ERC: Sata Rallye Acores / Rally review
35/44
Plenty of talent around, even when Lappi and Bouffier aren’t there.
Who’s there?
Neither Esapekka Lappi nor Bryan Bouffier made
the trip to Sao Miguel to compete on the Portuguese island. The absence of the two regular
front runners cleared the way for Peugeot aces
Craig Breen and Kevin Abbring to duke it out with
the experienced (although not on these roads)
Pole Kajetan Kajetanowicz, early season surprise Vasily Gryazin and the local boys Bernardo
Sousa, Bruno Magalhães and Ricardo Moura.
The latter of the three is not just Portuguese,
but actually hails from the Azorean island of Sao
Miguel and is the firm fan favourite. Moura usually pilots a group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX but
made the step up to the Ford Fiesta R5 just in
time before his home event. Although he knows
these roads like no one else, it is surely not the
You never know what danger might loom beyond those crests...
easiest place in the world to get to grips with a when there is no vegetation on one side, this is
new car.
usually because there is a massive drop-off instead. Pick your choice. The final challenge of
The rally
the Rallye de Acores comes from the weather.
Various pitfalls make the Azorean round of the The islands are literally located in the middle
ERC a treacherous endeavour. The stages are of the Atlantic Ocean and with no landmasses
narrow and made up of soft dirt, which can be- around them to break the winds, the weather can
come very slippery when wet but also contains and will change in an instant. There are virtually
well-hidden rocks that can rip off both tyres and no fully dry days in the Azores. Sunshine at 9 in
wheels in an instant. On top of the deceptive na- the morning does not give any indication of fine
ture of the roads themselves they also weave weather at 10 o’clock, really, it changes that fast.
around volcanic mountains and to go up and The two volcanoes which make up most of the
down quite a lot. This makes large parts of the landmass of Sao Miguel rise up high and tend to
rally ‘blind’ as it is impossible to see what is go- trap clouds around them, allowing for sudden fog
ing on behind that crest you are powering on. to appear on the stages and this year would be
The thick vegetation, often on either side of the no different in that regard.
road, doesn’t help with visibility either. Oh and