Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2021

3 www.rallydeportugal.pt 20-23 / 05 / 2021 3 W elcome to the 54 th Vodafone Rally de Portugal, which will take place from May 20 th to 23 rd , in the northern and central regions of the country. Following the success of previous years, the WRC Rally de Portugal’s 54 th edition will be the sports and touristic event which will contribute the most to the positioning of the country as tourist destination and to the territory’s cohesion. With headquarters at Exponor, in Matosinhos, the Automóvel Club of Portugal choose, once again, Coimbra as the starting point of the Rally, with the traditional Ceremonial Start. The image of Portugal abroad is clearly one of the strongest impacts generated by the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal. The promotion of the country as a tourist destination during the edition of 2019, generated a revenue in excess of 67.7 million euros of AEV - (Advertising Equivalent Value). This value is the result of the event international exposure in the northern and central regions of Portugal through TV, Print, Web-TV, online and social media image of the event to more than 150 countries, namely France, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Alongwith the full media coverage of the event, thru the WRC Promoter, the 2021 Vodafone Rally de Portugal has already assured six international live TV broadcasts during the three days of competition. The Vodafone Rally de Portugal is eligible for the World Rally Championship with Rally1 cars (former WRC), the WRC 2 with Rally2 (former R5 cars), and for the returned Junior WRC with Rally4 (former R2). The event is also included in the Portugal Rally Championship calendar and the 2021 Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica, with the Peugeot 208 Rally 4. A word of appreciation for the essential support of the sponsors – Portugal Tourism, North and Porto Tourism and Centre Tourism boards, as well as Vodafone, BP, Hertz and KontraProduções - and a very special thank you to the entities working for the safety of the event, without whom it wouldn’t be possible to carry out the Rally: GNR, Police, Civil Protection and INEM. The International Olympic Committee has considered the 2019 edition of Vodafone Rally de Portugal as the first successful motorsports event for environmental sustainability. Through its environmental accreditation program, FIA aims to reduce the WRCs events environmental impact. Automóvel Club de Portugal has, once again, elected the environmental policy to be one of its main priorities. Last but not least, a very relevant theme for the success of the Rally de Portugal: safety of the event, and, as important safety of spectators. The enormous enthusiasm that surrounds Rally de Portugal must be a hallmark of national sport and tourism. FIA, the promotor and Automóvel Club de Portugal are also working on formulating COVID guidelines, which will be published as soon as details can be confirmed. Only with the commitment of all will theWRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal be crowned with success. I wish you a fantastic Rally. Mario Martins da Silva Chairman of the Organizing Committee WELCOME