“The House unanimously approved a proposal for financial support for international MotoGP events, totalling €1.5 million for three years, or €500,000 per year for each Grand Prix,” said the Mayor Isilda Gomes.
According to the mayor, the document acknowledges the high interest of the championship, “for the economic impact and the image projection capacity of the Algarve and Portugal around the world”.
“We consider that a race of this category will bring a huge projection for the region and of Portugal, in terms of tourism, in view of its global dimension,” she said.
The document guarantees payment of €1.5 million over a period of three years to Dorna, the holder of the rights to hold the MotoGP World Championship, if the event is held at the Algarve International Race Track.
The president of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) said that the MotoGP World Championship could return to Portugal in 2022, and the Portuguese Government has already expressed its willingness to find a solution for the race.
Portugal has been removed from the elite of motorcycling since 2012, when the Estoril racetrack received the last Grand Prix of Portugal, after 13 consecutive years on the calendar.
I was dismayed to read this article. This autodrome is a major pollutant - noise and carbon emissions. The noise can be so loud at my home near Silves that I have to stay indoors when there is a race or all the practising beforehand. I dread to think of the pollution to the environment, with such vehicles racing about - has anybody done a study on this? We are urged to avoid travel as little as possible and buy electric cars, yet this sort of "sport" goes on. The Algarve is still relatively unpolluted, so why are these people set on polluting it? The answer is simple - money and never mind the environment or the future.
By Glenis Vowles from Algarve on 23 Nov 2019, 07:38
About time too. This circuit is world class and better than a lot of current MotoGP tracks. When the first race is secured it will be economic driver for the entire region and a superb event for both spectators and competitors alike.
By Mike from UK on 24 Nov 2019, 13:07