Carrera 80 Brings Iberian Touring and GT History to Life at the Algarve Classic Festival

Carrera 80 promises to be one of the highlights of the Algarve Classic Festival, bringing together a grid of iconic machines from the late 1970s through to the mid-1990s. The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve provides the perfect stage for a clash between different driving schools and technical philosophies of Touring and GT cars from some of the most memorable eras in motorsport history.

Although the Algarve circuit is often associated with other forms of motorsport, it has had the privilege of hosting two of the seven Portuguese rounds of the most recent World Touring Car Championship, as well as a round of the FIA World Cup. However, none of the Touring cars on this weekend’s Carrera 80 grid competed at Portimão in their day, making this a unique opportunity to imagine what “might have been”.

A record number of vehicles in the GR2 class promises thrilling battles, with Manuel Ferrão, whose Ford Escort RS1800 MKII from Moutinho Motorsport proved very competitive in Valencia, now facing stronger competition in the first round of the season on Portuguese soil. Also in an Escort RS1800, prepared by Equipe Classic Racing, debutant Briton Rob Cull may not know the circuit as well as his local rivals, but his car is renowned for its competitiveness in the UK. Equally a newcomer and also in a Ford Escort, though in this case an RS1600, Luís Nunes will undoubtedly be eager to assert the strength of his car entered by Fandriauto.

In the same class, Spaniard Francisco Moreno and his robust Ford Capri RS, a model with a rich history in Spanish racing, could surprise the favourites, while the VW Golf MK1, run by Keep on Racing and driven by the duo Rui Moura and António Duarte, could prove a strong “dark horse”. Joining them is César Freitas, at the wheel of the BMW 323 from RP Motorsport, a car previously seen competing in Carrera 80 and also ready to challenge the dominance of the Fords.

Touring cars dominate this weekend’s starting grid, with several highly anticipated returns. Miguel Garcia takes the wheel of the impressive BMW 635 CSI, a T-MAX class car that recalls the Bavarian marque’s successes in Touring Car racing in the late 1980s. Arlindo Beça will once again delight fans with his elegant Toyota Carina E, a T-2000 class car that was once part of Portugal’s competitive national trophy organised by the importer. The Touring car line-up is completed by another iconic car from Portugal’s single-make trophies: the Datsun 1200 driven by Guillermo Velasco and Francisco Freitas, a GR1/N car prepared by Curated Garage, which will contest both Carrera 80 races and also take part in the Historic Endurance in two 50-minute races, a true testament to the reliability of this Japanese machine.

Regulatory particularities also place another Touring car in the Grand Touring battle: the ever-competitive BMW 325i E36 of Diogo Cavaco, which will face off against the armada of Zuffenhausen-built cars in the GT COPA.

The Franco-Belgian duo Brice Pineau and Olivier Muytjens, well known on Iberian circuits for their participation in the Iberian Historic Endurance and Supercars Endurance series, make their Carrera 80 debut in a Porsche 911 RS. And when it comes to classic Porsches in Portugal, Aurora Motorsport, the racing arm of Garagem Aurora, cannot be left out, bringing two cars with a history in the national classics series: Pedro Poças will debut a new Porsche 944 and join the Porsche 911 RSR, which will be shared by António Soares and Joaquim Ferreira, who has not competed in Carrera 80 since the last round in 2023.

Finally, attention turns to the debut of a Hyundai Coupé, a car from a single-make trophy that enlivened Spanish circuits in the early 2000s, to be driven by Antonio Escalante. Although entered in the INV class, it will undoubtedly be a visual highlight.

The first race of the Carrera 80 programme in Portimão is scheduled for 10:40 on Saturday, with the second race taking place at 12:40 on Sunday.