Bruno Bulacia and Gabriel Morales, of the CSM Automoció team, won the inaugural round of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup 2024, the Serras de Fafe. Felgueiras, Boticas and Cabeceiras de Basto Rallye are the first leaders of the single-brand cup organized by Toyota Spain, Toyota Caetano Portugal and MSI. The Bolivian, who will turn 22 years old in August and finished third in the 2023 edition, is also leading the Junior classification, which is reserved for drivers under 24 years of age.

Josep Bassas-Manel Muñoz (IPPON Motor Vallés) have secured the second place, while Javi Villa and Enrique Velasco (Asturhíbrido) have completed the podium.

José Lamela and Unai Conde (Breogán Group), fourth, close the classification of this first event.

However, the additional points obtained for being the fastest in the timed sections benefited three more couples: Ricardo Costa and Rui Vilaça Costa (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) won three; Miguel Campos and Joana Silva (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) won two, and Pedro Lago and Marco Macedo (Toyota Caetano Auto) won a timed special stage.

The rally began on Friday afternoon, with a first stage with just over 22 timed kilometers and tough weather conditions. The snow in the stages of the Boticas region made the terrain extremely muddy and, therefore, increased the difficulty for the participating teams.

However, this fact only strengthened the competitiveness and robustness of the GR Yaris RZ of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup, which was demonstrated with the 17th place in the overall classification achieved by Ricardo Costa (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing), among the more than 50 registered drivers, and which placed him as the leader at the end of the first stage.

However, Miguel Campos and Joana Silva (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) were the fastest in the first and third stages of the rally, the difference between the two teams was 5.3 seconds at the end of the first day, while Bruno Bulacia (CSM Automoció) closed the day in third place, 12.7 seconds behind Costa. Manuel Martins and Rui Vilaça retired in the Fafe Superspecial, due to transmission problems.

Saturday, with 87 timed kilometers ahead, started with snow in Serra da Cabreira, but with less unfavorable weather conditions than the day before. In the morning there were important changes at the head of the classification: Miguel Campos (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) retired in the fifth special stage, due to brake problems, and Ricardo Costa (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) retired in the next one, after an accident, just when he "saw" Bruno Bulacia (CSM Automoció) getting closer in the general classification.

These retirements put the Bolivian driver at the top, but not without scares, when he arrived at the assistance after stage 7 with a broken suspension arm. He managed to fix it, although he did not avoid a 20-second penalty as he was delayed at the time control, which did not affect his confidence at all at the top of the classification: he was more than 25 seconds ahead of Josep Bassas (IPPON Motor Vallés), who had already achieved the second place.

Shortly after, in the ninth special stage, it was the turn of the José Mulero-Sergio Fernández (Labasa) duo to retire after a crash and damage to the rear wheel of their GR Yaris, when they were sixth. In this same stage, Pedro Lago (Toyota Caetano Auto) retired due to an accident, when he ranked third.

The four teams that were still in the rally maintained their respective positions until the end of the race. Bruno Bulacia (CSM Automoció) managed to keep his advantage, losing 17 seconds to Bassas in the last special stage of the day, after having been the fastest driver in the three previous ones. The Bolivian finished in an excellent 14th overall place in a rally that was also the opening event of the Portuguese Championship.

With the victory and 4 bonus points for winning 4 of the 11 timed stages, Bruno Bulacia is the first leader of the Cup, with the competitive Toyota GR Yaris RZ, with 25 points (21+4). The CSM Automoció driver is 6 points ahead of Josep Bassas, who adds 1 bonus point for winning the last stage, taking him to a total of 19 (18+1).

The second event - after the gravel sections of this Rallye Serras de Fafe - of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup will take place on April 6th and 7th, on the tarmac of the Rallye Internacional Sierra Morena, in Andalucía.

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