ROUND 6/JUNE 9, 2013
ALGARVE CIRCUIT/PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL
WORLD SUPERBIKE
MY CONEY ISLAND,
BABY
With no Misano on the World Superbike calendar, Portimao stands
alone as the best holiday race there
is. Close to the multiple beach resorts that pepper Portugal's Algarve
coast, and now held on a summer
date that makes the place positively
shimmer with modernity and color,
Portimao even has a swimming pool
in the middle of its paddock. No
wonder there has always been the
air of recreation mixed in with perspiration at this round.
But one thing is for sure - it is no
holiday for the riders or teams. If you
have any problem with the bike (that
does not involve top-end power at
P86
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
least) then Portimao will find it. If you
are a rider who is unsure of your way
around the track's many blind and
frequently undulating rollercoaster
corners, then this Supercross track
dipped in asphalt will put you into
the bottom half of the lap times.
As a physical and mental challenge, Portimao is tough for any bike
in any class but for a Superbike rider
it must feel like lion taming with no
whip and no chair and a 200 hp engine ready to break the throttle hand
that feeds if you lose concentration.
Even the main straight is a chameleon, as what it lacks in bends it makes
up for in sudden elevation changes.
There is an Olympic ski-jump slope as
you reach the beginning of pit straight,
finished off by a serious drop
downhill to the first corner.
From then on the rider is inputting something important to the bike
absolutely all the time.
As a layout, Portimao could be
too small for the best factory Kawasakis and Aprilias, and it's getting
seriously bumpy, but for a relatively
brand new circuit, in these days of
mediocrity and hegemony, it is a true
modern classic. Think what Austin
now is for MotoGP, but on a smaller,
more European scale.
The thought and effort to make
the Portimao track look good as well
as ride well is clear in everything from the avant-garde designs of the
paddock buildings to the angular
roof of the main stand, which looks
like a stealth bomber wing put to a
