public must have easy access to the rally and be properly groomed. And, increasingly, the Spectacle Zones [ZE, este ano existem 39] they are made from this perspective, which is that people can watch the rally safely, calmly and have easy access to get in and out”, stressed the president of the ACP.

Another aspect that gathers the attention of international entities, including the FIA ​​(International Automobile Federation) has to do with the environmental sustainability of the WRC races and the Rally of Portugal, in this particular, has the maximum score (three stars) in terms environmental issues and intends to continue doing so.

“This year we have a new inspection to maintain the three FIA ​​stars and it is one of the concerns we have. If you notice, 24 hours after the rally passes in some section, the public area does not have a paper on the floor, everything is rigorously clean”, he observed.

In the sporting chapter, Carlos Barbosa did not anticipate favorites for victory in the Rally de Portugal.

Among several reasons of interest, the Portuguese competition, which takes place between the 9th and 12th of May, has the largest list of entries to date and will have seven previous winners competing.

Finnish and two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera is chasing his third consecutive victory in Portugal (he could equal the feat of Italian Miki Biasion), while his teammate at Toyota, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, if he wins, will break the record of five victories in Portugal which currently has an ex-aequo with Markku Alen. On the other hand, Portugal could see a fifth different winner of the season, after the victories of Neuville, Lappi, Rovanpera and Ogier in the first four rallies.

“The Portuguese rally is a box of surprises, every year, any one of them can win and will be well received”, emphasized Carlos Barbosa.