Dão Wine Rally: a race with intense flavour
Nelas hosted the 4th edition of the Dão Wine Rally. For two days, thousands thrilled to the race that runs through the streets of the town and the mountains and vineyards of the municipality. Many outsiders headed to the municipality of Beira for a race which is already becoming a classic and which grows with the passing of the years. Or we weren’t in the heart of the Dão Demarcated Region. Touriga Nacional is the queen for 363 days of the year. In the other two, it is the horse power and the pilots’ skills that make the difference. During the weekend of 26th and 27th May, the roar of the engines overlapped the bucolic sounds of the vineyards and woods of Nelas.
Santar is a big name in the Dão wines’ route, with several farms producing truffle nectars, but last Sunday it was the stage for a rally special. On one of the roads which surrounds the largest vineyard area of the entire demarcated region, the 27 cars which presented themselves at the start were moving at full speed. On a tight bend, the crowd’s excitement grew as the roar of the engine began to be heard and exploded at the moment the drivers attacked the hook. A very similar human scenario occurred in all the spectacle zones of the 8 classifications.
But the most impressive human frame happened in the Super Special Vinho do Dão. In the middle of the town, at nightfall, thousands surrounded the 1.87 km course to see and hear the machines and to cheer the drivers when they attacked the roundabouts and the pyrotechnics went off. There were aficionados, curious people and entire families vibrating with the presentation of the race.
Early in the morning, the jumping area in the section Algeraz – Quinta da Cerca begins to fill up with people. Conversation flows. There are people from outside and also many people from nearby. Mr. Figueiredo tells his experience to whoever wants to listen to him. He often takes the Estradão to save a few kilometres on his way to work. “Every once in a while I take the gas here with the van and this second jump is very tricky,” he says. After a quarter of an hour, the passing of the drivers proves him right. It’s two jumps in a row; the first following a big straight. When the cars touch the ground they have just in front of them the second, but abrupt and irregular. It is here that Carlos Fernandes (the winner of the Dão Wine Rally) and Fernando Peres (former national absolute champion) make their Mitsubishi Evo fly, to the delight of the crowd.
From the slopes of the Mondego at Caldas da Felgueira to the vineyards of Santar, the route of the Dão Wine Rally is a hymn to the landscapes of the Beira region which produce wine and cheese from the mountains, two products of excellence for lovers of good food. The people of Nelas know how to welcome and that is one of the reasons why the pilots enjoy this competition. To the gastronomy and cordiality of the people, we must add the course.
“This is a rally different from all the others”, says the driver Bruno Santos: “The ground is unique. It is granite and we can only see it in Fafe, the sections are in an impeccable state. It’s good to see that the local governments play a fundamental role, because they save us a lot of material in a sport that is too expensive for our pockets. The rally is very beautiful and well organised and the landscapes are fantastic.
The 4th edition of the Vinho do Dão Rally was won by Carlos Fernandes, who dominated all the classifications except for one won by Fernando Peres, who finished in second position. The podium was completed by Rui Mendes, in a Toyota Corolla.