O Rally de Portugal Histórico completed today the third and penultimate stage, composed by a secret route, starting and ending in Viseu, with a total of 402.08 km, which included 12 classification races.
With a selective itinerary, which included various passages through some of the most emblematic places where, in the past, the history of the Rally de Portugal was written – such as Armamar, Régua, Lamego, Montemuro or Freita –, the third day of the Rally de Portugal Histórico was marked by extreme competitiveness.
Such proof was the two teams that ended up tied up in the lead, in a time when more than 60% of the total race mileage had been already covered. After being dominated, since the halfway of the second stage, by the Belgian duo Yves Deflandre/Jennifer Hugo, in a Porsche 911, the French team made of Christophe Baillet/Pierre Colliard, also in a Porsche 911, started a remarkable and successful recovery throughout the day, which allowed them to share the lead at the arrival in Viseu. At this point, the question of who was going to win remained open for the last day of the race.
With a total of 729.53 km, 236.695 of which in special stages, the last and longest stage of the race sanctioned by Automóvel Club Portugal had everything to raise the adrenaline levels of both teams and spectators. The night passage through the popular Sintra specials (scheduled for 00h00am and 01h10am on Saturday) and the always thrilling final arrival at the Estoril Casino Gardens (at 02h00am) promise to concentrate most of the attention of the lovers of the XV Historic Portugal Rally.