The pair formed by Bruno Bulacia-Gabriel Morales, of the CSM Automoció team, was the big winner of the Rallye de Lisboa-Memorial Joaquim Santos, which was the fourth scoring event of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup. In the Portuguese capital, they added their third victory of the season 2024, strengthening their leadership in the single-brand cup organized by Toyota Caetano Auto, Toyota Spain and MSI.

The young Bolivian driver achieved his first victory on tarmac with the Toyota GR Yaris RZ Cup in an outstanding rally. Thus, it has been confirmed that, barring any setbacks, he is the obvious favorite for the final victory. Faced with adverse weather conditions, such as the ones in the first stage, with a very slippery surface due to the rain, Bruno Bulacia (CSM Automoció) did not make any mistakes. In turn, the Toyota GR Yaris RZ Cup once again showed its potential, which allowed the winner of the TGRIC to climb to the third absolute place in the overall classification of the Rallye de Lisboa. In addition, three other GR Yaris Cup cars finished in the Top 10 positions.

As was to be expected, this fourth race of 2024 had moments of high emotion, in sporting terms, mainly in the first stage, in which the duel between Villa and Bulacia was really exciting. At first, it was Javi Villa (Asturhíbrido) who took the lead, seconded by Josep Bassas (IPPON Motor Vallés), with the Bolivian driver in third place. Behind, Miguel Campos (Macedo & Macedo GTW Racing) was fourth and Pedro Lago (Toyota Caetano Auto) was fifth. José Lamela (Breogán Group), Manuel Martins, José Mulero (Labasa) and Iván Raña, former Spanish Olympic triathlete and world champion in his specialty, closed the chasing group.

The edge gained by Javi Villa (Asturhíbrido) was maintained only until the second special stage, as Bruno Bulacia (CSM Automoció) cut the gap in the third, leaving the Asturian seven seconds behind, moment in which Miguel Campos also took advantage to climb to third place, putting himself forward as a candidate for the final podium and setting a distance with respect to Josep Bassas (IPPON Motor Vallés). However, Javi Villa's setback in the fourth stage, which forced him to retire, left the way clear for Bruno Bulacia.

From that moment on, and despite eight stages still to go (the fifth special stage was cancelled for safety reasons, due to the low visibility caused by fog), there were no changes in the top positions. Bruno Bulacia kept Miguel Campos at a safe distance, while the Portuguese driver was managing his advantage over Josep Bassas, who, in turn, had a comfortable gap over Pedro Lago (Toyota Caetano Auto).

Javi Villa (Asturhíbrido) was able to rejoin thanks to the super rally, with the clear objective of adding the extra points awarded to the winners of each stage. The Asturian driver was the fastest in three of the eight stages (tied in one with Bulacia and in another with Campos), minimizing the points difference to Bruno Bulacia. Thus, with 12 points, he is 20 points behind the Bolivian driver, who totals 91 points.

The only change in Saturday's stage, with a more stable weather, was that of José Mulero (Labasa), who until then was sixth, had problems in the seventh special stage and lost four minutes, dropping to eighth place, ahead of Javi Villa. Thanks to Mulero's problem, José Lamela (Breogán Group) and Manuel Martins moved up one place in the classification of the Lisbon Rallye.

Although he had already competed in a regional championship rally with the Toyota GR Yaris RZ, the debut of Olympic triathlete and world champion Iván Raña in the TGRIC was not easy, especially during the first day, when the rain made its appearance. Nevertheless, he managed to finish the race, just a few seconds behind Mulero.

The next meeting of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Iberian Cup will be the Rallye Rías Baixas, in Vigo, also held on tarmac, on the weekend of July 6 and 7. The renowned Galician event is part of the S-CER ( Spanish Rally Superchampionship).