American driver Shaun Torrente (Team Abu Dhabi) was once again crowned the winner of the powerboat Grand Prix of Portugal, which was held in Portimão last weekend and attracted a crowd of around 40,000 people to the banks of the Arade River.
Torrente led the race from start to finish although he had to fight off a challenge from his teammate Thani Al Qemzi. Third place went to Swedish driver Jonas Andersen (Team Amaravati). Portugal’s best performer was Duarte Benavente (F1 Atlantic) who finished in the 11th spot. Pedro Fortuna, another national driver, was second in the F4 race.
The Grand Prix of Portugal is the inaugural race of the prestigious UIM F1H2O World Championship, the world’s most important powerboat competition.
Portimão is one of the sport’s most popular venues for teams and drivers, having hosted 13 successful Grand Prix from 1999 to 2011 before the event finally returned to the Algarve in 2016.
Once again, the races attracted thousands of watersport fans from Portugal but also from France, Italy, Brazil, Spain and the UK, said Portimão council in a statement to the press.
The Grand Prix of Portugal was aired live by RTP2 and seen by around 500,000 people. Among the guests of honour were Secretary of State for Sport João Paulo Rebelo, President of the Portuguese Sports Confederation Carlos Cardoso, Secretary of State for Fisheries José Apolinário, President of the Portuguese Powerboating Federation Paulo Ferreira, Angola’s Sea Minister Maria Antonieta Batista and, of course, Portimão Mayoress Isilda Gomes.
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