Autosportfoto

Portugal’s best register for the ERC ahead of the Azores

The best rally drivers in Portugal have registered for the FIA European Rally Championship ahead of their ‘home' round of the series, the Azores Airlines Rallye.

A huge field of R5 cars will take part in the event on 2-4 June, bolstered by competitors from the strong Portuguese and Azorean rallying scenes. The vast majority of these have registered for the ERC in advance of the rally, giving them a number of benefits. These include priority seeding on the entry list, access to the ERC Qualifying Stage and eligibility for the €20,000 prize money shared between the top seven ERC-registered finishers on every event that use tyres from official partners MICHELIN or Pirelli.

No fewer than 12 Portuguese drivers have registered in ERC1 ahead of appearing in the Azores, including the reigning champion and points leader in the Portuguese series, José Pedro Fontes (pictured on his way to sixth in 2015). Ricardo Moura, a three-time Portuguese champion and Azores native, will compete for a third podium in four years on his home event.

Pedro Meireles, the 2014 Portuguese champion, has also registered together with João Barros, Miguel Barbosa, Diogo Salvi and Carlos Martins. Carlos Vieira, Joaquim Alves, Elias Barros, Ricardo Teodósio and Manuel Castro complete the strong Portuguese contingent in the top category.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com