WRC
Fasten your seatbelts as Carlos Sainz takes you on a ride through Portugal’s hilly Fafe Stage.
A decade and a half since they last competed, WRC champions Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya reunited for the 30th anniversary of Carlos’s WRC debut at Rally Portugal in 1987.
At that rally, Carlos was actually co-driven by Antonio Boto, but the following year he teamed up with Moya – also at Rally Portugal – and the rest is history.
From 1988 to 2002, they were inseparable, covering millions of kilometres and seeing more of each other than they did of their wives, being away together for more than 300 days per year.
So, this is the place where that incredible journey began, leading to 24 rally wins and two world titles. Sainz and Moya could win anywhere; including events that had been considered off-limits to anyone other than local drivers, such as Rally Finland.
What better place to celebrate their achievements than a run together over Rally Portugal’s most iconic stage, Fafe, where thousands of spectators gather to see the cars fly over the famous jumps? On Sunday, Fafe will be run twice – including the rally-ending Power Stage.
The astonishing countryside, spread out as far as you can see and punctuated by Portugal’s characteristic wind turbines, forms a fantastic backdrop to a unique revival run featuring these two legends of the sport.
Their car was a Peugeot 208 T16, built to R5 specification by the same company that Carlos competes for at the Dakar Rally.
Even, without a competitive element, it was a mesmerising display of their abilities. “I know what will happen; the minute Carlos sits in the car, he’ll start adjusting it: a little tweak here, and another change there,” said Luis before they set off. “And he’s laughing now because he knows that it’s true! There’s only one way he approaches things, even if it’s meant to be just for fun.”
Get closer with the onboard footage:
“Rallying has been my life and it’s given me everything,” says Carlos. “But it’s changed so much since I started, and it’s been amazing watching the technology getting more and more.
"It’s not just the cars that have changed, but also the sport and the places: when myself and Luis first did Rally Portugal, there weren’t many highways, so just getting to the stage was a navigational challenge!”
So fasten your seatbelts as Carlos and Luis take you for a flying ride through Portugal’s hilly and sandy hinterland. It’s the next best thing to actually sitting in the Peugeot with them.
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