The Azores Rallye will complete its 56th edition in 2022. The event organised by the Grupo Desportivo e Comercial has a long history, which began in 1965 with the Volta à Ilha de São Miguel (Tour of São Miguel Island). Only three years after its creation, in 1968, it became part of the national rally championship and in its eighth edition it acquired international status. The first entry in the European Rally Championship took place in 1992, at the time with a coefficient of 2 and only a few years later, it became a coefficient of 10. With the restructuring of the FIA international series, the Azorean rally became part of the European Cup.
In 2008 a new boost to the international importance of the event was given, with the passage of the then SATA Rallye Azores to IRC Supporr Event and, in the following year, the integration of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The event continued in this series until, in 2012 and with the restructuring of the European championship, it became part of what is the oldest international rally competition and the second most important championship on the world stage of the sport. Since then, the Azores Rallye has been one of the iconic events of this championship where the current top drivers in world rallying have emerged.
Since its creation, the most important rally in the Azores has earned the reputation of a tough race in which drivers and machines are put to the test, a condition that is well expressed by its motto, “for the brave”. Besides this, no one remains indifferent to the scenery of Micael, to the Setes Cidades, considered by many to be the most beautiful classification in the world, and timed sections with names such as Tronqueira and Graminhais, among others, in which, in the limited area of an island, it is possible to find characteristics that make other events special all over the world.