Portugal: The Portugal Rally extended until 2026

When the promoter of WRC composes the calendar, it does so with two objectives. First of all, he tries to integrate new features and he does not neglect the historic rounds. For the next program, unmissable events, such as Sweden, the Acropolis or Finland already had their place, but the question arose for Portugal which had no visibility after 2024. It is now a done deal .

On the sidelines of the event, Carlos Barbosa, president of the ACP (L'Automóvel Club de Portugal) and Jona Siebel, general director of the WRC Promoter, signed a contract which confirms the presence of this rally for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

« We are very proud of this contract, Barbosa said. This is recognition of the quality of the organization of the Rally Portugal. Let's not forget that 1200 people are involved in setting up the event, plus 600 security agents. It is important that we have this two-year perspective, not least because local councils are major partners in the event and they can now budget for the rally, at least until 2026. » For his part, Siebel praised the ordeal. “ It is enough to see that we have a million spectators over the four days of the rally. It's incredible. We are very happy with this agreement. »

Present in 1973 at the launch of the World Brands Championship, Portugal established itself as an unmissable event until 2001. After a very complicated edition in the rain, this round disappeared from the calendar between 2002 and 2006. Having returned to the elite in 2007 in the Algarve, in the South, he returned to the North since 2015 where he will run until 2026.