Autódromo do Estoril

The Autódromo do Estoril lies on the Portuguese Riviera, close to Lisbon. The beach town of Estoril, about 32 km west of Lisbon, has hosted motor racing since the 1930s, and a 2.8 km street circuit staged a race there in 1937. The present track was built in 1972 on a rocky plateau near Alcabideche, around 9 km from the town of Estoril. It runs clockwise and features two hairpins, pronounced changes in elevation, a 0.986 km start/finish straight and a maximum gradient of nearly 7 per cent. Strong winds are an occasional factor.

The early years brought mainly national races, with the odd Formula 2 event. The facility soon fell into disrepair, and a major renovation was required before 1984.

From 1984 to 1996 Estoril hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix in the Formula 1 World Championship. The lap originally measured 4.349 km. After the death of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a chicane was added, which stretched the circuit to 4.360 km. Estoril failed safety inspections more than once, and many teams used it for winter testing. Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell each won here three times, and Damon Hill once.

Estoril dropped off the calendar for 1997 but continued to host series such as the FIA GT Championship, the DTM and the World Series by Renault. In 2000 the parabolica was redesigned and the lap shortened to 4.182 km so that the track could be homologated by the FIM. That same year the circuit held its first Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix.