The rally season began in Portugal, which was also visited by the Lithuanian crew consisting of Martynas Samsonas and Ervinas Snitkas. However, the country in the far south of Europe with its mountains was not a place where you could be calmly in light clothing. The participants were greeted by the typical weather for this time of year – it was cool, windy and very wet in Fafe. The roads there are also worth a separate mention – they are narrow, very technical, the terrain is extremely hilly, and there are all sorts of things next to the road that do not allow you to leave an ideal line – banks, stones, fences, rocks, etc. So, the first stage of the Portuguese and Promo Championships was very difficult for both the participants and the spectators.
The main action started early Friday morning when the crews from Fafe made their way east to the stage where first it was used as the test stage, then the qualifying stage, and finally the shakedown. Martynas Samsonas and Ervinas Snitkas performed well in the qualifying stage, where they set the fourth-fastest time among the best Rally2 crews. Their Portuguese colleagues from N5 achieved times 16 and 18 results. According to the results of the qualifying stage, the crews chose their starting positions, but the advantage for the Lithuanians was smaller than expected. Despite the fact that they set the fourth time, the Lithuanians managed to place themselves only after the participants of the main Portuguese championship. This is because the N5 cars take part in the Promo Championship, whose participants race after the main channel of the Portuguese championship.
In the evening, the entire rally caravan had to drive about 80 km from Fafe to the town of Boticas in the northeast, where the opening ceremony of the rally took place. Later, two special stages took place around Boticas. Unfortunately, Martynas Samsonas and Ervinas Snitkas retired in the second SS due to a broken rear suspension. João Araújo, driving the Ford Fiesta N5, also had no luck and lost a lot of time. After two gravel stages, all participants returned to Fafe, where a short, one and a half kilometer long night SSS took place. After him, Adruzilo Lopes in the Škoda Fabia N5 led the promo championship and finished 14th overall, while Miguel Carvalho in his Hyundai i20 N5 was second in the promo classification and 25th overall.
The second day of the rally was very long – 8 special stages and almost 88 sport kilometers. After Martynas Samsonas’ car was fixed and according to the “Super Rally” rule, he resumed the fight together with Ervinas Snitkas. But their comeback was short-lived. The fourth stage was stoped due to the Ukrainian crew’s accident, and after the end of the fifth stage, the crew retired. The consequences of Friday’s damage appear to be greater than expected. The good news is that the Portuguese colleagues did well on Saturday. On the second day of the rally, Adruzilo Lopes climbed to 12th place overall and celebrated victory in the promo championship. His colleague Miguel Carvalho in the Hyundai i20 N5 made up five places to finish second in the Promo and 20th overall.
The second round of the Portuguese and Promo Championships will take place on March 15 and 16 in the very south of Portugal, in the Algarve, which is very popular with motorsport fans.
| Driver | Co-driver | Car | Team | Class | Time | Overall | Class | |||
 | Adruzilo Lopes | | Paulo Leones |  | Škoda Fabia N5 | P4-17 | 1:26:02.9 | 12 | 1 | |
| Miguel Carvalho | | António Reis |  | Hyundai i20 N5 | P4-17 | 1:34:14.6 | 20 | 2 | |
| João Araújo | | Luís Araújo |  | Ford Fiesta N5 | P4-17 | 1:47:45.0 | 32 | 3 | |
 | Martynas Samsonas | | Ervinas Snitkas | | Škoda Fabia N5 | Samsonas Motorsport | P4-17 | DNF | – | – |
