The couple of Daniel Berdomás and Brais Mirón (Breogán Group) has fully dominated the Lisbon Rally 2023, fourth event of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup. They led the race from the first to the last of the 10 timed sections to score their second victory of the year, with a final lead of 17.3 seconds over Sergi Francolí (CSM Automoció).

In the first tarmac event of the season, which took place outside the Portuguese capital, the Toyota GR Yaris RZ Cup offered a real show to the large crowd, with Berdomás and Francolí clearly standing out in the competition. The latter, thanks to the second place and also the extra points, becomes the clear leader of the competition, 8 points ahead of Bruno Bulacia (CSM Automoció) and 9 points ahead of Berdomás. The thrill will be a constant in the following races, not least because there are only 12 points difference between the top five, a group that also includes, besides the already mentioned drivers, Ricardo Costa (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) and Alberto Monarri (IPPON Motor Vallés).

If Berdomás was unstoppable on the first day, only allowing Francolí to match him in the first pass through the Vinhos de Lisboa section, the fact is that the margin between them was never very comfortable, as only 11.5 seconds separated them after the first 69.78 km of timed sections. Alberto Monarri (IPPON Motor Vallés) and Javier Villa (Asturhíbrido) were more than 40 seconds behind the leading couple, with a gap of less than 3 seconds.

In the initial phase, Miguel Campos (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) tried to claim the third fastest position and maintained that position in the first four special stages. Subsequently, both Villa and Monarri improved their performance and at the end of Saturday's stage they were in fourth and fifth positions, setting up an exciting duel for third place. Bruno Bulacia, winner of the previous rally (Terras D'Aboboreira), was much less comfortable on tarmac compared to the gravel sections, and started cautiously and in search of the best possible adaptation, finishing behind Miguel Campos and Ricardo Costa.

On the last day, with only three timed sections (31.08 km), there was still a lot to be decided in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup, starting with the duel between Berdomás and Francolí. But, without making any mistakes, the Breogán Group driver gave no option to his rival to score his second victory of the season. In the last special stage, Javier Villa was still trying hard to get on the podium and almost made it... just 6 tenths of a second behind Alberto Monarri. On the other hand, Bulacia was successful in his last "attack" to score some more points, and was able to make up the 4.2 seconds that separated him from Ricardo Costa and the sixth position, although far from the fifth place of Miguel Campos.

Pedro Lago (Toyota Caetano Auto) finished eighth, ahead of Emmanuel Gascou (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing), who had been faster in the first part, while Albert Llovera (PCR Sport Club Esportiu), José Mulero (Labasa) and Joan Sabater (CSM Automoció) had a quiet race, trying to evolve in the best possible way. Finally, it should be noted that no less than four Toyota GR Yaris RZ Cup have finished this Lisbon Rally in the "top 10", which is clear evidence of the qualities of this TOYOTA GAZOO vehicle in terms of performance.

The single-brand cup organized by Toyota Spain, Toyota Caetano Portugal and Motor & Sport Institute (MSI) now takes a break for summer break, and will return on 8 and 9 September, in the Princess of Asturias Rally, the fifth round of the season and the only one with mixed surface ( gravel / asphalt).

Follow us on social media:

INSTAGRAM: @tgr_iberiancup

FACEBOOK: @TGRIberianCup

TWITTER: @iberiancup_tgr