Will Portugal be home to Formula 1 once again?

This is exciting news. I always had a faint hope that it would return to my home town of Estoril where Formula 1 was present for many years and then ended in 96. But I will take what I can get....if this new track in the Algarve will get the Formula one I will be one happy Portuguese . It's already going to host next years Portuguese MotoGP and the track is Formula one approved!

http://portugalresident.com/portugalresident/showstory.asp?ID=24264

Racetrack on schedule for Superbikes event


Following seven years of bureaucracy, the ambitious racetrack, which is currently under construction in Portimão, will be ready in time for the first event to be held there, the Superbike World Championship, in November. Photo: SUPPLIED

By: CECÍLIA PIRES

[email protected]

AUTÓDROMO INTERNACIONAL do Algarve, the ambitious race track under construction in Portimão, will be ready in time for the Portuguese round of the Superbike World Championship, scheduled for November 2.

Construction work only started in September, after seven years of paperwork, but the builders are working day and night to have everything finished by the end of October.

Paulo Pinheiro, CEO of Parkalgar, the Portuguese company which owns the project and which will be managing it, is confident about reaching the finishing line and is already focusing on winning the first World Superbike Championship round to be held in Portugal.

That, he says, will happen through the Parkalgar Racing Team that was created in 2004 and is made up of Portuguese rider Miguel Praia and Englishman Craig Jones, who signed recently with the team to replace the Italian Simone Sanna.

The competition’s calendar is official and “we have a safety net of a couple of weeks, so all will be ready in October”, he told The Resident.

This new facility, and all that is involved with it, said Paulo Pinheiro, “will be an excellent alternative to the existing products of the Algarve and it will attract about one million new visitors per year”.

Environment

The environmental impact of the racing track has, however, been one of the concerns, mainly for those living nearby, but Paulo Pinheiro has assured the public that Parkalgar is aware of that concern and says “all is being done to minimise the impact”. In fact, he said: “When we started this project, seven years ago, our first step was to contact the environmental agencies and NGO’s for their advice”.

Environmental Impact Studies were carried out by the best in the country and approved with a commendation from the environmental organisations.

But, aware that the biggest impact could be noise, Paulo Pinheiro is confident that the sound barriers that will be built will minimise the effect on neighbours as much as possible.

However, he says, “one cannot be naïve. A project like this will necessarily have some impact and what I would like people to understand is that we are taking action; hence the Algarve Motor Park is there to stay for a long time”.

The compound occupies an area of 300 hectares, including a racing track offering 64 variations, the longest being 4,692 metres, for Formula 1 competitions. The circuit is already approved by FIA for Formula One and by FIM for the Moto Grand Prix.

A VIP tower is located by the finishing line, facing the paddock area and the central seats. A main building, media centre and medical centre, complement the central structure.

This will all be inside a larger development that also includes a kart racing track almost two kilometers long, a sports and spa unit and a technological centre that will host companies working in the auto industry.

“We are now talking with 17 companies, two of them Portuguese,” said Parkalgar’s CEO, adding that this might boost a new auto cluster in the national industry.

According to Paulo Pinheiro, “the strongest impact in terms of business development will be felt within about 30 kilometres of the site” and this is only the immediate effect.

And, as the biggest investment in the region at present, he says the Algarve Motor Park will certainly boost the region’s economy.

 

It's not about the track, V-man, it's all about the commerce. What's the status of tobacco advertising in Portugal these days? Let that be your indicator as to whether F1 will return or not.

 

Nonsense: There is only one tobacco sponsor left in F1, so why would that make a difference?

It is whether the race organizers are willing/able to pay Bernie's fee.

 

And just where are they going to get those dollars? Perhaps event sponsorship?

By the way, did you notice where all the new GPs are going these last few years? Any trend there?

 

With Bernie's escalating greed, race fees are continuing to climb to the point that government subsidies are a virtual necessity to host a GP. It is increasingly becoming less and less economically viable (hence the departure of the USGP from the calendar) for tracks and promotors to foot the bills out of pocket, they simply can't recoup the costs. All the TV revenues, hospitality, and trackside signage go to Bernie and his equally greedy cronies.

It is getting tougher for a government to justify to its citizens the use of taxpayer subsidies to provide funds that are going straight into the pockets of billionaires. The only governments that are stepping forward are those that are not beholden to its citizens, i.e. non-democracies. Look who is getting GPs...

f$%^ck Bernie and his hand-puppet Max Mosley.

 

I believe your right ....Hand puppet love it...

ermm I'am getting inspired for PS moment...

 

Thing is I try to imagine F1 without Bernie,can't help thinking that at 80 years young (correct me if I'am wrong on his age) but he is one hell of a shrewd business man.

Max I dont give a rats ass, F1 would be better of without him.

correct myself BE is 78

 

If there was oil to be had and security for a certain US "ally", we'd just go ahead and bomb those two.

 

Some more info...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/motorSportsNews/idUKL1046594720080211

Portugal hoping to attract F1 to Algarve circuit
Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:22pm GMT Email | Print | Share| Single Page | Recommend (-) [-] Text [+] By Carlos Pontes

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal hopes a new 200 million euro (149 million pound) circuit being built in the Algarve tourist region can bring Formula One back to the country.

Circuit director Paulo Pinheiro told Reuters on Monday that one F1 team had already booked the 4.7 km track in the south of Portugal for a test next January and there were talks in progress with others.

The Algarve International Circuit has been certified by the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) and is expected to be ready by the end of October.

It is already due to host the final round of the Superbike world championship in November.

"The Government will do its best for Portugal to become part of the world's main championships," said Deputy Sports Minister Laurentino Dias.

"This circuit is prepared to host a range of motor races, from the most modest to Formula One."

Portugal was dropped from the Formula One calendar in 1997 due to safety problems at Estoril, where the late Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna took his first Grand Prix victory in heavy rain in 1985.

There were also grands prix held in Oporto and at Monsanto near Lisbon between 1958 and 1960.
The new complex covers 300 hectares of land between the port city of Portimao and the hills of Monchique, with a capacity for up to 100,000 spectators including a VIP tower with 15,000 seats.

It includes a soccer field, a luxury hotel and residential apartments.

Economy Minister Manuel Pinho said Portugal was interested in reviving the grand prix as part of efforts to bring much-needed private investment to the country's sluggish economy.

Neighbouring Spain has two grands prix this year, one in Barcelona and the other in Valencia, with Formula One teams also testing at Jerez in the south.

(Writing by Henrique Almeida, editing by Alan Baldwin)