Circuito da Boavista is a street circuit in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, which was used twice for the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...

. The original course began at the

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

-front "Esplanada do Rio de Janeiro", continued on "Avenida da Boavista", (hence the circuit's name), and then twisted its way through small neighborhoods back to the start-finish line. The first Grand Prix was held in 1958, and saw an act of

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to o ...

by Stirling Moss. Moss came to the defense of his countryman and title rival

Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver. He became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the ...

, who faced a penalty for having driven towards oncoming traffic after a spin. Moss persuaded the stewards not to disqualify Hawthorn, who retained his second place and 6 points. Hawthorn eventually won the drivers championship by 1 point over Moss. The 1960 running was a race of attrition, with only four cars finishing within five laps of winner

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

. Accidents and mechanical problems ended the day early for future champions

John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...

, Phil Hill, Graham Hill and others.

Recent years

The circuit was revived in 2005, though it was shortened from the original layout, and now measures . Events are held every two years. Besides the Boavista Historic Grand Prix, there are also races for recent car models. In 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 the track staged the

FIA WTCC Race of Portugal The FIA WTCR Race of Portugal (known as the FIA WTCC Race of Portugal from 2007 to 2017) is a motor racing event held in Portugal as part of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) series, and formerly the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). First run ...

, an event which included in its programme European motorsport categories such as

International Formula Master International Formula Master, also known as Formula Super 2000, was a European-based junior single seater formula. The series was conceived as a competitor for Formula Three and made its debut at Valencia in 2007. European television channel Euros ...

and Portuguese national competitions. In 2015 the Porto City Council decided to suspend the circuit, saying that following a cut in support from Turismo de Portugal, spending about three million euros on the event would be irresponsible.

Lap records

The official race lap records at the Circuito da Boavista are listed as:

References

External links

Official website

Satellite picture by Google Maps
Formula One circuits Portuguese Grand Prix Motorsport venues in Portugal Circuit Boavista World Touring Car Championship circuits {{Motorsport-stub