As one of the founding events in the inaugural 1973 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally de Portugal has a long history but this year it will be a new rally for everyone except Henning Solberg who competed in the north in 2001; none of the other top WRC drivers have experience of these stages, with the notable exception of the classic Fafe test. Six kilometres of this spectacular stage have, for the last three years, been home to the Fafe Rally Sprint held the weekend before the rally. This year, an extended version of the stage will run twice on Sunday, the second time as the closing Power Stage. 

An impressive entry list topping 96 cars includes the full complement of WRC Championships. The Juniors return to action for the first time since Rallye Monte-Carlo and this popular feeder series has attracted 18 drivers, 15 of whom will be competing in Portugal alongside the WRC 3 competitors in similar two-wheel drive machinery. Twenty seven crews will also be battling it out for honours in the FIA WRC 2 Championship category, which is currently led by Finland’s Jari Ketomaa, and this is in addition to the 15 World Rally Car crews at the head of the field. 

Three stages will be broadcast live on the world feed (SSS1, SS14 and SS16), but fans will also be able to follow stages 8 and 11 live on WRC+.

RALLY DE PORTUGAL – ROUTE GRAPHICS

THE 2015 ROUTE

Based out of Matosinhos, north of Porto, the event kicks off on Thursday evening with a ceremonial start in Guimarães and a short super special stage at the Lousada rallycross circuit. Friday’s route takes the crews north towards the Spanish border and on Saturday, the longest day of the rally, contenders head east for tests near Amarante. Sunday has just three stages, including two runs over the classic Fafe.

RALLY DATA

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

The Accreditation Centre is located at the Exponor Feira Internacional do Porto, Av. Dr. António Macedo, 574 – 4454-515 Matosinhos, Portugal. The opening hours are:

RALLY DE PORTUGAL TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA

FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES 

‘Meet the Crews’: On Friday and Saturday the top three drivers will attend a ‘Meet the Crews’ session for media and fans. This will take place on the WRC Stage at the earliest opportunity during the 45’ service.

Autograph Signing Session: On Friday and Saturday selected crews will be available for a 15 minute autograph session. This will take place in the service park during the end of day service at the teams’ service areas.

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS

The provisional classifications for all the WRC Championships can be found here.

STAGE CHART

Shortly after the finish of the event, a downloadable stage chart showing the progressive positions of the leading crews during the rally will be available. This is copyright free for editorial purposes and available here.