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New F1 Race Track Hamilton/Mclaren
| New International Motor Racing Circuit just 15 minutes drive from Monchique!!! Teams, drivers and enthusiasts are well aware of this great news. Don´t miss the boat!!! | |
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| Algarve Race Track Ready This Year (Portugal News 16 Feb 2008) | |
 (Click here to learn more and visit Autodromo do Algarve website). |
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| The presentation of the project behind the Algarve race track took place this past weekend with news that it is fewer than ten months from completion,(first race 3 November) and then it will be ready to host any number of motor sport events, including a Formula 1 Grand Prix. With three thousand hectares between Portimao and Mexilhoeira Grande dug out and foundations being put in place, the shape of the track can already be seen. Due to the nature of the surroundings, the track will have steep slopes and swooping bends, journalists were told. There will be two chicanes and a long 750 metre straight in front of the 38 metre high stands that can hold up to 55,000 spectators.  The track will have 64 different setups, varying in lengths up to 4,692m and will be able to hold events such as Formula 1, Superbikes, AIGP and more. There will be a V.I.P. building in the middle of the race track and this large cylinder-shaped building will have a 360º view of the racetrack and seating for no fewer than 15,000 special guests. Complementing the race track is a two-kilometre long kart track, one of the longest in Europe, which will be able to provide for professionals, amateurs or just for fun days with friends on the track. Close to the kart-track will be a tyre testing ring and a long straight to test top speeds. A five-star hotel and spa complex from the Hadison group will be located next to a technological area, where there will also be 160 luxury holiday apartments. A sporting complex is going to be built with a pool and football pitch. Manuel da Luz, Mayor of Portimao, says this project worth an initial €200 million is a first in the Algarve and it is an attempt to fight the seasonality of the region, hoping it will bring people to the Algarve all year round and make it a landmark in Europe and across the globe. Paulo Pinheiro, CEO of the project, added that a racetrack is normally seen as a harmful factor for the environment, but argues this project has been thought out environmentally friendly since the day it was conceived. Being the first race track with such standards, solar energy will be used to power buildings and heat water, residual water from the ETAR (Water Treatment Centre of Portimao) will irrigate the green areas and there will be two dams to collect rainwater. Minister of Economy Manuel Pinho announced he was surprised at the rate the project is advancing, that the Algarve is experiencing a “good period” and Portimao will place itself on the map for hosting world events. Together with the presentation of the race track was the presentation of the Super Sport motorbike category racing team of the Algarve, the Park Algar Racing Team. World SuperBike champion Carlos Checa was there to introduce the team and give his opinion on the race track. The track that is being built at Sitio do Escampadinho, Mexilhoeira Grande is expected to generate at least 1,500 job placements. |
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| MACLAREN MERCEDES SET TO RACE IN PORTIMAO NEXT MONTH, FERRARI COULD FOLLOW IN JANUARY | |
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| More than a decade after Estoril lost its status as being a top winter testing circuit, Portimao appears set to ‘steal’ this honour back from Portugal with news that McLaren-Mercedes is ready to set up a mini-base in the Algarve next month. With 325 days of sunshine a year, Portimao would be an obvious choice for Formula 1 teams to conduct testing and along with a state-of-the-art race track, rival Barcelona will be hard-pressed to hold on to its current title as the top winter testing track in Europe, while the foundations could also be laid for Portimao to become a Formula 1 race venue. Lewis Hamilton could be celebrating his maiden Formula 1 drivers championship title in the Algarve next month, it emerged earlier this week. According to Autosport, McLaren-Mercedes MP4/23 will be in Portimao from November 17 to November 19 in preparation for next season, only a fortnight after the final race in Brazil. The only obstacle facing the British team, which currently leads both the driver´s and constructor´s championships, is a pending report from the FIA, the governing body of Formula 1. FIA inspectors will be in Portimao later this month to pass their verdict on the track. Officials are optimistic that the €200 million track will get the thumbs-up from FIA officials, who are expected to remain in the Algarve until November 2, when the track will be inaugurated for the World Superbike Series Grand Prix. News of plans to test in Portimao emerged in the wake of the Singapore Grand Prix, and as the other nine Formula 1 teams had already committed themselves to testing at Barcelona next month. McLaren jumped at the opportunity to be the first in the Algarve to take a car from 0 to 300 km/h in under 9 seconds. While McLaren have declared themselves willing ´guinea-pigs´ the remaining nine Formula 1 teams could be traveling to the Algarve in January for official winter testing.  This will largely depend on the report McLaren will be asked to compile by the FIA, and which will subsequently be handed over to their Formula 1 rivals. If no opposition is voiced, Ferrari, BMW, Williams and company will be in Portimao from January 20 to 22. Favourable verdicts from these teams will not only serve to cement Portimao´s position as the winter testing venue of choice, but could also pave the way for Portimao being handed a permanent spot as one of the 18 venues on the Formula 1 racing calendar. In a related story, racing enthusiasts who cannot wait until November to hear a car reach 19,000 rpms, will be able to enjoy an appetizer on October 25 and 26 when Renault will be showing off its Formula 1 cars as they race down and around the Marques de Pombal roundabout Lisbon. Publication The Portugal News 4th October 2008 |
