Kris Meeke and co-driver Stuart Loudon, piloting a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, clinched victory at the Rallye Casinos do Algarve, marking the second event of the 2025 Portuguese Rally Championship (CPR) on Saturday. In an impressive debut, young Gonçalo Henriques, driving the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 for the Hyundai Junior Team FPAK, captured the spotlight by securing third place overall and emerging as the top Portuguese driver in the competition.
Dani Sordo, initially set back by 50.4 seconds due to mechanical issues with his Hyundai i20N Rally2, staged a vigorous comeback on the second day. Sordo was the fastest in all six qualifying stages, narrowing his gap to the leading British driver, Meeke, to just 13.3 seconds. Meeke focused on managing his lead on Saturday to secure his second consecutive victory of the season.
Gonçalo Henriques, despite being a novice in Rally2 competition, continued to challenge seasoned competitors like Pedro Almeida, Armindo Araújo (both driving Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), and Ricardo Teodósio (Toyota GR Rally2). Henriques performed remarkably well, particularly in the two passes through the 24.1 km Messines section, where only Sordo and Meeke outpaced him. His consistent performance nearly saw him overtaken by Teodósio and Araújo in the last stage, but Henriques held on to finish third overall by a mere 0.9 seconds.
Other notable drivers completing the top ten included Pedro Almeida, José Pedro Fontes (Citroen C3 Rally2), Pedro Meireles, Rúben Rodrigues (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), and Diogo Salvi (all in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2).
In the CPR 2RM (two-wheel drive) category, Guilherme Meireles (Peugeot 208 Rally4) reclaimed the lead early on but suffered a setback with a puncture in the Silves 2 stage, dropping to fourth. He later recovered to second place and clinched the CPR Junior title, while Ricardo Sousa secured a comfortable victory. Ukrainian driver Anton Korzun finished third, with Sérgio Dias and Pedro Silva rounding out the top five. Despite their strong performances, Hélder Miranda, Joni Gonçalves, and Danny Carreira, all driving Peugeot 208 Rally4, did not finish the race in Algarve.
Overall Rallye Casinos do Algarve Results
01: K. Meeke/S. Loudon (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) – 1h 01m 38.5s
02: D. Sordo/C. Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) + 13.3s
03: G. Henriques/I. Veiga (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) + 1m 37.8s
04: A. Araujo/L. Ramalho (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 1m 38.7s
05: R. Teodosio/J. Teixeira (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) + 1m 45.9s
06: P. Almeida/A. Costa (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 1m 51.6s
07: J. P. Fontes/I. Ponte (Citroën C3 Rally2) + 2m 05.2s
08: P. Meireles/M. Castro (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 2m 26.9s
09: R. Rodrigues/H. Magalhaes (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) + 2m 49.2s
10: D. Salvi/A. Coronado (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 3m 50.4s