Long competition days were a recurring talking point at last year’s Portuguese round – and for good reason.
For example, Friday’s leg stretched to more than 15 hours and had to be completed with just two short breaks at remote service. At the end of the day, the crews still had to prepare for the following leg, leaving most WRC stars with only a few hours of sleep.
The event schedule therefore drew heavy criticism from WRC drivers. Now, the organisers have responded to those complaints.
Portuguese outlet Autosport reports that the workload in Portugal will be spread more evenly across the days this year. For instance, the shakedown stage will exceptionally be run already on Wednesday afternoon.
Last year, the shakedown took place on Thursday morning, after which drivers faced media duties as well as a transfer from the rally headquarters near Porto to the city of Coimbra. A spectator stage was then held later on Thursday evening in the coastal town of Figueira da Foz.
This year, drivers will be able to travel calmly to Coimbra on Thursday, where the ceremonial start will take place in the afternoon. After that, competitors will head out to the stages, starting with two forest stages before the super special stage in Figueira da Foz.
As a result, Friday’s driving day will be shortened to a more humane level from the drivers’ perspective. The punishing sequence of ten special stages is no longer on the schedule, and the day will no longer stretch into marathon territory.
The organisers of Rally Portugal also had to make changes due to the introduction of mandatory rest periods in the World Rally Championship regulations this season. Rest hours must now be at least equal to the number of competition hours – except on the opening day of the rally. The daily rest period must be a minimum of ten hours, and on one day there must be at least a continuous 12-hour rest period.
The final route for Rally Portugal will be revealed at a later date. The event will be run from 7 to 10 May.
