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The Racing Factory “fights” on three fronts next weekend

  • Armindo Araújo debuts the new Skoda Fabia RS at the Lisbon Rally, with his eyes set on winning the Portuguese Rally Cup.
  • In Latvia, Mikko Heikkilä will be attacking the top places in the overall standings in yet another ERC race, while Max McRae will aim to collect precious points in the Junior ERC fight.
  • Iago Gabeiras faces the 3rd round of the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica, which will be held at the Rally Ourense Recalvi.

 

In the space of three days (June 16th, 17th, and 18th), The Racing Factory’s structure will face a triple challenge of great dimension, in technical, human and logistical terms.

In Portugal, TRF will be present at the Lisbon Rally, where, in the hands of the national champion duo formed by Armindo Araújo and Luís Ramalho, the TRF new Skoda Fabia RS will debut, in what will be a demanding test of preparation for the second part of the Portuguese Rally Championship, entirely disputed on asphalt roads.

But the rally closer to the Portuguese capital is presented in this year’s edition with added importance, as it will enshrine the winner of the 2023 Portuguese Rally Cup, a trophy that The Racing Factory duo will do everything to win.

 The Lisbon Rally will take place in the municipalities of Loures, Vila Franca de Xira, Sobral de Monte Agraço, Arruda dos Vinhos, Alenquer and Cadaval, up north of Lisbon. The structure of the event will be divided into 11 stages, disputed during the 17th and 18th of June.

In the neighboring region of Galicia, in the North of Spain, it will be the Rallye Ourense Recalvi that will focus the attention of the team.

Iago Gabeiras and Adrián Varela will be driving TRF’s Peugeot 208 Rally4 and will leave highly motivated to fight for victory in the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica.

Occupying 2nd position after the first two races, just 4 points off the lead, Iago Gabeiras runs “at home”, in terrain he knows intimately, being clearly among the favorites to win the private competition of the French brand.

The 56th edition of the Rallye Ourense Recalvi has 12 stages, held on the 16th and 17th of June, totaling 163.6 kilometers against the clock.

Far to the north of Europe, it is Latvia’s turn to receive the ERC-European Rally Championship and The Racing Factory once again puts its trust in the pairs led by Mikko Heikkilä and Max McRae.

As for the Finnish champion, this Tet Rally Liepāja is seen as a golden opportunity to be back in the fight for podium places and, if possible, for victory in the race, a result that, for all that he has been doing at the controls of the Skoda Fabia Rally 2 EVO from TRF, the driver codriven by his compatriot Samu Vaaleri already deserves to achieve.

The young McRae, whose co-driver is Macartan Kierans, sees the rally as yet another excellent opportunity to continue his evolution, both in adapting to the Opel Corsa Rally4 and in terms of racing pace, taking on the objective of scoring solidly within of the Junior ERC platoon.

The two The Racing Factory pairs will face 183.7 kilometers in the Latvian race divided into 10 stages, disputed on the 17th and 18th of June.

But even in the face of such a challenging weekend, Aloísio Monteiro, CEO of The Racing Factory does not change his speech, assuming that “TRF has demonstrated, since its birth, that, where it enters, it is to discuss victories and titles. We are fully aware that next weekend will be one of the most demanding of the season, but it also presents itself as a triple opportunity to discuss the top places on the four fronts and that our teams will be involved and, when I speak of top places, I talk about positions on the podium and discussion of victories”.

“We have a title that we can win in Lisbon, with Armindo, which would be extraordinary in the debut of our new Skoda Fabia RS, and for TRF it is a source of great pride to be the first portuguese team to which Skoda Motorsport delivers a unit”, emphasizes.

On the other fronts, Aloísio Monteiro considers that “Iago has already proved that he is in the Peugeot Rally Cup Iberica to win it and Mikko already deserves to win a European rally. As for Max, the race will be another step towards becoming the top driver that our team believes he will be soon”, also assuming “great pride for all our members of the technical team who, once again, made a magnificent job, this time in the preparation of these three important events”.

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