The 13th and 14th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place this coming weekend on Porto’s Circuito da Boavista.
This is the fourth visit the championship pays to this racetrack that winds up along the streets of the Portuguese city and was revived in 2005 after half-a-century since it hosted the Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The WTCC Race of Portugal returned to Porto every two years since 2007. On the last time, in 2011, Rob Huff and Yvan Muller – who were team-mates at Chevrolet – put in a great fight in the second race that culminated in Huff overtaking Muller with a much debated manoeuvre in a chicane.
Portuguese fans packed the grandstands and were excited by Tiago Monteiro’s podium finish. Official figures released by the Municipality of Porto spoke of 80,000 spectators on Sunday and 140,000 over the weekend.
In Porto the WTCC competitors will benefit from an extended qualifying session (30-minute Q1 and 15-minute Q2), as it usually happens during the events hosted on street circuits.