GARC: First in all

As members of the Gibraltar Amateur Racing Club competed in the Spanish 2016 Time-Attack Championship (Philip Bruzon reports) they could not have been happier to hear the track selected for the very first event was none other than the Algarve International Circuit, in Portimao, Portugal. This was because a number of GARC’s club members recently took part in a track-day event at the same location. This enabled its drivers to be that much more familiar with the track when attending the official Time-Attack event. The Algarve International Circuit is also very appealing to racing enthusiast as it is one of the Europe’s tracks with more ups, downs, cambers and blind curves, providing extreme thrills while challenging the drivers skills. The layout makes it a favorite to compete in.

This event was held in the early morning until midday (5th March). The air was cool, dry and crisp and although days prior to the event, there was concern of rain, competitors were pleased to see only a few patchy clouds overhead and importantly, a dry circuit!

Surprisingly, for this first official event, the attendance of competitors was less than usual and one could only speculate it was perhaps due to the event being held outside of Spain. That being said, GARC took full advantage of this, able to use all track space available to weave through the racing lines, with little concern of any close rivalry.

After a standard safety briefing, the drivers performed a few runs to heat up their tyres and then it was time to put all the power down, in search of that perfectly controlled lap.

GARCS’s attendance was high in comparison to others and their club members achieved the following finishing positions:

Class: Club A, Andrew Perera, Honda CRX = 1st

Class: Club B, Fabian Pereira, Honda Civic Type R = 1st

Class: Pro C, Mark Rodriguez, Ford Sierra Cosworth = 1st

Class Club C, Nigel Garcia, Nissan GTR = 1st

Class: Club C, Dustin Horrillo, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 = 2nd