Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

Portuguese multi-champion Magalhães heading to Zlín

26. 8. 2014 - Petr Linhart, Barum Czech Rally Zlín

Crowned as the winner of a recently run Rali Vinho da Madeira, heads one of the best Portuguese rally drivers Bruno Magalhães to the Zlín-based rally. Together with his namesake Carlos Magalhães he will present his new Peugeot 208 T16.

Bruno Magalhães has been present on the international rally scene for many years, his program had been for a long time related mainly with the IRC series. However he was passing the Czech rally by. "In the last two years I have done only five rallies in Portugal because the budget was really low. I only had the opportunity to be in Barum in 2010 and 2011, however we had chosen other rallies then because Barum is really difficult for the first time, it's very specific rally," revealed the 44 years old driver.

In the currently running season the Lisbon native managed to collect a budget sufficient for arranging a program in the FIA ERC. "This year it was possible to return to this amazing championship and it was perfect step for me. I have won the Portuguese championship three times and I needed new challenges. The European championship is very strong and the coverage is perfect for the sponsors, so my goal was always to return to this championship this year," said Magalhães.

Almost all Bruno's career has been joined together with Peugeot cars. He reached his greatest achievements at the wheel of a Peugeot 207 S2000. With this car he also opened the actual season, but later he switched for the latest 208 T16. His first rally with this new machine was a round of the European Rally Trophy on Madeira island, where Bruno masterfully won. "Fortunately we started our season with this car winning, it was a perfect debut for us. I will do more rallies this year with this car in the ERC and my target is to do minimum three other years in the ERC to get international experience and know better the particular events. The car worked very well, but we still have a lot of work to do to improve the setup and find a good solution for Barum. Compared to the 207 S200 the main difference is the engine and gearbox. Now we have the turbo engine and a gearbox with five gears, one less than in S2000. We need to drive the car in a different way, but both are very good. I think the difference on gravel will be bigger than on asphalt," described Bruno his first experience with a R5 car.

And what is his knowledge about the Barum Czech Rally Zlín? "I know only what I saw on TV in previous years. The asphalt is not so abrasive, but bumpy and in some points narrow, very fast and dirty. It will be a big challenge for sure. But I know the organization is good and there will be a lot of spectators, so I expect a really nice rally. For the first year it's very difficult to be competitive on these roads. I saw many drivers doing Barum for the first time and everyone had a lot of problems to go at the same speed as the others. The first thing I need is to finish the rally and get experience, because as I told before I want to do a project for three years and normally Barum is in the championship, so is very important to know better the stages for next years. Of course I want to do a good rally but it is very difficult to say what is a good position for me, because there will be very fast ERC and local drivers who are always very strong in Barum," closed Bruno Magalhães.