Estoril Classics approaching!
This year's edition of Estoril Classics is approaching, with tickets now on sale for an event that this year has some new features on its menu, but which maintains its signature dish – Formula 1.
The traditional date of the most important classics event in Southern Europe is approaching, with this year's edition scheduled for the next 4th, 5th and 6th of October and the prospect is that the public will once again adorn the paddock and stands of the Autódromo do Estoril.
As has been the case since its first edition, Formula 1 will be the main attraction of the program, with the 7th edition of the Classic GP made up of cars that competed in the maximum category until 1986.
But in this year's edition, the eighth, fans will be treated to another 'Formula 1 dish', as, in addition to the single-seaters from the era when Ford Cosworth engines reigned, there will also be an exhibition featuring Grand Prix cars from the 1990s. .
In this way, Portuguese fans who will travel to the Autódromo do Estoril during the Estoril Classics will be able to see Formula 1 single-seaters from three different decades evolve – from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Period in which cars like Lotus, Williams, Brabham, McLaren, etc., and drivers like Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, etc., marked the world of Grand Prix.
As in any haute cuisine restaurant, the Estoril Classics will have a tasting menu to satisfy the palate of the most demanding fans and, therefore, there will be other dishes that will satisfy the most selective motorsport fans, with in addition to Race Ready as the 'chef', the Peter Auto.
Over three days of delight, there will be more news such as the new Touring car test – the Classic Touring Challenge, for Touring cars up to 1965, where the Mini Cooper, Ford Cortina, Ford Falcon, Alfa Romeo GTA, and which separate themselves from the Heritage Touring Cup, which accepts Tourings until 1986, which brings to mind the “Ford vs BMW” duels.
Portugal has a strong tradition of endurance racing, so the return of Prototypes and GTs from other eras are dishes not to be missed. The offer for the palate will be diversified with races from the Classic Endurance Racing, to the Lola and Chevron, from the Endurance Racing Legends, which brings us the LMP1 and GT1 from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The sophistication of the 1960s will be ensured by the Sixties' Endurance, a competition in which the Jaguar Type-E faces the Lotus Elan and AC Cobra, from the Gentlemen Challenge, where elegance and exoticism meet in the form of the Porsche 904, of the different versions of the Ferrari 250 and other 'pieces of art' more common in museums than on tracks.
The largest Iberian competition for classic vehicles, the Iberian Historic Endurance, will have the power to bring together Grande Turismos and Turismos, until 1976, in the same race, with the Ford GT40, Alfa Romeo GTAm or Porsche 356 in itself a special signature dish , promising excitement in all categories, with the public able to cheer on the Portuguese Gentlemen-Drivers who face the many foreigners who are present in the race.
This year, to accommodate the strong turnout expected from motorsport fans, there will be two food courts, one at Turn 1 and one in the center of the paddock. The races can be watched on a big screen and there will be several merchandising stores, where desired souvenirs can be purchased.
Despite a refined, sophisticated and haute cuisine menu, ticket prices for the paddock are very affordable, with a daily ticket costing 20 euros for Friday and 35 euros for Saturday and Sunday. The three-day pass costs just 50 euros, while children up to 16 years old have free access to the paddock, as long as they are accompanied by an adult.
Tickets can be purchased through the official BOL.pt website or at FNAC or Worten. As has been customary, the number of tickets is limited to the physical space of the Autódromo do Estoril paddock.
As a tradition since the first edition of the Estoril Classics, access to Grandstand A at the Autódromo do Estoril is free, allowing all fans to taste part of the menu planned for this year.