Single Seater Series Set for Record Grid at the Algarve Classic Festival

The Single Seater Series heads to the Algarve Classic Festival at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve this weekend for the fourth round of the season, with 19 entries marking its largest grid in the past ten years.

At an event on the scale of the Algarve Classic Festival, the only single-seater championship on the programme boasts a grid featuring some of the most iconic manufacturers in the history of junior formula racing, including Tatuus, Mygale, Swift, Ralt and Van Diemen.

The Algarve round will welcome several additions to the field, led by Griffith’s Historic Team, which is bringing three Formula Ford Kent cars over from Belgium. Two Swift SC92s, entrusted to Rémy D’Aubreby and Pierre Dessy, and a Van Diemen 91, to be driven by Patrick D’Aubreby, will bolster the Division F (non-aerodynamic) field.

Another new face will be Artur Carreira, who makes his debut in the series. He joins Wild Motors’ three-car line-up to drive a Mygale SJ00. The team will also welcome back Francisco Olho Azul, the championship leader and reigning title-holder, at the wheel of his Jamun M87, alongside Gonçalo Matias, who will campaign another Mygale SJ99.

As a special entry, the grid will also feature Spain’s Jesús Fuster, a regular competitor in Historic Endurance, who will join the field as a guest driver in a Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0-10, also known as a second-generation Formula Renault 2.0 car from the 2010 era.

With four races remaining in the season, André Pardal leads Division A, for single-seaters equipped with aerodynamic wings, by just five points over reigning champion Duarte Pires. Both drivers shared the victories at the season opener, held at the same venue in Portimão.

However, the battle for victory in the two races looks set to extend well beyond the top two in the standings. João Silva, a race winner with a proven track record in the category, is finally returning to competition and joins the group of Formula Renault 2.0 drivers. This line-up also includes regular competitor Rui Silva and two newcomers who made their series debuts at the previous round in Estoril: Manuel de Moura Teixeira and João Vasconcelos, who has experience in the highly competitive British Formula Renault 2.0 championship.

Looking to challenge the Formula Renault 2.0 contingent once again will be Fernando Laranjo, at the wheel of his Mygale PNC2001, a single-seater that represents an important chapter in the history of formula racing in Portugal.

Frederik Montaigne also returns as he continues to develop his single-seater racing experience in the Portuguese-built Funspeed FS2019. Completing the line-up of cars fitted with aerodynamic wings is Carlos Tavares and his Ralt RT3, the only Formula 3 car on the grid.

In the ZT class, reserved for single-seaters without aerodynamic wings, Wild Motors’ three-car entry will face competition from Eduardo Pinho, at the wheel of a Mygale SJ99 prepared by Bastos Sport, and Carlos Gaspar, who continues to make progress in the discipline after making his motorsport debut last year. He will drive a House Racing Van Diemen RF04.

Meanwhile, the KT class, for single-seaters powered by Kent engines, will feature Brazilian driver Dalmo Pereira Jr. He will pilot a Van Diemen RF01 run by Speedy Motorsport, taking on Griffith’s Historic Team’s three-car line-up in a four-way class battle.

The two Single Seater Series races will take place on Saturday at 14:55 and Sunday at 15:55. Both can be watched live on the Race Ready YouTube channel.

Admission is free for children and young people aged between 3 and 16. Tickets are available via the event’s official website, algarveclassicfestival.org, with several options to choose from. The ‘Main Grandstand’ ticket provides access to the main grandstand; the ‘Paddock’ ticket includes access to both the paddock and the main grandstand; while the ‘VIP Tower’ ticket grants access to the VIP Tower, the paddock and the main grandstand.