The second round of the Iberian Supercars Endurance and third of the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade will take place this coming weekend (30 and 31 July), at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portimão.
Whether in GT4, TCR or GTC, there are several candidates to discuss the victory, leaving open an aura of great expectation around the main national speed competition, whose races of 45 minutes (Saturday and Sunday), included in the program of the "Algarve Summer Party", will be broadcast live by Live Streaming on Youtube and Facebook channels of Race Ready, the promoter of the event.
The Spanish team SMC Motorsport is returning with its two McLaren 570S GT4 duos, including Fernando Navarrete/Gonzalo de Andres, winners of the first races of the season at the Madrid track of Jarama. Guillermo Aso/Tommy Pintos complete the "SMC armada" that in Portimão will not benefit from the track experience seen at "home".
Miguel Cristóvão and Francisco Carvalho, in the McLaren 570S GT4 of Araújo Competição, can, are expected to play the same game as the Spanish drivers, in a dispute from which the duo Manuel Gião/Elias Niskanen (Mercedes AMG GT4) and Patrick Cunha/Jorge Rodrigues (Audi R8 GT4) should not be ruled out.
Lithuanian Andrius Zemaitis (Porsche Cayman GT4) returns to the series, aiming to continue his progression after the good indications left in Jarama, while rookies João Silva and Quique Bordas (Porsche Cayman GT4) could be one of the surprises of the weekend.
In the GTC category, in which the McLaren 570S of the gentleman driver duo Álvaro Ramos/Fred Block is now included with their car on Pure McLaren GT trophy specifications, there is no doubt that Fábio Mota and Bruno Pires, in the Porsche 911 Cup of Fabela Sport, are serious candidates to the podium, in a group of cars of the Porsche brand, in which the British resident in Andalusia Chris Hillaby, a newcomer in the competition, will also be one to watch.
The trio of entries in the TCR class will certainly be protagonists in Portimão. Daniel Teixeira (CUPRA) has been one of the figures of the series, even if the mechanics hasn't always allowed him to translate the progress into results, and the Audi RS3 LMS TCR (Pedro Silva/Jorge Silva) and Hyundai Elantra N TCR (António Coimbra/Luís Silva) duos have already proved their competitiveness.
For Diogo Ferrão, CEO of Race Ready, the championship continues in a phase of affirmation: "This is a continuous work that goes far beyond the race weekends. After the success that were the races of Jarama and Vila Real, we gather again in the 'Algarve Summer Party' a list of entries with some of the best drivers and teams of the Iberian Peninsula, and not only, in which the balance will be the dominant note, which gives us guarantees of two interesting races to those who follow us at the circuit or through live streaming on social media. Looking at the entry list, in none of the categories can I point out a clear favourite and it is this uncertainty that makes the races exciting and undoubtedly adds value to the most important circuit racing in the Iberian Peninsula".
CPV/SUPERCARS ENDURANCE PROGRAMME IN PORTIMÃO
Saturday (30th July)
08:45/09:25 - Private Practice
12:40/13:20 - Free Practice
16:35/17:10 - Qualifying (35')
Sunday (31st July)
10:10/10:55 - Race 1 (45')
15:30/16:15 - Race 2 (45')