On the road from 25th to 27th March, the Azores Rallye, even without bringing great novelties, will have a modified structure compared to the previous edition. The second round of the European and Portuguese championships, as well as the opening event of the Azorean championship, Azorean Rally Trophy and Toyota Gazoo Racing Iberian Cup, will undergo several changes that the organizing committee, lead by Rui Moniz, and the clerk of the course, now under the responsibility of Paulo Leal, had to make in order to meet the new regulations of some championships.
The organisation of the Grupo Desportivo e Comercial will have a total of 583.42 km, of which 205.12 will consist of 14 special stages, divided into two legs to be held on Saturday and Sunday, 26th and 27th March, one of the parameters to be met in the reconfigured FIA ERC. Before this, however, Friday, March 25th will serve for the Qualifying Stage and Shakedown to take place on the Lagoa Stage, using part of the previous layout but now with 4.37 km.
The competition itself will start at 07:30 on Saturday, March 26th, for the first and longest leg of the event, with 229.29 km in total and 118.94 km in 7 special stages, which will end at 18:44 on the same day. On a route mostly to the east of the island of São Miguel, there will be a double round through Coroa da Mata, with 11.40 km, Graminhais, 24.03 km, and Tronqueira, 21.99 km, and the only dispute of the popular Grupo Marques, 4.10 km.
The second and last leg, scheduled for Sunday, March 27th, will start at 08:00 and finish at 17:43. This day is based on a double round through Feteiras, 7.46 km, and the emblematic Sete Cidades, 24.01 km, interspersed by the second run of Grupo Marques. The competition, however, will start with Ribeira Grande, 9.57 km, a special stage that will also be the last of the programme and, as such, the Power Stage. The final party, the podium and the prize giving will take place at 6pm with at Praça Gonçalo Velho, next to the Portas da Cidade (City Gates) of Ponta Delgada.
