Le Mans Series - 1000km Algarve -  Race Prospects

“If you build it, they will come,” is a phrase coined for another sport in another country, but you couldn’t fail to be reminded of it, as you take the new road that winds its way up into the Algarve hills from the main east-west coastal motorway that is more used to ferrying busloads of tourists to their holiday hotels from Faro airport through the summer months.

The huge edifice of the grandstand overlooking the start-finish comes into view, and then you catch snatches of the circuit, wrapped around the natural contours of the hills from which the circuit has been hewn. But will they come? The spectators, that is. The teams are here, not just for the 1000km Le Mans series race, but also for the many support races organised for this weekend. Radicals, Seat Super Copa Leon, Superstars, Classic Endurance Racing, Formula Le Mans and of course the Formula Renault 3.5 single-seaters, driven by the Grand Prix wannabes, or in the case of Jaime Alguersuari, already a GP debutant.

And the organisation has been slick, for the most part – you get the impression that they are used to it all here. Somehow, though, I suspect that the lure of the beaches and bars on the coast will outweigh the attraction of seeing top-line racing a few miles inland. We’ll see though – I would love to report a fantastic crowd and special atmosphere. There’s the added attraction of a pop concert – not quite my specialist subject, but a band of talented musicians called the FingerTips, it would seem, are scheduled to play a gig (I think is the term, isn’t it?) at 10pm (during the LMS race). Can’t wait.

But what of the race itself – the 1000kms of the Algarve? I honestly believe that it promises to be quite enthralling. Aston Martin Racing, ORECA, Strakka’s Ginetta, Pescarolo and Colin Kolles’s Audi R10s – any of them could end up winning. Like any endurance race, there is only limited intelligence that you can draw from the practice and qualifying sessions, but it has to be significant that out of the three free practice sessions, the qualifying and the warm up, the Strakka Racing Ginetta Zytek was quickest in three of them. It is clear though, that Nick Leventis is not as quick as Danny Watts, but when I put that to Danny after qualifying, he was not unduly concerned. “It’s an endurance race,” he said. “The safety car will certainly play a part at some point during the race, and anyone can drive behind the safety car. The guy on the pit wall making the strategy decisions will most likely win the race.”

George Howard-Chappell, of Aston Martin Racing, has not been downbeat, but he has been downplaying the chances of the big V12-engined cars at this twisty circuit. “It will be difficult for all the closed cars,” he said, drawing attention that the top five cars in the warm-up were all open cars. But the experience of the crew, having done extensive tests here, will undoubtedly be helpful. As will the knowledge of the climatic changes expected during the race itself. “Tyre choice will be critical – and we’re on top of that,” he told me.

The French had a good day yesterday, of the four class poles, three were set by Frenchmen here. And of the two French P1 manufacturers, ORECA and Pescarolo, ORECA has had an air of confidence around it all weekend. I see Henri’s team slightly on the back foot, handicapped by only having one car with which to compete against AMR and ORECA’s two each. Hugues de Chaunac’s team has surely used up all its bad luck this season so far, maybe today will be its day in the sun?

LMP2 looks to be theirs for Quifel to lose. The car has been consistently quick and (so far) reliable. I suggest it should have sufficient of a cushion to drive within limits and still take the class. If others apply pressure, though, then that could open the race up.

As for GT2, as always, it will provide a good race. Ferrari or Porsche? Modena or JMW? You can always rely on the class to provide drama in the unlikely event that it doesn’t occur elsewhere.

Now let’s see, how long is the queue to get in? There are still plenty of empty seats here.

Paul Truswell