First race of the year in Portugal sold out more than a month ago
50 cars from seven different countries confirmed
Two fifty-minute race format
After its highly successful races in Barcelona, the Grand Prix de Pau and Spa Summer Classic, the most prestigious historic racing series in Southern Europe will hold its first event in Portugal this weekend (July 30 and 31). The Historic Endurance will have two fifty-minute races in the Algarve Summer Party programme, an event under the Race Ready umbrella which will bring together some of the biggest Portuguese circuit racing competitions at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
The event scheduled for the exciting Portimão circuit is always one of the most eagerly awaited by drivers and teams, and the Historic Endurance entry list has been "closed" for over a month. With fifty cars entered by competitors of seven different nationalities, lively races are expected on the Algarve track in the spirit of "Relaxed Historic Racing" that characterises this competition.
GDS: Diversity and quantity
The Gentleman Driver Spirit category, which includes all cars equipped with engines up to 1300cc and all touring cars up to 2000cc, once again presents an excellent number of competitors and a wide range of cars, including some novelties, such as the Alfa Romeo GTA of the duo Fernando Espírito Santo/Ricardo Bravo, known for their forays into the Spanish GT Championship in the past decade, or the Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Super of the trio Rui Bevilacqua/António Magalhães/Nuno Veiga. To brighten up the show, coming from the Netherlands for the first time in Historic Endurance, Frank Veenstra's elegant MGB and Bert van Hees and Gerritjan van Leenen's Lotus Cortina will also be present, joining the class "regulars", such as the Porsche 911 SWB from Garagem João Gomes, João Neves' Datsun 1200 prepared at Trisport, the BMW 1800 TiSA from Alberto and Tomaz Velez-Grilo, or the Alfa Romeo GTA from the trio Mário Neto/João Sardinha/Pedro Gonçalves.
H-1965: The most international of them all
The exotic Iso Grifo A3C, an evolved offspring of the Ferrari 250 GTO, from Racing Team Holland and driven by Pieter Boel/Ricardo Rubbio, is probably the most eye-catching car in a category that also features an imposing Ford Mustang and two well-prepared Shelby Mustangs. The 1956-spec Austin Healey 100 of Portuguese-French duo José and Jeremy da Rocha is a novelty and, in theory, the best 'qualified' to triumph in the Index of Performance Cuervo y Sobrinos, in a field that includes three Porsche 356s - the usual contenders for victory in this classification. Per-Are Forsvall's Lotus Elan, which performed excellently in the twists and turns of the Pau circuit, and the returning 'Danish' 904/6 of Thorkild Stamp/José Monroy will try to prove that power is not everything, as they seek to compete with the Mustangs for the podium positions.
H-1971: A story apart
With fifteen entries, the two H-1971 races will have their own narrative. Joaquim Soares (Lotus Elan), the duos Piero Dal Maso / José Carvalhosa (Porsche 911 2.5 ST) and Jorge Santos/Alcides Petiz (Alfa Romeo GTAm) have already had a taste of podium finishes this season. The imposing Ford Mustang of the trio Paulo Lima/Bruno Lima/José Paradela did very well in the 3 Hours of Spa, while Domingos Sousa Coutinho (BMW 2800) will certainly be in the front group. Names that are part of the history of this competition are also back, such as Carlos Brízido, who now teams up with newcomer Hugo Dias in a Porsche 911 ST, or Carlos Cruz, who drives a Ford Escort. The category will also have new participants, such as the Alfa Romeo GTAm of Nuno Xara-Brasil/Nuno Cunha or the Lancia Fulvia Zagato of the Spaniard Luis de la Morena - another new model to join the field, adding another colour to the races, a bit like Jorge Guimarães' Volvo 121.
H-1976: Porsche wins in numbers
An armada of eight Porsche 911s - seven 3.0 RS models and one 2.8 of Vasco Nina - will be opposed by two Ford Escort RS2000s, the Datsun Sunny Excellent and the De Tomaso Pantera of Pedro Bastos Rezende, who returns to Historic Endurance after having dominated the events in Barcelona. The expected debut of Pedro Betthencourt's Chevrolet Corvette, which would count with the consecrated Mário Silva at the wheel, was postponed to a next opportunity. Among the contingent of cars from Zuffenhausen, where the fast Spanish Eduardo Davila and Juan Alonso/Jose Antonio Zorrilla will be again present, the highlight is the absolute debut of Cláudio Vieira and Marco Amaral in one of the six 911 3.0 RS prepared by the renowned Aurora Motorsport.
GTP & Sports Car: Three-Way Duel
Although there are only three entries in the category, there is a lot of expectation to see who will win this confrontation. Paulo Rompante's Alfa Romeo Ti Super made a positive impression on the streets of Pau, but the agile Lotus Seven in the hands of João Mira Gomes/Nuno Afoito has all the potential to aim higher than it has done so far, as does the debutant Lotus 23B of French duo Xavier Rascagneres/Jérome Peyrat, a car that embodies Colin Chapman's famous mantra: "Simplify, then add lightness”.
Index of Performance: The unknown
Who will leave Portimão as the winner of the Index of Performance Cuervo y Sobrinos is an unknown. The only certainty being that the winner will receive a copy of the prestigious Swiss watchmaker Cuervo Y Sobrinos. The winner of this classification, awarded on the basis of the classification of the first race of the programme, is expected to come out of the range of smaller cars. Interestingly, in the first three races of the season this award has been won by Lotus cars, although statistics tell us that the Porsche 356 is the car with the most wins at Portimao in the Index of Performance. Either the Austin Healey, due to its year of construction, or the Datsun 1200, due to its cylinder capacity, will certainly have a word to say.
For Diogo Ferrão, the CEO of Race Ready: "It is a great joy for us to once again fill the entry list in the Algarve, something that has not happened since 2019. This is the first time this has happened post-pandemic and a sign of the expected return to normality. In addition to the various teams and drivers who have accompanied us at previous events, we will again have several returns and a number of new additions, from new cars and drivers who have never competed with us, both Portuguese and international. This is the last race before the holiday period and nothing better than Portimão to host this event in which we wish, above all, that it is a great conviviality, with a festive and relaxed atmosphere, so typical of the season, for the lovers of our sport."
After the qualifying session to be held early Saturday afternoon, the first of the two Historic Endurance races takes place at 6.10pm on the same day. The second clash of the weekend, of the same length, is scheduled for 11.20am on Sunday, with live streaming on Race Ready's Facebook and YouTube channels.
TIMETABLE
Saturday, 30th July
13:30 - 14:10 - Qualifying
18:10 - 19:00 - Race 1
Sunday, 31 July
11:20 - 12:05 - Race 2
