Carlos Vieira gains valuable points at the Rali de Mortágua as three FABIA R5 drivers vie for Portuguese championship title
The Rali de Mortágua (22-23 September) was the eighth and penultimate round of the Portuguese Rally Championship and saw an impressive four ŠKODA FABIA R5 cars finishing in the top 4 in the Portuguese standings and the top 5 overall.
It was Carlos Vieira and co-driver Jorge Eduardo Carvalho who led home the group. Driving for the Sports & You team in a car prepared and run by RaceSeven team, Vieira finished in second place overall, just 27.3 seconds behind the overall winner, the World Rally Championship regular Craig Breen. But crucially he finished top of the Portuguese Rally Championship standings, a result which keeps him in contention for the championship crown going into the final rally of the season.
It was a performance made all the more impressive by the fact that this was Vieira’s first ever drive in a FABIA R5. Vieira undertook intensive preparation for this rally, but with his Portuguese championship challenge still up in the air, it was a bold move to switch cars mid-season.
But it more than paid-off as Vieira led home his title rivals, including his main contender Pedro Meireles, with a fast and measured drive. Vieira even led the way overall between special stages 2 and 5, before the experience of Breen told in the latter stages of the rally. But with second place finishes in six of the eight stages driven, and a gap of 13 seconds back to Meireles in third place overall, there is no doubting Vieira has earned his crack at the Portuguese title with this win.
Going into the final round of the championship, the Rallye Casinos do Algarve, the current championship leader Pedro Meireles will nonetheless be strong favourite thanks in no small part to his podium finish here. Meireles, who won the Portuguese title back in 2014, was alongside his regular co-driver Mário Castro here and put in a consistent and measured drive. Not wanting to run the risk of not finished, Meireles did not push Vieira too hard for the win but instead put in a steady performance which saw him finish every stage inside the top 3 and end up just 13 seconds adrift of his rival and secure points which strengthened his title ambitions.
His closest title rival is Miguel Barbosa and he finished in fourth place overall and third in the Portuguese standings. Barbosa’s championship challenge also remains alive and he started well by winning the opening super special stage. But the BP Ultimate Vodafone ŠKODA Team driver, who was ably supported by co-driver Miguel Ramalho, finished all subsequent stages in fourth place and was left frustrated by his performance.
The other FABIA R5 to finish inside top 5 was the Sports & You car of Diogo Salvi / Carlos Magalhães. The result was Salvi’s best performance since his fifth place result at this event two years ago.
So, the Portuguese championship will go down to the wire once again, with no fewer than three FABIA R5 drivers still in contention. It will all be decided at the Rallye Casinos do Algarve which takes place on the 4th and 5th November.
2017 Rali de Mortágua
Class victory for Ole Christian Veiby at the Rally Hedemarken
The Rally Hedemarken (22-23 September) was the seventh and final round of the Norwegian Rally Championship and saw Ole Christian Veiby taking part with a slim chance of still winning the Norwegian championship. The Printsport Oy driver went into the event 19 points behind the leader Eyvind Brynildsen, which meant he needed to win and hope Brynildsen finished sixth or lower. Sadly for Veiby, it wasn’t to be, because while fulfilled his part of the bargain in finishing second overall and first in the Norwegian standings, Brynildsen was just one place behind him to ensure he would be crowned champion.
It was nonetheless another impressive performance from Veiby who along with co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen has had to contend with a packed schedule this season, as he has competed in both the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the WRC2 in addition to his home series. He has put in some fantastic drives in his ŠKODA FABIA R5, including taking his first win on Norwegian soil at the Numedalsrally. In all, he has driven six of the seven events that make up the Norwegian championship and finished on the podium each time.
His result here at the Rally Hedemarken was another performance to be proud of. Only experienced WRC driver Mads Østberg finished ahead of him and he was driving a WRC car, which is not eligible for points in Norway. Veiby ended up almost 20 seconds ahead of Brynildsen by the finish after outpacing him for much of the rally. And speaking afterwards, Veiby claimed that this was his best performance on Norwegian soil so far.
Carlos Vieira gains valuable points at the Rali de Mortágua as three FABIA R5 drivers vie for Portuguese championship title
The Rali de Mortágua (22-23 September) was the eighth and penultimate round of the Portuguese Rally Championship and saw an impressive four ŠKODA FABIA R5 cars finishing in the top 4 in the Portuguese standings and the top 5 overall.
It was Carlos Vieira and co-driver Jorge Eduardo Carvalho who led home the group. Driving for the Sports & You team in a car prepared and run by RaceSeven team, Vieira finished in second place overall, just 27.3 seconds behind the overall winner, the World Rally Championship regular Craig Breen. But crucially he finished top of the Portuguese Rally Championship standings, a result which keeps him in contention for the championship crown going into the final rally of the season.
It was a performance made all the more impressive by the fact that this was Vieira’s first ever drive in a FABIA R5. Vieira undertook intensive preparation for this rally, but with his Portuguese championship challenge still up in the air, it was a bold move to switch cars mid-season.
But it more than paid-off as Vieira led home his title rivals, including his main contender Pedro Meireles, with a fast and measured drive. Vieira even led the way overall between special stages 2 and 5, before the experience of Breen told in the latter stages of the rally. But with second place finishes in six of the eight stages driven, and a gap of 13 seconds back to Meireles in third place overall, there is no doubting Vieira has earned his crack at the Portuguese title with this win.
Going into the final round of the championship, the Rallye Casinos do Algarve, the current championship leader Pedro Meireles will nonetheless be strong favourite thanks in no small part to his podium finish here. Meireles, who won the Portuguese title back in 2014, was alongside his regular co-driver Mário Castro here and put in a consistent and measured drive. Not wanting to run the risk of not finished, Meireles did not push Vieira too hard for the win but instead put in a steady performance which saw him finish every stage inside the top 3 and end up just 13 seconds adrift of his rival and secure points which strengthened his title ambitions.
His closest title rival is Miguel Barbosa and he finished in fourth place overall and third in the Portuguese standings. Barbosa’s championship challenge also remains alive and he started well by winning the opening super special stage. But the BP Ultimate Vodafone ŠKODA Team driver, who was ably supported by co-driver Miguel Ramalho, finished all subsequent stages in fourth place and was left frustrated by his performance.
The other FABIA R5 to finish inside top 5 was the Sports & You car of Diogo Salvi / Carlos Magalhães. The result was Salvi’s best performance since his fifth place result at this event two years ago.
So, the Portuguese championship will go down to the wire once again, with no fewer than three FABIA R5 drivers still in contention. It will all be decided at the Rallye Casinos do Algarve which takes place on the 4th and 5th November.
2017 Rali de Mortágua
Class victory for Ole Christian Veiby at the Rally Hedemarken
The Rally Hedemarken (22-23 September) was the seventh and final round of the Norwegian Rally Championship and saw Ole Christian Veiby taking part with a slim chance of still winning the Norwegian championship. The Printsport Oy driver went into the event 19 points behind the leader Eyvind Brynildsen, which meant he needed to win and hope Brynildsen finished sixth or lower. Sadly for Veiby, it wasn’t to be, because while fulfilled his part of the bargain in finishing second overall and first in the Norwegian standings, Brynildsen was just one place behind him to ensure he would be crowned champion.
It was nonetheless another impressive performance from Veiby who along with co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen has had to contend with a packed schedule this season, as he has competed in both the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the WRC2 in addition to his home series. He has put in some fantastic drives in his ŠKODA FABIA R5, including taking his first win on Norwegian soil at the Numedalsrally. In all, he has driven six of the seven events that make up the Norwegian championship and finished on the podium each time.
His result here at the Rally Hedemarken was another performance to be proud of. Only experienced WRC driver Mads Østberg finished ahead of him and he was driving a WRC car, which is not eligible for points in Norway. Veiby ended up almost 20 seconds ahead of Brynildsen by the finish after outpacing him for much of the rally. And speaking afterwards, Veiby claimed that this was his best performance on Norwegian soil so far.
