Competing in the Eco Rally Castilla-La Mancha: second place and a stage win in a demanding rally

As evening fell on Friday, the Plaza del Conde de Toledo marked the start of a weekend in which efficiency and consistency replaced outright speed. There, at the start of the Eco Rallye Castilla-La Mancha, began for us something more than a competition: a personal story within an event that aims to become a national benchmark for sustainable mobility and a future Spanish Championship in 2026.

Our team, Boosters Team —made up of Ramiro Mansanet, director of Newspress, and Óscar Sanz Rodríguez, editor at Highmotor— took the controls of a Hyundai Santa Fe PHEV. A mix that is very much ours: a passion for off-road driving, interest in plug-in hybrid technology and the opportunity to experience from the inside what we so often report from the outside.

A rally lived kilometre by kilometre

From the first stage it was clear this would not be a simple rally. The more than 300 kilometres through the province of Toledo demanded absolute concentration, teamwork and a fine reading of pace. It was not about racing: it was about keeping calm, monitoring consumption, anticipating the terrain and adjusting every second. Regularity has that charm: it looks calm from the outside, but inside the car every detail counts.

For us, the event quickly became a personal challenge. Every well-executed time control was a small victory; every stage, an opportunity to show that hybrid technology, well managed, can be as competitive as it is exciting.

The work paid off:
second place in the category, a brilliant result in an event that brought together some of the country’s best specialists. But also a convincing victory in the TR Plus stage, a particularly demanding section that rewards maximum precision, and where the team showed its best version.

We returned with four trophies, two of them with a special meaning, created by the members of Down Toledo, who brought a human, emotional and different touch to the awards ceremony.

An edition with big names

The demands of the event were also reflected in the list of entrants. Among them:

• José Manuel Pérez-Aicart, one of the great references in alternative energies in Spain, who arrives having been crowned Spanish electric vehicle champion in 2025, his fourth consecutive title, after his victory in the Eco Rallye de Canarias.

• Laura Aparicio, a leading talent in the hybrid category, who faces the event after signing a historic year, crowned Spanish Alternative Energies Champion 2025 by dominating nine of the thirteen stages of the Eco Rallye Repsol A Coruña.

Sharing the road with them is also part of the sporting prestige this event is earning.

An event with a future

The Eco Rallye Castilla-La Mancha was born with ambition, has everything it needs and aims to become part of the Spanish Championship in 2026. The organisation has managed to build a demanding, well-planned event with a spectacular route that combines sport, scenery and efficiency.

For us, this weekend has been far more than a classification. It has been feeling competition from the inside, putting to the test what we report every day and remembering why we are passionate about motoring.

And although we crossed the finish line… the feeling is that this has only just begun.

Technical specifications of this car

Off-RoadHyundai Santa Fe16 versions · from 56,020 €