Opened in 2008, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, also known as the Circuit de Portimão, is hosting the first MotoGP World Championship race in November 2020, in order to bring Portugal back into the top-flight calendar, seven years after the last race at Estoril. A version that would be won by Portuguese Miguel Oliveira, who at the time was riding for French Tech 3 team on a KTM.
Portimao Circuit Features
Located in the Algarve region on the southern coast of Portugal, Portimão Racecourse is very unique and is famous for the physical effort required throughout the weekend. Consisting of climbing and descending, it is a real roller coaster when you climb over 300 km/h on your motorbike. As if that wasn’t enough, the filled-in corners are also scattered throughout the circuit, including turns 5 and 13.
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Video tour of the ring
Memory: In 2020, the victory of the French Tech 3 team in the Moto GP
The first Grand Prix contested in Portimao, Tech 3 boss Hervé Poncharale will not be forgotten, just as Miguel Oliveira, his driver at the time, will not forget. The Portuguese, first and foremost, because he won the National Grand Prix on his first attempt, after a race that was controlled from start to finish from first place.
Meanwhile, the French team boss was elated when he saw his pilot present his team with a Moto GP win for the second time in the 2020 season. That’s when she didn’t succeed once in 18 seasons later.
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“It was a great weekend and it was a very long race, especially the last 5-6 laps. Nervous, I held my daughter Mathilde’s hand while waiting for her to arrive »Hervé Poncharal remembered for West of France A few months ago, so confident of his presence “10 times more nervous than” its pilot. But when the checkered flag passes, “Salvation was a waking dream”.