Algarve International Circuit (Portimão)

Circuit guide by Chris Pollitt · dates updated 2 November 2026

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve opened in late 2008 in the hills just north of Portimão, on Portugal's south coast. It cost €195 million, has hosted Formula One, MotoGP and World Superbikes, and drivers have compared it to the old Nürburgring and Spa for the way it rises and falls. The grand prix layout is 4.653 km with 15 corners, and the gradients reach a 12% drop and a 6.2% climb.

For UK riders and drivers it's the obvious winter-sun trip. Faro has flights from almost every British airport, the Algarve is mild through the winter, and you can be at your hotel by the beach within an hour of landing. It's not a beginner's track, though. The blind crests mean you need to know where the road goes before you see it, so it suits people with a few seasons behind them, ideally with a day's tuition first.

A lap of Algarve International Circuit (Portimão)

Layout: Grand Prix Circuit, 4.653 km (2.89 miles)

The 969 m main straight ends at a crest, and the road drops away so sharply into Turn 1 that Jonathan Rea likened it to falling off a cliff. You brake downhill, which means the rear goes light, so do the hard part in a straight line before you turn into the medium-fast right. Turn 2 is close to flat in most cars, then you brake for the Turn 3 hairpin. Turn 4 takes you up over a blind crest, where the car can step out, and the exit matters because the next straight follows.

At the end of that straight is another downhill stop into the Turn 5 hairpin. Turn 6 is blind and flat, Turn 7 is a quick right, and Turn 8 catches people out because you're braking while still rotating from Turn 7. Roll off the brakes to carry speed to the apex, then climb the steep hill that follows. Over the top, Turn 9 is fast and brave, with the track falling away in front of you.

Turns 9 to 11 are known as the Balcony, up, across and down again, and Rea rates it the most technical part of the lap. Stop the bike pitching on the brakes and turn it tight. Turn 12 is a gradual, fast corner taken downhill to the apex, and then you climb to the Turn 13 hairpin, where there's a big bump on the way in and the track falls away on the outside.

Turn 14 is off-camber, so you can't carry as much speed to the apex as it looks. The lap ends with Turn 15, a long, undulating right taken at high speed. The bike or car wants to drift wide on the incline, so resist the urge to go in too fast and focus on a clean drive. Everything you gain there carries all the way down the straight to the crest before Turn 1.

Track day tips

• Learn the crests before you push. Turns 1, 4, 6 and 9 are all blind, and sighting laps or a session behind an instructor are well worth it.
• The downhill braking into Turns 1 and 5 is hard on the front tyre and brakes. Bike riders should expect the rear to go light.
• Turn 14 is off-camber and Turn 15 is long and fast. Don't carry too much entry speed into either.
• Mornings in midwinter can be cool and the track takes time to grip up, so build up over the first session.
• Portimão, Alvor, Praia da Rocha and Lagos are all close and have plenty of hotels outside the summer season.
• Book early for the winter months, as UK organisers' Portimão trips can sell out well ahead.

Getting there

The circuit is off the A22 Via do Infante motorway, a few kilometres north of Portimão. Faro airport, with direct flights from most UK airports, is about 70 km away, an hour or less in a hire car along the A22. Lisbon is around three hours north if you want to combine it with Estoril. For bikes, organisers such as No Limits and TrackSense run Portimão trips with transport from the UK, so you fly out and your bike is waiting in the paddock. Base yourself in Portimão, Alvor or Lagos.