The Rally De Portugal is a tough competition that is held in Portugal. It was originally held in 1967. When the Rally managed the seventh running of this race it was their third event which led to the inauguration to the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973. The rally was popular and was carried on the next 29 straight years. It was pulled out from 2002-2006 and came back with a vengeance in 2007.
The course at the Rally de Portugal consisted of both gravel and asphalt. The current course of 2009 is of gravel.
In 2000, the Rally de Portugal received an honorary award for “The Best Rally of the World”. The driver who led the rally for this award was none other than Markku Alen from Finland. He was a five time champion in 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1987.
When the Rally de Portugal first began the crowd was allowed to stand on the track while the cars went buy. Because of the crowd it would sometimes cause the drivers to lose control but they were always successful in regaining control. But this all came to an end when a car lost control and went into the crowd of spectators. This also marked the last year for Group B cars to dominate the Rally. The Group B cars were really placed under the microscope after this.
But this was not the first death in history of the rally. In the first part of the Rally in the ‘Lagoa Azul’ Joaquim Santos was rounding the corner but misjudged it. As he came around he was able to clear the crowd on the outside corner but unfortunately lost control when he hit the crowd on the inside. The car continued to lose control and went off the road as it plowed through the crowd of spectators. This accident killed three people and the injuries were numerous. Because of this rally the teams withdrew from the rally. Although the Group B were the ones to blame the crowd should never have been there on the road side. After realizing that the crowd was in danger as well as the drivers no one was allowed to stand on the roadside.
Portugal is well known for its beauty as well as its history. The 2009 Rally De Portugal was number 43 in the running of the Rally Portugal. It was the fourth round in the championship season of 2009. The dates were April 2-5 of 2009. It had 18 different special stages to challenge even the most professional. The stage surface was gravel and it challenged the teams even more.
Although it has suffered from problems and set backs it has become a crowd pleaser for everyone. Catch some of the latest rounds on the internet if you missed the rally.