Tilley and Keen Win the Second Edition of the 300km Algarve Sports Cars

The second edition of the 300km Algarve Sports Cars was a real rollercoaster from start to finish, with luck and misfortune taking turns to play their part at the Algarve International Circuit. The outcome was not decided until the final fifteen minutes, when victory deservedly went to Kyle Tilley and Phil Keen at the wheel of Era Motorsport’s Chevron B19.

The race, which had the honour of bringing the second day of the Algarve Classic Festival programme to a close, once again filled Portimão’s demanding circuit with the roar of machines that wrote memorable chapters in the endurance racing history of years gone by. Twenty-five highly competitive teams lined up on the grid, driving high-performance cars, where only a flawless strategy, combined with mechanical reliability, could deliver a strong result.

The race got under way behind the Safety Car. Robin Tuluie’s Chevron B8 had become stranded on the grid with a jammed gearbox, forcing the field to start the race behind the safety car.

Shortly after the start, an Alfa Romeo GT Am stopped at Turn 8, prompting another neutralisation. The Safety Car came out, allowing the cars to finally push to the limit. However, as the first driver-change pit stop approached, another setback – one of many in this race – occurred: the Chevron B21 of Team BIP, driven by Carlos Tavares, Edgar Botelho Moniz and José Forte, encountered problems that forced the Safety Car to return to the track.

At the restart, with positions changing as the pit stops unfolded, the Chevron B19 shared by John Emberson and Billy Bellinger, winners of last year’s edition, and the Chevron B8 of Joel Hopwood and Oliver Bryant moved to the front. However, Tilley and Keen’s Chevron, which had started from pole position, was setting a very strong pace and soon reclaimed the lead. The race, though, was far from over.

With forty minutes remaining, a McLaren stopped on the circuit, prompting another Safety Car intervention, although the car, which had once competed in the Can-Am series, was later able to rejoin the race. Up to that point, the lead had changed hands like cards in a deck. Five cars had taken turns at the front: the Era Motorsport Chevron B19, the Tom Smith Racing Chevron B8, the Triple R Daren Mk2, the Foxcraft Chevron B19 and the GM Automotive Engineering Lola T70 Mk3 Coupé.

When the Safety Car came in, with just over sixteen minutes remaining, Tilley and Keen, who had set the fastest lap of the race, pulled clear at the front and went on to take an unchallenged victory. They also secured the H-1972 under 2000cc class win and took home an exclusive Briston Watches timepiece.

Foxcraft’s orange Chevron was the second car to take the chequered flag. However, John Emberson and Billy Bellinger, who had crossed the line ahead of it, were relegated to fifth overall following a penalty for failing to meet the mandatory pit-stop time. As a result, they dropped to third in their class.

Joel Hopwood and Oliver Bryant finished second in their Chevron B8, taking victory in the H-1969 class. Third place went to Georg Kjallgren and Roger Wills in a Daren Mk2, one of only two examples still in existence. The pair were third across the finish line.

The Triple R duo, who had led the field for four laps, had endured a major scare earlier in the race. At the start, the prototype’s starter motor failed, and the car only made it onto the circuit after being pushed by the mechanics.

Henry Stephenson and Martin Stephenson, at the wheel of a Ford GT40, were in contention for the H-1969 class victory throughout the race, taking the legendary blue oval machine to fourth overall and second in class.

The class podium was completed by Bruno Duarte, Filipe Silva Jesus and Andy Newall, who made their debut at the wheel of a Ford GT40 and drove it to eleventh place overall.

In the H-1972 over 2000cc class, Marc Devis and Nick Padmore took victory in Britec Motorsport’s Lola T70 Mk3B Spyder, finishing sixth overall. Victory had looked to be slipping away: with fifteen minutes remaining, the pair received a drive-through penalty that threatened to cost them the win. But fortune, ever fickle, turned in their favour once again.

On the final lap, with just a handful of corners remaining, the Lola T70 Mk3 Coupé of João Macedo Silva and Diogo Ferrão, which had been working its way up the order, became stranded in the gravel with a suspension problem. Nevertheless, the GM Automotive Engineering drivers were the highest-placed Portuguese competitors in the race, finishing seventh overall and second in class.

At the wheel of a Porsche 911 3.0 RS, Brice Pineau and Olivier Muytjens, who finished eighth overall, repeated their success from the previous year among the GT and Touring Cars, securing back-to-back victories in this race. The Franco-Belgian pairing from HY Racing had been forced to take risks to recover from a penalty imposed for entering the pits before the pit-stop window had opened.

Patrick Wilwert and Philippe Vermast, at the wheel of Ecurie Luxembourg’s Alfa Romeo GT Am, finished second, while the Porsche 911 2.5 ST of Nuno Nunes, Guilherme dal Maso and Piero dal Maso took third place. Interestingly, the Garagem João Gomes-supported Porsche trio had even led the class and run as high as fifth overall during the race.

As the curtain came down, the podium ceremony took place at the Tower of the Algarve International Circuit, where the winners of each class were presented with a Briston Watches timepiece.

One thing was certain: the third edition of the 300km Algarve Sports Cars is already scheduled for next year, from 29 to 31 October 2027.