Carlos Fernández Negro took the win in Montalegre and is now just seven points off the lead. The Spanish rallycross title will be settled in Aragón after a fierce weekend in Portugal.
Carlos Fernández Negro is still in the hunt for the Spanish rallycross title. After a tense weekend at the Circuito Internacional de Montalegre in Portugal, the championship race has tightened. Everything now comes down to the final round in Aragón.
On Saturday, Fernández Negro was unstoppable. Driving his Peugeot 208 N5 for RMC Motorsport, he set the fastest times in both qualifying sessions. He won the intermediate classification and then led every lap of the six-lap final. That run put him at the top of the SuperRX N5 standings with 99 points—two ahead of Gorka Eizmendi and six ahead of Tino Iglesias.
Before the Montalegre round, Fernández Negro was third in the standings with 62 points, trailing Eizmendi by 3 and Iglesias by 7—making the Portuguese double-header a pivotal moment in the title race.
Sunday brought a shift. Gorka Eizmendi bounced back, and Eduardo Domínguez joined the fight at the front. Fernández Negro kept pushing. He finished third in the intermediate classification and took third again in the final, holding off a strong challenge from Tino Iglesias and keeping the Ford driver behind him.
Fernández Negro picked up 28 points on Sunday. It was a tough haul, but not enough to stay in front. Eizmendi now leads by seven points. Fernández Negro sits second, with a six-point gap over third. He is more than 20 points clear of fourth, so a top-three finish is locked in. But the title is still up for grabs.
Now, all focus turns to MotorLand Aragón. The championship will be decided there in November. Fernández Negro knows what’s at stake. “We have only one race left and everything is wide open. We need to prepare well for Aragón, although it will be very difficult.”
The Montalegre event featured a rare double-race format, with two independent finals across the weekend—making each day especially valuable for points and increasing the risk of major shifts in the standings. According to AutoHebdoSport and Ponferrada Hoy, this structure heightened the pressure on title contenders and was a key factor in the championship's unpredictability.
Fernández Negro’s confidence comes from recent wins. “Last year I managed to win in Montalegre and it was fantastic to repeat that on Saturday. I felt very comfortable with the circuit and was able to get the most out of the car,” he said after the race weekend.
The Montalegre double-header has set up a dramatic finish for the CERX Loterías season. The top drivers are separated by just a few points. The Aragón finale will be a real fight for the national title. For Spanish motorsport, this is the kind of rivalry that keeps fans watching and the championship uncertain until the last lap.
