Visiting Portugal for Portimao and Estoril for track days - Part 2
Part 1 of this 2 part article is located here:
Continuing on with Part 2
Heading Back North to Cascais
Next morning it was the drive back north through Lisbon and out to the western fringes for Cascais.
This seaside town is an upmarket part of Lisbon. Its only 15-minute drive to the Estoril Circuit with plenty of good hotel and dining options available.
Estoril Circuit
Like Portimao, I was last here in 2017. This circuit has a long and prestigious history. It was the home of the Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996. It still hosts major events such as the FIA World Touring Car Cup, European Le Mans Series, and the FIM Endurance World Championship.
It’s a shorter track at 2.6 miles than Portimao. While it has some elevation, it is nowhere near as pronounced as the Portimao circuit.
The track has a long straight past the pits ending with a downhill braking zone into turn 1. A medium downhill right-hander which opens on exit to a downhill section under the spectator bridge to turn 2 which is a very fast 4th gear (for me) right-hander.
Still downhill you brake for the right hairpin which launches you uphill steeply. Lots of camber change in the track surface which makes it easy to unsettle the car and have the rear end break loose. Then it’s a tight left hairpin at Curva VIP which opens out on to the back straight.
There is a right kink but in reality, it’s a non-event as you never lift or brake. Then it is a hard brake for a long 180-degree left hairpin.
Slightly downhill on exit to Orelha corner which is a open right hander. A short straight then kick right to Gancho which is a tight uphill chicane/reverse Z corner. This leads out into what is called the Esses but is in reality a curving section of track leading into a conventional, albeit bumpy, 90-degree left which throws you into the right-handed Parabolica Ayrton Senna leading onto the main straight. This last corner was great fun in a Caterham. You just kept adding power and the car would grip while the rear end slowly yawed out as more speed was added. Probably the primary cause of my tire moment late in the day.
Overall assessment is that it favors the Caterham. Lots of tight technical work with limited ability for a Porsche to put its power down and assert an advantage in a straight line. At the Parabolica it was especially pronounced as the Porsches took wider lines to add speed and I would slip down the inside and easily get away from them – briefly – for they would catch me back on the straight.
There were only three Caterhams running Estoril. The rental 420 race car was in the truck, so it was brought out for the individual who lost their clutch in their Caterham at Portimao. This was a great outcome for him as it kept him having fun on a good circuit.
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Having someone in the rental 420 race car was a bonus for me as we could have a game of track tag. In theory, he should have got away from me but I had prior experience here which counts for something.
The TFL rental Caterham 420 race car returning to the pits.
Some video of some of the track tag fun before I had to break off for a loose item in the cockpit. Some of you know this already but for those who do not, I cannot heel and toe this Caterham SV. I can heel and toe in any other car, or even a Caterham S3 (yes I fit despite being “chunky”) but this one Caterham SV pedal box escapes me – the gap between the brake and accelerator is just too wide for my foot. One day I need to spend a day in the TFL workshop modifying it to work for me like I have done with my US cars. At least I got decent audio on this video.
I definitely want more time on track around here. There are some quirks of the track that should unlock more time.
Here is some more video of my last session of the day. As you can see the tail happy nature of the car got more pronounced as the session went on. Last corner before I came in felt especially lively.
There was a reason for that tail happiness. Oops! Delamination time at 4:15pm on the last day. These Avon ZZR Extremes were brand new at Portimao.
Wrap Up
Another superb RSR event. These events are not cheap but offer an incredible quality of track time with the open pit lane format. It was just an incredible experience to get back to Portimao – took me 7 years!
If you want to try some bucket list tracks in the UK or Europe, get in touch and I can lay out the options. They are not cheap sadly but sometimes bucket list items must be crossed off our lists.
Links
TFL Racing
Autodromo Internacional Algarve
https://autodromodoalgarve.com/
Estoril Circuit
https://www.circuito-estoril.pt/en/
Attachment - RSR trip flyer
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