“We fulfilled our aim of being the best Portuguese in the rally for the thirteenth time, and for the sixth consecutive time, by concentrating heavily on our experience. We worked extremely hard to get this victory, so I'm really happy of it,” the Santo Tirso driver remarked.

The Rally of Portugal this year was deemed “very interesting and well organised by the Automóvel Club de Portugal” by Armindo Araújo, who also noted that the surfaces of the stages were very good, even better than expected.

“We know that to race in a Rally of Portugal, you must have a different strategy. We have to approach the race with an 'endurance' approach, knowing that you don't win anything on the first day, but you can lose a lot,” he added.

Once again, the driver from Tirsense left a particular message for the Portuguese audience, after defeating Ricardo Teodósio (Hyundai) and Hélder Miranda (Peugeot) in the symbolic classification of best Portuguese driver in the Rally of Portugal.

“It's wonderful to sense the public's backing. Our deep love of automobiles was evident in the north and middle of the nation. We're not simply football fans. Even in harsh weather, a large number of people participate in this activity.”

After finishing third in the national competition on Friday, Armindo Araújo felt that he had accomplished an important result in the Portuguese Rally Championship (CPR).

“We're constantly making podiums, but now we want to win,” he stated.

Armindo Araújo views the continued leadership of Englishman Kris Meeke (Hyundai) over the CPR as “nonsense.”

“In rallying, to win the national championship, we must register for it. It's excellent for the event's reputation that Meeke is racing here, but why does he sign up to be the national champion when he can't? It doesn't live up to the expectations he signed up for, therefore that's absurd," he said.

Meeke's presence in the CPR bothers 46-year-old Armindo Araújo, who is a seven-time national champion (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2018, 2020, and 2022) and a two-time Production World Rally Champion (PWRC) in 2009 and 2010.

“We take a chance if Portugal doesn't have a national champion at the conclusion of the campaign. That's not what I believe is best for our sport,” he concluded.

Author

A passionate Irish journalist with a love for cycling, politics and of course Portugal especially their sausage rolls.

Rory Mc Ginn