The Portimão round of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) will take place at the Autodromo do Algarve, on the next weekend of June 2nd and 3rd.
Tiago Monteiro is the headliner during the weekend. The Portuguese driver, who in 2010 won the first WTCC race at the AIA when the Championship visited the circuit for the first time, will have the support of the public to repeat the feat.
On track, in addition to the WTCC machines, there will also be the Portuguese Cup of Circuits, the Portuguese Championship of Classics and Classics 1300, the Auto GP and the Maserati Trophy.
It will be a weekend not to be missed, especially if you take into account that when you buy tickets for the WTCC you automatically get free tickets for the FIA GT1 Championship Superbike World Championship.
WTCC:
The World Touring Car Championship is a world reference, not only for the quality of the registered drivers, but for the constant fights and spectacle it gives to the public.
The 2012 season, and similarly to what happened last year, saw the Chevrolet trio, Yvan Muller, Rob Huff and Alain Menu, be the main protagonist of the Championship, with an extremely well prepared and evolved machine for the tracks where the WTCC passes.
But don't think that they have an easy task, as the experience of other drivers has not given them a break, as is the case of Tom Coronel and Norbert Michelisz, in BMW, or Gabriele Tarquini and his SEAT.
As the races pass, Chevrolet's hegemony becomes less noticeable. However, at the top of the Championship is defending champion Yvan Muller, who has won 5 of the 12 races so far and has climbed the podium eight times.
Muller prominently leads the Championship accounts, closely followed by his teammates Rob Huff and Alain Menu in second and third positions.
Huff and Menu have risen to the top of the podium twice each, while Gabriele Tarquini, Norbert Micheliz and Stefano D'Aste once.
In Portimão, no one will want to lose points and everyone will want to stand out in the Championship accounts, so it will be interesting to see who will win.
Tiago Monteiro has been, in previous seasons, a regular presence on the podiums, but this season the Portuguese driver has not had that pleasure yet.
Unfortunately Tiago did the first half of the season with the 2011 engine in his SEAT Leon, unlike his opponents who have 2012 thrusters.
However, together with his team, Sun Red, he has been working hard on the evolution of the engine and, in the last three rounds, he meddled in the fights of the frontrunners and had excellent races.
In Portimão, it is expected that SEAT will be able to provide the Portuguese driver with the new engine, so that Tiago has the chance to repeat this year, the feat achieved in 2010 in Portimão, of climbing to the highest place on the podium. Regardless of what happens, Tiago Monteiro is the only Portuguese representative in the Championship and will certainly do everything to shine in front of his audience.
Portugal Cup of Circuits:
On the same weekend, the Portugal Cup of Circuits will be disputed at Autódromo do Algarve, in a unique journey that will define the winning duo of 2012.
On track will be some of the best national speed drivers: José Pedro Fontes/Miguel Barbosa in a Mercedes SLS, César Campaniço/Carlos Vieira in the Audi R8 LMS, Patrick Cunha/José Ramos in the Lamborghini Gallardo, among others.
After the first races of the National Speed Championship, where fights have been a constant, it will be interesting to see who will take home the Cup.
More and more, the National Speed Championship has stood out in the national but also Iberian panorama, being now referenced as one of the best of the present time.
In addition to the vast starting grids, the machines on the track are getting better and better: Mercedes, Audi, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Lotus, etc.
In this competition it is difficult to make predictions about who will be the winners. César Campaniço/Carlos Vieira lead the National Championship, but Patrick Cunha/José Ramos have shown a lot of determination and will to win on the track, and they will certainly not give much of a margin.
Miguel Barbosa/José Pedro Fontes are the current champions and, although the beginning of the season has not placed them at the top of the table, what is certain is that they are always strong candidates for victory.
Then it is worth mentioning the classes other than the general: the GT4 that have had an important role in the Championship, as well as being on the track in large numbers always give a good spectacle and the same happens with the GT Cup.
There are several points of interest in an event that will be defined after the completion of two races.
National Championship of Classics and Classics 1300:
The National Classics Championship usually has extensive grids and on the track are some of the relics of national motorsport.
But not only cars are the races. The duo of humorists João Paulo Rodrigues and Pedro Alves, who starred in Tele Rural on RTP, are in competition and want to fight their opponents.
AutoGP:
In a weekend mostly dedicated to Grand Touring cars, AutoGP puts on track similar to F1 single-seaters, in a Championship that aims to promote young drivers from all over the world.
Auto GP returns to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve after making its debut in Portugal in 2009. At the time, the current F1 driver Pastor Maldonado was the big winner.
Portimão will mark the fifth round of the Championship, which will pass through Europe, Africa, South America and North America.
The Auto GP is the only Championship, apart from F1, that has races on four continents, for a total of 14 races.
The race in the Algarve is one of the most anticipated of the season: drivers and teams are eager to compete on one of the most modern circuits in Europe.
It will therefore be a very interesting event for several reasons: this competition has come out of this competition with great talents who now give cards in the most varied championships around the world: Romain Grosjean, Lotus Renault F1 driver, Luca Filippi Indy Car driver, Kevin Ceccon driver Rosso's F1 test results among many others.
There will be 17 cars on the track for two races that are expected to be pure adrenaline. The Championship leader is Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.
Unfortunately there is no Portuguese representative, but Brazilian Victor Guerin must be highlighted, who, simultaneously with Auto GP, has been wearing the colors of the Portuguese Ocean Racing Technology team in the GP2 Series.
Auto GP fans are eager to know who will be the next star to dash into the world's motorsport spotlight.
Maserati Trophy:
The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve hosts the second round of 2012 of the Masearti Trophy. This trophy is dedicated to 'gentleman drivers' from all over the world and this year it has become even more appealing due to new technical regulations introduced.
In the first round, Riccardo Romagnoli and Giorgio Sernagiotto took two victories to which they added pole positions.
The Championship is made up of 23 teams from 10 different countries: Italy, Spain, Monaco, Denmark. Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia and Morocco.
All cars entered in the Trophy are prepared by a group of dedicated technicians who guarantee the same levels of performance for everyone.
Michel Vaillant, from the comic strip for the AIA runway:
Michel Vaillant, the protagonist of a series of comic books that was created by Jean Graton in 1957, is back. But this time not just the books but the clues.
In Portimão, Chevrolet driver Alain Menu will play the role of Michel Vaillant, who in recent years has been an F1 driver, but who is now facing the toughness of the WTCC races.
The creator of this mythical pilot, Graton, will be at the AIA following his hero's performance on the track.
Weekend program:
In addition to the activities on the track, a series of other initiatives are planned. On Thursday (May 31 at 16:30 pm), some of the WTCC pilots – Monteiro, Muller, O'Young, Boardman, D'Aste, Nash and Coronel – will go to Zoomarine to swim with the dolphins.
On Saturday (June 1st, 16:00) some of the WTCC drivers will go to the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve for a kart race.
On Sunday (June 2nd) Autograph Sessions are scheduled in the paddock.
Tickets on Promotion:
With the motto “Come and support Tiago Monteiro”, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve has a series of promotions in progress for the purchase of tickets, so that no one stays at home and misses this unique opportunity.
Living up close the emotions of the WTCC is mandatory. So, when you buy any ticket for the WTCC you immediately win an equal ticket for the FIA GT1 Championship race in July and the World Superbike Championship race in September.
But not only. Whoever presents the Auto Hoje magazine from May 31st at the AIA shop, the ticket for the WTCC costs only 5 euros and still takes home the ticket for the FIA GT1 and Superbike.
On TV:
Those who still cannot go to the AIA, can follow the emotions on the track at Eurosport and RTP1. Both channels will broadcast the entire race weekend.
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