2019 will be the ‘year of motorsports’ at the Algarve’s International Racetrack (AIA) where several big events will be held, including the return of the Superbike World Championship and the debut of International Six Days Enduro (ISDE).
The first major event will be the Pure McLaren which will take place between May 3 and 6, allowing “both McLaren owners and prospective owners a chance to experience what the cars are truly capable of”.
A few weeks later, the racetrack will host the second race of this year’s national motorbike championship (CNV) on the weekend of May 18 and 19 before returning the following month for another race on June 15 and 16.
The fun continues in July with the 24H Endurance Series – Portimão which will be held between July 5 and 7 before the pilots of the Superbike World Championship arrive in August (24 and 25) to train for the actual event which will be held between September 6 and 8.
But the “adrenaline doesn’t stop after the end of the Superbike World Championship,” the racetrack guarantees.
The AIA will host the final of the European Le Mans Series between October 25 and 27 as well as another edition of the Algarve Classic Festival on the first three days of November.
Last but not least, there will be the debut of the International Six Days Enduro, the “oldest two wheels competition in the world,” which will be held at many spots around the Algarve between November 11 and 16.
MotoGP championship could come to Portimão
Portimão council is in negotiations to bring the MotoGP Championship, considered the pinnacle class of international motorcycle racing, to the Algarve’s international racetrack for three years.
Says Correio da Manhã tabloid, the council has already approved a €1.5 million grant to help bring the championship to the town in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Mayoress Isilda Gomes believes the investment is justified as the event would generate a lot of money for Portimão and the Algarve.
The negotiations could benefit from the fact that 61-year-old Jorge Viegas, born in Faro, is the new president of the International Motorcycling Foundation (FIM).
When he took on the new role in December, Viegas said he believed the MotoGP Championship would return to Portugal. The last time that the country hosted a MotoGP race was in 2012 in Estoril.
By MICHAEL BRUXO
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