Rally Portugal given €15,000 suspended fine after tow truck incident

Rally Portugal given €15,000 suspended fine after tow truck incident

10th May 2026 0 By Kamron Kent

The organisers of Rally de Portugal have been given a suspended fine of €15,000 after two unauthorised vehicles entered a live stage.

Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool

On Friday, the World Rally Championship leader and Toyota driver, Elfyn Evans, had encountered a tow truck on SS7, the second pass of Arganil, which quickly pulled to the next available junction.

The truck had kicked up some dust on the stage, which had slowed Evans, and whilst the Welshman was able to continue on, he was given back just over four seconds after being hindered.

Later on, it was found that another vehicle – from the same company as the tow truck Evans encountered – had entered the live stage and encountered Yohan Rossell’s Lancia.

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The incident had instigated an investigation, and the stewards had deemed the organiser (Automóvel Club de Portugal) responsible for the two incidents and slapped them with a 15,000 suspended fine. This sentence will remain in place to ensure no further breaches from the organiser until December 31, 2027.

According to the official report, the stewards also required the organiser to improve the current and existing safety measures to avoid similar issues to the current rally.

In the report, the stewards said:

“The Clerk of the Course explained that it had been established that a recovery vehicle was on its way to collect a competitor who had retired from the rally. The driver had entered the GPS coordinates, and the sat-nav system directed him along the SS7.

“The driver of the truck was unaware that he had entered on to a running special stage. Nevertheless, the truck was able to pass several barriers marking the special stage.

“As the truck quickly escaped to a side road and was secured, the stage was not interrupted. Approximately 35 minutes later, a second vehicle, which belonged to the same company as the recovery truck and was reportedly on its way to assist it, also passed the barriers and entered SS7 in front of car No. 21. The stage was then immediately red-flagged for safety reasons.

“The Clerk of the Course and Mr. Jordao apologised for the incidents that had occurred. They stated that the Organiser had arrangements in place with the relevant civilian authority to provide security and road closures for the rally stages.

“They have confirmed that the investigation into the circumstances of this incident is still ongoing.

“The Clerk of the Course has also confirmed that at no time was the entry of these vehicles on to the stage communicated to Rally Control.
It is imperative that officials managing a stage (whether that is by marshals or contracted providers) are aware that they are bound by the agreed protocol.

“This involves not only denying access to unauthorised vehicles, but that they also have a duty to report any entry of vehicles onto the stage to the Rally Control immediately at any time when the stages are closed and running.

“Such communications are among the most important aspects of safety during a rally event, as this is the only way to ensure that competitors can be warned in good time of any unforeseen hazards.

“Notwithstanding that the Organiser had arrangements with a third party for the management of the road closures for the stages, the Organiser remains responsible for the officials it appoints and the Clerk of the Course remains responsible for conducting the event in accordance with the applicable regulations and must ensure that the officials are at their post and are provided with the necessary information to carry out their duties.”

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Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

CategoryNews Rallying WRC

About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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