Rallye Açores

Start podium in Ponta Delgada at the 2017 event

The Rallye Açores, known originally as the Volta à Ilha de São Miguel is an international rally racing event based on the Portuguese island of São Miguel Island in the Azores. The event has been a long running round of the European Rally Championship and the as well as spawning its own championship in the Azores. It has also in the recent past been a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the ERC derivative series, the European Rally Cup West. Unlike other international events held on Atlantic Ocean islands that it is frequently paired with, the Rali Vinho da Madeira and the Rally Islas Canarias it is a gravel event.

The rally was first run in 1965 as locals gathered for a race called Volta à Ilha de São Miguel, which translated means Round the Island of São Miguel. This was six years after the establishment of the Rali Vinho da Madeira on the Portuguese island of Madeira, much closer to Africa.

Despite its isolated location, over 1500 kilometres from the coast of Portugal (the Azores are actually closer to Canada), it has since the early 1970s been a part of Portugal's national championship and has been an international event since 1992 when it was first included in the European Rally Championship. The rally was demoted to the European Rally Cup West in 2004 and dropped entirely in 2006. In 2008 the rally regained international standing with the European Rally Cup South series and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge the following year. After the death of the IRC in 2012 the European Championship returned in 2013.

Portuguese drivers have dominated the event. A non-Portuguese driver did not win the event until the first international event in 1992 was won by Yves Loubert. Portuguese drivers would continue to dominate, though, with Fernando Peres winning the rally seven times in the international era. Carlos Bica has won the event four times.

List of winners[]

Sourced in part from:^[1]^[2]

Season	Winner	Car	Report
1965		Fiat 1500
1966		Ford Cortina GT
1967		Ford Cortina GT
1968		Renault 8 Gordini
1969		Porsche 911 S
1970		BMW 2002
1971		BMW 2002
1972		Porsche 911 S
1973		Porsche 911 S
1974	not held
1975		Opel 1904 SR
1976		Ford Escort RS2000
1977	"Larama"	Ford Escort RS1600
1978	"Larama"	Ford Escort RS1600
1979		Opel Kadett GT/E
1980		Ford Escort RS
1981		Datsun Violet 160J
1982		Ford Escort RS
1983		Ford Escort RS
1984		Ford Escort RS
1985	Joaquim Moutinho	Renault 5 Turbo
1986		Toyota Corolla GT
1987		Renault 11 Turbo
1988		Lancia Delta HF
1989		Lancia Delta HF
1990		Lancia Delta HF
1991		Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1992	Yves Loubet	Toyota Celica GT-Four
1993		Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1994		Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1995		Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1996		Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1997	Bruno Thiry	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1998		Ford Escort WRC
1999	Grégoire De Mévius	Subaru Impreza 555
2000	Markko Märtin	Subaru Impreza WRC
2001	Juha Kankkunen	Subaru Impreza WRC
2002	Rui Madeira	Ford Focus WRC
2003		Ford Escort RS Cosworth
2004		Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
2005		Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII
2006	Armindo Araújo	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII
2007		Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2008	Bruno Magalhães	Peugeot 207 S2000
2009	Kris Meeke	Peugeot 207 S2000
2010	Bruno Magalhães	Peugeot 207 S2000
2011	Juho Hänninen	Škoda Fabia S2000	Report
2012	Andreas Mikkelsen	Škoda Fabia S2000
2013	Jan Kopecký	Škoda Fabia S2000	Report
2014	Bernardo Sousa	Ford Fiesta RRC
2015	Craig Breen	Peugeot 208 T16 R5
2016		Ford Fiesta R5
2017	Bruno Magalhães	Škoda Fabia R5	Report
2018	Alexey Lukyanuk	Ford Fiesta R5
2019		Škoda Fabia R5
2020	Rally cancelled due to COVID-19
2021	Andreas Mikkelsen	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo

References[]

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2013-09-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ [1]

External links[]

[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2013-09-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] [1]

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