Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), the organizing body of Rally Portugal, has been handed a €15,000 suspended fine and warned to “further improve existing safety measures” after two non-rally vehicles entered stage seven.
On the first stage of the rally’s Friday afternoon loop, the re-run of Arganil, Elfyn Evans caught up to a recovery truck, which then swiftly pulled over at the next junction.
Though the stage initially continued it was later red flagged; a report by the rally stewards has confirmed this was due to a second vehicle, from the same recovery company as the flatbed truck that Evans had encountered, entering the live stage ahead of Yohan Rossel’s Lancia.
The stewards’ report read: “The Clerk of the Course explained that it had been established that a recovery vehicle was on its way to collect a competitor who had retired from the rally.
“The driver had entered the GPS coordinates, and the sat-nav system directed him along the SS7. The driver of the truck was unaware that he had entered on to a running special stage. Nevertheless, the truck was able to pass several barriers marking the special stage. As the truck quickly escaped to a side road and was secured, the stage was not interrupted.
“Approximately 35 minutes later a second vehicle, which belonged to the same company as the recovery truck and was reportedly on its way to assist it, also passed the barriers and entered SS7 in front of car No. 21 [Rossel]. The stage was then immediately red-flagged for safety reasons.”
Carlos Barbosa, president of the ACP, told national broadcaster RTP that the recovery truck driver had passed three police checkpoints without being stopped.
“The Guarda Nacional Republicana [military police] should not have allowed him in, especially since there are three police checkpoints,” Barbosa told RTP. “I don’t understand how he passed the first, the second, and the third.
“This is being investigated by the GNR, so I will neither blame nor excuse them, because at this moment, I don’t know. The man panicked when he realized Evans was behind him; he pulled over to the right, got out of the truck, and fell flat on the ground, fainting. Meanwhile, he managed to contact his boss, and the boss—for reasons no one understands, in an act of madness—turned on the beacons of a Mercedes he had there and entered the stage as well.
“We don’t know who let them in or how they forced their way through,” Barbosa added. “The GNR says they forced it, that they didn’t even stop. I have no idea. We are investigating, watching the footage, checking everything. But this simply cannot happen.”
The stewards report suggested that after the vehicles in question had entered the stages while the stage was live, rally control had not been immediately informed, given their decision to highlight that topic in their report.
“The Clerk of the Course and [ACP representative João Paulo] Jordao apologised for the incidents that had occurred,” read the stewards’ report. “They stated that the Organiser had arrangements in place with the relevant civilian authority to provide security and road closures for the rally stages. They have confirmed that the investigation into the circumstances of this incident is still ongoing.
“It is imperative that officials managing a stage (whether that is by marshals or contracted providers) are aware that they are bound by the agreed protocol. This involves not only denying access to unauthorised vehicles, but that they also have a duty to report any entry of vehicles onto the stage to the Rally Control immediately at any time when the stages are closed and running. Such communications are among the most important aspects of safety during a rally event, as this is the only way to ensure that competitors can be warned in good time of any unforeseen hazards.”
Barbosa said the company managing the vehicles that entered the stage was relieved of its duties with the rally shortly after the incident and that the FIA will conduct further investigation into the circumstances that led to the incident.
“They [the FIA] couldn’t speak to the drivers [of the recovery vehicles] because, immediately after this scene, we dismissed the towing operator—we couldn’t have people like that in the rally,” said Barbosa.
“So, today they still haven’t been able to talk to the two drivers, both the one in the truck and the one in the Mercedes. They want to hear from them; we’ve already provided their phone numbers and all that info.”
“The tow truck driver is at home in a state of shock, crying constantly because he says he’s going to be fired. And poor guy, maybe it wasn’t his fault; maybe he was sent that way and didn’t know. I don’t know. I think it was an unfortunate incident.”
Though Barbosa apologized for the incident he went on to defend Rally Portugal’s safety record: ”Rally Portugal is so exemplary regarding safety that this is an episode that obviously won’t cause lasting damage, in the sense that it shouldn’t have happened – and I am the first to say that to everyone,” he said.
“Especially having been the president of the World Championship commission, I know this can’t happen, but unfortunately, it did. It happened, and therefore, as president of the organizing committee, I can only apologize for it happening, and apologize to the Portuguese fans who were there. Now, of course, on social media, there are the usual insults… Barbosa this, Barbosa that.”
The suspended fine levied upon ACP is suspended until December 31 2027, so a repeat violation next year would trigger the fine.
ACP was also issued with a formal reprimand an told to “further improve the existing safety measures to avoid any other safety issue during Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2026”. The safety violation has also been reported to the FIA WRC Commission, FIA Road Sport Committee, FIA Safety Committee, FIA Closed Road Commission and the Portuguese national motorsport federation, FPAK.
Rally Japan was issued a ‘yellow card’ by the FIA after its 2022 edition in a somewhat similar incident, when a civilian vehicle entered a live stage in the opposite direction to rally traffic. A decision on whether Rally Portugal will encounter the same fate would be made by the FIA Rally Commission at a later date.
