Portuguese Round

In the early years of WorldSBK the championship visited Portugal on two occasions with four races held at the Estoril track, in the 1988 and 1993 seasons. The series returned to the western European country in 2008 at the new 100,000 capacity Algarve International Circuit close to Portimão on the Atlantic Ocean.

Several riders from Portugal have competed in WorldSBK over the years, the most successful of them being Alex Vieira, the only Portuguese to have won a race in the series, at the Osterreichring in 1989 (Race 1) and to start from pole – at Hockenheim in 1988.

Balda’s thought

Portimao is a very spectacular circuit, an unusual track, full of really high slopes and several fast corners. Beautiful, beautiful… It feels like being on a roller coaster! To go fast you have to be brave, as here there are a lot of blind spots and so in some places you have to rely on your instincts.