Rally Legends

The fifth edition of Rally Legends, which took place on the 5th, 6th and 7th of November, in Luso and Bussaco (Mealhada municipality) was the biggest ever. 78 competitors from different countries will walk along the roads and slopes of Bussaco, true legends of this sport - human and motorized -, such as the Italian Paolo Diana, the Finnish Ilkka Kalmanlehto or the Portuguese Rui Madeira, with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo2.

From Spain alone, 20 teams participated in this edition of Rally Legends. These were joined by competitors from France, Italy, with the participation of the Paolo Diana/Nicolò Lazzarini team manning a fiendish Fiat 131 Abarth from the year 1982, from England or Finland, where Ilkka Kalmanlehto comes from, with her incomparable Datsun .

"We have drivers and cars from the 70's and 80's, with the original decorations, period, even more recent cars. The oldest we will have is still from the 60's and the most recent from 2018. In this way, we want to reach the public that references these mythical drivers and cars that were true legends, but we also want to be attractive to a younger audience that appreciates these more recent cars", explains Hugo Oliveira, founder and leader of the LusoClássicos association, organizer of the race, which has the support of 20 thousand euros from the Municipality of Mealhada.

The race will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with several highlights, both for participants and for the public. In the Rally Legends guide, available at www.lusoclassicos.com, the sections and events are identified. Highlights will be the presentation of the competitors, on Friday, at 21:30, on Avenida Emídio Navarro, in Luso, as well as the closing and delivery of prizes, in the same place, on Sunday, from 16:00. In between, there will be sections of real adrenaline around the Mata Nacional do Bussaco, one of which was part of the Rally de Portugal, in the 80s, as well as a special event inside the thermal village of Luso.

"This is an event that attracts thousands of people, that values ​​the municipality and that, in the future, deserves to be seen as being of strategic importance for tourism in the Municipality", says António Jorge Franco, Mayor of the Municipality. from Mealhada.