Round four of the 2009 world rally championship is the Vodafone Rally of Portugal (2-5 April). After three very specific rallies earlier in the year (wet asphalt in Ireland, snow in Norway and mixed surface twisty roads in Cyprus), this event can safely be considered the first true orthodox event of the season! Under the FIA's event rotation system the Rally of Portugal was not run as a world event in 2008, instead it was held as an IRC series qualifier, with a series of guest drivers in support. The 2009 event will again be run in the regions of Alentejo and Algarve in the south of the country, with considerable detailed change to the routes used in the past two years. Only 43.7% of the stage route is the same as last year. In addition to the full world series, it counts for both the Junior and the Production car series, and also for two other major series. These are the Fiesta Sport Trophy International and also the first of six prize drive events under the 2008 Pirelli Star Driver scheme. The rally has attracted no fewer than 75 entries, around twice as many as on previous world championship events this year.

Who should win? Normally the all-gravel surfaces mean this should be a Ford event, if the superhuman capabilities of the Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb can be forgotten for a moment. Sebastien Loeb comes to Portugal with a maximum score of 30 points from the first three events in the series while hanging in the battle continues to be incredibly reliable Mikko Hirvonen who is eight points adrift. Hirvonen has finished his last 34 world championship rallies and scored makes championship points every time, and drivers' championship points on 33 occasions. In the Makes series BP Ford are now 16 points behind Citroen Total. Will Loeb make this four in a row? With all three days on loose gravel roads, the thought of starting first car the road is daunting, though if it is wet, it could be an advantage.

For Portuguese fans the fight for the top local driver is expected to be between Armindo Araujo and Bruno Magalhaes. Araujo, who lies second in the PCWRC, still drives an Evo IX and his primary concern will be his PCWRC rival Patrik Sandell. Sandell has won both PCWRC events this year and now stands seven points in front of Araujo. "My great disappointment", Armindo has told his team,"is that Sandell has nominated exactly the same six rallies in the championship as me. I have got to beat him every time!" In his quest to be the best national driver Magalhaes however has no championship responsibilities this year, with the FIA or at home, and is relishing the freedom that allows.

JWRC Championship leader Martin Prokop is giving this event a miss as he is entered instead in the PCWRC category while second driver in the series Aaron Burkart is absent altogether this time. The series is sure to liven up with the recent homologation of performance parts available for the Renault Clio R3 cars, pieces which are expected to radically close the gap between the R3 and the Citroen and Renault Super 1600 models. Seen for the first time together will be the five Pirelli Star Drivers, selected from various regions round the world last year. This will be the first of six events they will enter, part of the Pirelli support programme for the championship. Their identical yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evox X cars will all be prepared and run by Ralliart Italia, who are also running the Evo IX of Araujo. Around thirty people will be in Portugal, running these six cars.

Rally fans are delighted to hear that Marcus Gronholm is back again, for this event at least! For the Finn this is an event which, even in his two years as world champion, he never won. He has a Subaru Impreza S14 from Prodrive and the car will be run alongside the similar car of the Norwegian Adapta team for Mads Ostberg. Even without ultimate success on this event, Marcus enjoys Portugal, running as zero car driver on the IRC event last year. "I have the same feeling I had when I last drove competitively nearly 18 months ago," said Gronholm. "The test was good, the car ran well and we made some improvements to the set up of the car. All I have to do now is to remember how to make my pace notes!"

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