Cortelha, one of the regional capitals of motocross, was going to be the stage for the end of the International Six Days Enduro, the oldest motorcycle race in the world, but the lack of 35 thousand euros canceled the special scheduled for 16 November. The controversy involves the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (AIA) and the Câmara de Loulé that exchange mutual accusations.
On the part of the AIA, which is aeentity responsible for the organization, the justification is easy: «each municipality has to support the costs inherent to the passing of tests».
The words are from Paulo Pinheiro, the CEO of Parkalgar, who manages the Autodromo, in statements to the Sul Informação.
“The race must be self-sustaining and all the municipalities it will pass through – Portimão, Monchique and Vila do Bispo – are supporting it. It's a basic principle. The Loulé Council said it would also, but last week we received a formal statement saying that it would not support either ambulances or police. Nor anything," he accused.
O Sul Informação he also went to hear Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, on this issue. The mayor categorically denied any "breach of commitment".
“What happened was that the City Council of Loulé did not accept to give monetary aid of 35 euros, which it had never committed to. Now, the local authority has agreed to collaborate, for example, in terms of promoting the event, in the assembly of support structures and even in terms of exemption from the collection of license fees, so that the race could take place on the Motocross circuit of Cortelha" , justified.
“We were willing to collaborate with the Association of Friends of Cortelha in order to also prepare the track for the race to run well in terms of safety”, he said.
Despite regretting what happened, Paulo Pinheiro guaranteed that, given this panorama, "there were no conditions" to take the race to that location in the municipality of Loulé.
“We've been trying for months to make the competition pass at Cortelha, for a special. It was even a difficult situation, in logistical terms, but we thought it was important», he said.
But, from the beginning, he guaranteed, "we were also clear with the mechanisms that would be needed".
«The Chambers of Vila do Bispo, Monchique and Portimão will support the event, with part of the costs involved. On the last day, on what would perhaps be the most important, we could not go to Loulé without also bearing part of the costs», he stressed.
Vítor Aleixo also regretted all this controversy. «The only negative answer was for this contribution of 35 thousand euros and I think that was what broke the passage of the race here. The Association of Friends of Cortelha had all the support in terms of logistics and everything, but the truth is that it misses the passage of an international competition», he said.
Moreover, the association itself has already issued a statement, in which it said it was surprised by the situation.
“This is an unethical, irresponsible decision that does not comply with the commitments made between the two structures. All the compensations imposed by the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve were and were guaranteed by a vast team of the Friends of Cortelha Association, so that the Motocross Special in Cortelha and the moment of consecration of the 2019 ISDE winners were a success", they say .
And, in this struggle between the Chamber and the Autodromo, the Association seems to be on the side of the local authority, as it emphasizes the «important, committed and dedicated role» of Vítor Aleixo in the entire process.
What is certain is that, controversially, these International Six Days Enduro 2019, which take place for the first time in the Algarve, will pass through Portimão (Kartódromo), Monchique and Vila do Bispo.
The race starts next Monday, November 11th, and will gather around 600 riders from more than 24 countries.
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