Kris Meeke/Stuart Lowdon (Hyundai i20 Rally2) won the Water Rally – Transibérico – Eurocidade Chaves / Verín 2024 and thus practically sealed their victory in the competition.

After two races in which they had car problems, leading to their worst results of the year, they faced good opposition in this race from Armindo Araujo/Luis Ramalho (Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2), who were fighting a battle that Miki did not. It was not like that this year when things went normally, but this time bad luck knocked on the door of the Portuguese duo, who missed most of the chances they still had to reach the title.

Besides the moments when Meeke had problems with the throttle in Castelo Branco and saw his i20 N Rally2 catch fire on the super special road of Avenida do Mar in the Madeira Rally, this road trip by Armindo Araújo is one of the key moments of the championship, because if things in this race remain the same until the end, Kris Meeke will go to the Federero Rally under much more pressure than he is now, because in this way, it is enough for him to manage the race, without committing to scoring more points than Armindo Araújo.

Second place for Ricardo Teodosio/José Teixeira (Hyundai i20 Rally2) who, after second place in the CPR in Madeira, repeated the position in front of Chávez, after a performance in which there was no progress for the two at the front, although they gave a good performance, consistent, without errors, and ended with a good result, in a season that did not go well, in general.

Pedro Almeida/Mario Castro (Škoda Fabia Rally 2 Evo) finished third, a good result, and had a good fight with João Barros, who is driving better and now has more consistency riding at a higher pace. It's still not enough for the battles at the front, but he's been getting a little closer lately.

José Pedro Fontes/Inês Ponte (Citroen C3 Rally2) finished fourth in a race that was not going well for them. On the first day, with a setup that did not work under the conditions of the sections, the pair quickly started losing time, after the three sections of the first day they were already 46.3 seconds ahead, but the motivation to push forward was serious. It will never be the same when you compare it when you are close or when you are fighting for the lead. A lot was expected, but the race did not go well for them: “It was a bad rally for us, we decided to do it in the afternoon, but the rally was already lost”, he said at the end.

João Barros/Jorge Henriques (VW Polo GTI R5) had a good race, but retired in PEC7 due to a breakdown, when they finished fourth overall. They spent time between fourth and sixth in the divisions, had a good fight with Pedro Almeida, and showed that CPR would be better with him. He had already won the CPR, missed the championship, and it would be good if the “bug” continued to bite him, because his presence gives more shine to the CPR rallies.

Ernesto Cunha/Rui Raimundo (Škoda Fabia Rally 2 Evo) also retired in the PEC5 after a collision that damaged the steering knuckle. They are in a much better position than at the start of the year, which is normal, but they are quickly preparing to reach the top 5, having already achieved much better results.

Hugo Lopez wins 2RM and 'Peugeot', Rafael Rigo shines but turns…

As he reached the end of stage nine, Hugo López/Valter Cardoso (Peugeot 208 Rally 4) told the Movielight microphones: “We just woke up in the afternoon, let’s see if it’s enough, congratulations to Rafa who did very well.” Unfortunately for Rafael Rigo, it was enough as the young driver lost the track and rolled, handing victory to the driver from Viseu, who also won the Peugeot Rally Cup in Portugal.

At the start of the last section, Rafael Rigo had a lead of three seconds, no one knows if he will be able to win or not, but probably yes, because at kilometer 5.96 of the Rigo special he was 0.7 seconds ahead and it will not happen. It is expected that from then until the end he will lose 3.8 seconds to Hugo López.

It was unfortunate, because the young man didn't deserve it, but that's how marches are. It's part of the growing pains.

Gonçalo Henriques / Inês Veiga (Renault Clio Rally 4/5) took second place, they had led on the first day, but as the weather warmed up on the second day, they had more difficulties with the tyres and were giving way, first to Rafael Rigo, in PEC4, then to Hugo Lopes, in PEC7, who was no longer able to recover.

Pedro Pereira/João Aguiar (Peugeot 208 Rally 4) finished third. They were late on the first day because the driver was sick, the second day they drove better, but it was no longer enough: “It was better than yesterday, yesterday. I was sick, I couldn't concentrate, today was different, but we haven't reached the pace we had in Madeira yet.” Still, a podium in the 2RM and second place in the Peugeot Rally Cup Portugal.

Guilherme Meireles/Pedro Alves (Peugeot 208 Rally 4) finished fourth in the 2RM race, finishing on the podium. “It went well, I think we had a good rally, the level is very good in the 2RM race and in the Peugeot Rally Cup,” he said at the end.

They were followed by Rafael Cardera/Luis Buica (Peugeot 208 Rally 4), Pedro Silva/Roberto Santos (Peugeot 208 Rally 4), Anton Korzun/Pavlo Kononov (Peugeot 208 Rally 4), Miguel Abrantes/Fabio Reis (Ford Fiesta ST Rally 4) and Luis Caetano/David Monteiro (Renault Clio Rally 4/5).

In the promo, Adruzilo Lopes/Vítor Hugo (Skoda Fabia N5) won, leading from start to finish.

At the end of the first day there was already a lead of 17.2 seconds for Marco Oliveira/Ricardo Sousa (VW Polo N5), and at the end of this morning the lead was already 31.1 seconds for Miguel Carvalho/Antonio Reis (Hyundai i20 N5) and the margin was the finish of one minute.

Clio Cup Portugal won by Dani Carreira / Marco Villas-Boas (Renault Clio Rally 5)

The duo finished 16.6 seconds ahead of Gil Antunes / Fabio Ribeiro (Renault Clio Rally 5). Nuno Coelho / Ricardo Cunha (Renault Clio Rally 5) finished third, 1min 25.6sec behind. Pedro Pereira / Thiago Silva (Renault Clio Rally 5) finished fourth.

All the details about the cup in a separate article.

Francisco Custodio / Paulo Marquez (Kia Picanto GT) for Team FPAK Junior won by 1min 19.4sec from Afonso Costa / Frederico Meirelles (Kia Picanto GT) while Eduardo Santos / Jose Marquez (Kia Picanto GT) was third, 5.6sec behind.

More information when possible.

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