Amazing Azores entry breaks cover

Based on the mid-Atlantic Ocean archipelago’s largest island of São Miguel, the event is set to be one of the most spectacular on the calendar with narrow undulating stages that criss-cross breathtaking scenery and lush countryside.

Picking a winner for overall honours will not be an easy task.

With championship leader Nil Solans currently missing from the entry, Rally Serras de Fafe - Felgueiras - Cabreira e Boticas runner-up Armindo Araújo tops the billing in a Skoda Fabia Rally2.

Javier Pardo and Alberto Battistlli - who both scored top five results in Fafe - have also entered in Fabia machines. 

Team Hyundai Portugal duo Ricardo Teodósio and Bruno Magalhaes are set to wheel out their i20 N Rally2 cars. Both drivers had a rocky start to the season but spent the final leg of the season opener tweaking the set-ups of their cars in preparation for Azores. Don’t rule them out. 

Portuguese pilot Pedro Almeida will drive another Skoda as well as Team MRF Tyres drivers Efrén Llarena, Norbert Herczig and Simone Campedelli. The MRF trio will be hoping to get their season back on track following an unlucky debut in northern Portugal. 

Citroën’s C3 Rally2 model is strongly represented by José Pedro Fontes, Lukasz Kotarba, Rúben Rodrigues and Rachele Somaschini. Pedro Camara will also get his championship campaign underway in a similar car.

Reigning Austrian champion Simon Wagner will definitely be one to watch in a Skoda. He missed round one, but undeniably has the pace to trouble the frontrunners. 

Other entries include Fafe Power Stage winner Ken Torn as well as Paulo Nobre, Ricardo Moura and Aloísio Monteiro in Fabias. 

FIA Junior WRC points leader Jon Armstrong goes up against Pole Igor Widlak for ERC3 honours in an all-Fiesta Rally3 field, while Martins Sesks tops the list in the ERC Open field. ERC4 entries include Anthony Fotia (Clio), Andrea Mabellini (Clio), Robert Daprà (Fiesta) and Ernesto Cunha (208). 

The Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT season gets underway in Azores. It has attracted a seven-car entry that includes 2021 runner-up Paulo Soria and Patrik Herczig (son of Norbert). 

Full the full entry list, click here.