Croc

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. 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 https://www.tflracing.co.uk/ Autodromo Internacional Algarve https://autodromodoalgarve.com/ Estoril Circuit https://www.circuito-estoril.pt/en/ Attachment - RSR trip flyer RSR Portugal Trip Flyer and Maps.pdf

Visiting Portugal for Portimao and Estoril for track days RSR Spa Portugal Track Days In April I made the pilgrimage to Portugal for a three-day track event with RSR – Ron Simons Racing. RSR is famous for their Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps operations where you can rent their cars for the track and do their track days. I once rented an Alfa 75 from RSR in the early 1990’s to learn the Nürburgring, so they know the track business. RSR track days are high-end events. A fitted-out driver lounge with refreshments and snacks throughout the day. Lunch is catered for. In the European style, alcohol (wine and beer) is available to partake at lunch). A champagne reception happens at the end of the last day. Majority of the cars are late model road or race Porsches. This is no guarantee of driving standards though after my experience of last October when in two days, 8 Porsches were written off at Spa-Francorchamps. RSR had approximately 20 rental Porsches present that they had trucked to Portugal for customers. The rest were those who either drove to the circuit or had arranged a truck delivery. Two circuits were on offer this trip. Two days at Autodromo Internacional Algarve, also commonly known at Portimao Circuit, and one day at Estoril Circuit, located on the western outskirts of Lisbon. My plan was to fly into Lisbon, pick up the rental car and head 2.5 hours south to the Algarve, complete the Portimao days, then drive north to Cascais where I would base myself for the Estoril day. I had been here previously with a rental Caterham back in 2017 and the Portimao Circuit made such an impression that I vowed to come back one day. 2024 saw me live up to that promise. The Algarve I arrived slightly early to have a weekend to knock off jetlag by staying in Lagos, about a 20-minute drive from the Portimao Circuit. If you have the time, then this is a good place to base yourself and explore. The coastline here is famous for its beaches, sea caves, dolphins, and stunning scenery. While I initially spent the weekend on the beach at Lagos, I shifted to the Portimao Race Resort next to the circuit to make it an easier commute for the two days. While it does have spectacular views of the circuit, there is a lack of quality dining options. I would have been better to stay in Lagos where I was – hindsight is easy! Portimao Circuit This circuit was completed in 2008. For a new circuit it is totally old school. Lots of blind crests and an interesting mix of fast sweepers and slow turns to make it technical and challenging as a driver. Some seriously major elevation changes make it somewhat a rollercoaster of a ride. While it did host a Formula 1 race during the Covid era, it is more well known for being a round of the World Superbike Championships. The track layout begins with a deceptively fast right-hand sweeper that was best taken (for me) by dropping a gear, followed by a full throttle right sweeper before hard on the brakes and down a gear for a tight right hairpin, then sweep steeply uphill to the left where the exit is blind, and the car wants to rotate left as you crest the hill while apply throttle. A short straight then steeply downhill braking zone leading into a left-hand hairpin. Uphill past the media center accelerating hard with a mild left sweep before pivoting the car for a very far right downhill. Then hard on the brakes for a 120 degree right steep uphill. Again, on exit, its blind but you accelerate hard over the crest then steeply down through a left sweeper, hard on throttle the entire way, before swooping upwards over a blind crest, to a plateau where you brake hard to make the right. This plateau is rather featureless which makes it challenging to pick out the braking and turn in points. Immensely satisfying when you get it right. Then exit steep downhill for another down and up swooping sweeper to the left where there is a sharp brake for the 140-degree left tight hairpin. Next is a downhill off camber right-hander leading to a short straight where you build speed for the very fast right-hander swoop down to the main straight. Just a brilliant use of elevation and challenging corners. Huge g-forces from the turns, I felt sore the next morning. There were 60 cars signed up. Open pit lane format usually only means half that number are on track at any one time. On a 3-mile circuit that’s not bad. The usual exceptions apply – first 30-40 minutes plus the hour after lunch are when everyone goes out. Common sense says to avoid that period as it is slightly nuts. It was a Porsche benefit event. Two-thirds of the cars were Porsche. We had fun trying to calculate the value of the cars in the fleet, but it was over ten million dollars. The format of the day was open pit lane. The first 20 mins was a beginner session of passing only on the straight to allow people time to familiarize themselves with the layout before allowing full passing. In practice, by lap two the usual passing rules applied – pass anywhere with a point by and even then the point by was not waited for. Complicating things, there was confusion by some people using hazards to indicate their slow vehicles. You had to have your wits about you as the closing speeds were epically quick. A pro McLaren GT race car and some Porsche Cup race cars that were doing some testing ahead of that weekend’s race event were pulling very quick times. It was hard to spot them early enough in the mirrors to keep out of the way. I was in my usual Caterham 420R. It had been trucked out by TFL Racing from their base in the Midlands in the United Kingdom along with 5 other customer cars – four other Caterhams and one Porsche 718 GT4. It is the usual road going 420R SV. 2L Duratec with 210hp. Five speed Miata box. 3.9 rear end. Track suspension pack. Upgraded with some quality Tillet carbon seats plus the track day cage which I put on last year after some organizers started mandating cages on Caterhams. The letdown of the car package is the five-speed gearbox. It really lacks gear options, and the spread of ratios has some big gaps where the rev drop is not optimal. Fifth gear is an overdrive and is not always usable on track as it can make the car go slower if there is a gradient. I made it worse for myself by somehow bending the 5th gear selector fork in the opening lap. No idea how. Never done it before. Over 35 years and 100,000 miles on track and I made a complete hash of it. Unfortunately, the fix is gearbox out and that was not going to happen. The only practical solution was to limit myself to 1st through 4th gears and a redline of 7000rpm. That meant I was only about 120 mph maximum along the straights. I was always going to get gobbled up at Portimao as that long straight is well suited to the Porsches. The rest of the circuit suited the Caterhams as it was tight and technical, but the advantage was lost at the straight. Overall assessment – it was a bias towards favoring the Porsches. The other TFL supported Caterhams are mostly 420 race cars. The same 2L Duratec but with a Sadev sequential. There was one road Caterham there – another 420R like mine but he had the 6 speed Caterham gearbox. Same engine as mine but when I followed, I would watch him walk away from me out of corners as he was able to use the closer ratio gear set to get the engine into the optimal rev range. TFL Racing TFL Racing have supported me for quite a few years. Both Phill and Sarah were at Bookatrack who I had used as my track day operator and rental Caterham supplier for 10 years before it changed hands, so it was an easy thing for me to shift to TFL to be my track day support business. Many of the former Bookatrack customers are still around at TFL which makes it fun. TFL are one of the bigger operators in the UK for race and track day support, handling something like 30 Caterhams and the odd Radical or Atom. The best bit about going to an event like this with TFL Racing is that they take care of the small details. Both Sarah and Phill sort out the scheduling, suggest possible places to stay near the circuit, facilitate booking with track day organizers, deal with any European import issues, prepare the car, fuel it and maintain it on the day, and most important supply the drivers with tea and biscuits (cookies for the Americans). I know most of the other customers from past track events, so it is very social during the day which makes it far more enjoyable. A secret bonus is that Sarah was a very handy racer in a Caterham and so knows the circuits well if you want to tap into her experience of learning the lines. All you need to do is turn up with your driving kit of helmet, gloves, suitable clothes/race suit, driving boots, and a pack of biscuits to keep Phill happy and snacking all day. If you want to rent a fully prepared and supported Caterham for a track day, then TFL have a nice looking Caterham 420 race car ready to go. Some USA7s members did a share rental for four days at Spa-Francorchamps last year and one lucky USA7s member has booked it for Spa in October this year. Obviously prices are not cheap but for the true driving enthusiast who wants to experience a bucket list circuit like Portimao, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, Brands Hatch GP, etc., then this is one of the only makes to make it happen. The Portimao Pits The quality of cars in the pits was tremendous. Lots of quality items to mentally shop for as you wandered the pits. Two BAC Monos were present. While I had come across these before, my experience was most watching them break down, usually from electrical issues, and being towed back into the pits. Not the case with these ones – well prepared and perfectly reliable. Loved the engineering on them. Blisteringly quick too. Normally, most track days I do have restrictive noise limits. Not so at Portimao where there was a 130db limit. Even unsilenced Porsche Cup cars would not have failed. So that saw a lot of owners drop their track day silencers. This one fell off a 718 Cayman GT4. I had a chance to check out a KTM X-Bow in person. Never seen one in real life before. Very chunky design. Audi A4 drivetrain with a 320hp turbocharged 2L 4-cylinder with a 6-speed manual gearbox. So it was quick. But I found I could slightly out brake it in my Caterham and I thought I was having less issues in the corners than it was. I would not mind having a drive though! Some other expensive toys. In the pits next door was a Maserati coupe race car. It was so heavy that it needed three guys to make the thing move when pushing. My Caterham could easily catch and pass it. He started braking a full 200 feet before I did into the hairpin. It seemed to have regular electrical fails. You could smell its brakes half a circuit away. The end of the day was when it arrived in a cloud of steam. Oh well. Unreliability did strike the Caterhams of TFL too. On the morning of the second day, one of the 420 race cars lost an alternator belt which as it was escaping bent the alternator bracket. Later, the same car dropped a valve. It had been a long time since the last engine refresh, so these things are expected. Then the other road Caterham lost its clutch while out on the circuit and was towed back in. That car was out of action for the next circuit but its owner had a backup plan to be back out on track at Estoril. This is the catch with long distance track days. There are no guarantees that something will not go wrong but at least with a professional operator like TFL you have a fighting chance of getting back in the game. Some video to give you an idea. True to form, I selected the wrong microphone setting on the camera so there is no sound. There is however data. This was my fastest session of the two days where I did a 2min7 lap. To put that in context, a 420 race car did a 2min neat lap around the same time. The 7 second gap is about right if you deduct from my time: - The race car’s 6 speed sequential gear box where you use 2-3-4-5-6 gears while I only have 2-3-4. - The race car had Avon F3 slicks on while my road car had Avon ZZR extreme compound – that’s 2-3 seconds a lap alone. - The race car has a 3.6 rear end ratio which gives it roughly 10mph higher top end speed. - The race car is a race S3 chassis while mine is a road SV chassis so that is a 185-pound weight advantage. It just goes to show how much difference there is between Caterham race and road cars. Unfortunately, the video does have the effect of flattening the elevation change. It looks a lot flatter than it really is in real life. You can also see me start to go to change to 5th gear from habit then have to stop myself. I want a lot more seat time around there. I was still experimenting on lines by the end of the second day and from reviewing some of the data this week, some of the really optimal lines are not the most logical. Brilliant circuit. One of my top 5 circuits anywhere in the world (which are Bathurst, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, Dijon-Prenois, Portimao). Part 2 of this Article is located here: