Our spectacular view from the balconies in the Pestana Race Resort hotel

Season finale in Portimão

We finally made it to the Algarve Classic Festival for our non-Championship event and a fond farewell to 2018. A fitting finale for our incredible first season as the only dedicated UK Championship for post classic, two-stroke Grand Prix motorcycles.

Arriving at the circuit

Several of us arrived in time to help the Xclusiv Events team unpack their lorry load of precious GP Originals and Lansdowne cargo.

All the bikes and kit emerged in excellent shape and we made ourselves at home inside our two enormous garages.

Xclusiv Events handled the transportation, whilst riders arrived in style by air!

A challenging new track

The majority of competitors were new to Portimão so 40 minutes of open pit lane testing on Thursday afternoon was well received. Beaming faces soon communicated their thoughts on the circuit… wow, what a track!

The Festival organisers had allocated our timetable for the very first sessions of each day which meant early starts. However, this allowed a full ‘holiday’ experience for the rest of the weekend.

Qualifying – action begins

Come Friday morning we rose from our luxurious 5-star accommodation to the sound of hammering rain! This wasn’t in the script at all – it’s the Algarve not Anglesey.

After a little garage hoo-ha the first intrepid riders cracked on and got their qualifying underway. It soon became apparent that the surface was good and they all ventured out… except 2018 GP Originals 350cc Champ Hudson Kennaugh. With an impressive air of confidence he elected to sit it out and accept the back row start.

Phil Atkinson put in a cracking time to easily take pole position with 250cc local hero Fernando Mendes over six seconds adrift in 2nd. An impressive blast by Mike Russell on the Lansdowne machine grabbed the final front row spot – a perfect spread for our two Grand Prix classes. The Lansdowne and GP Originals machines fitted in well together and the racing look set to be exciting.

Good to see Mark Henrys up there in 7th and Chris Barfe finally bringing out his stunning TZ350E to join the party. The sight and sound of the two-strokes with the thumping pre-63 British bikes was a morning wake-up call with a difference.

The other main event

Next stop on our journey was Kartdromo, a fantastic outdoor kart facility on the grounds of the main circuit. 41 of us contested an hour long endurance race in teams of two. Serious stuff.

After 15 minutes qualifying it became apparent that everyone wanted to win. Pole sitter Phil Atkinson had decided he didn’t need a partner to jeopardise his chances of a four wheeled victory and was going it alone. Steve Pond chased him down from his 9th place grid slot and they exchanged the lead in the opening session. After 15 minutes they pitted for a driver change, Sian was glued to the bumper of Atkinson but the pressure forced a spin! She regained her composure and enjoyed a wheel-to-wheel battle with 2015 125cc foe Mendes.

Scything through the field came George Thomas and Tony Perkin (both are Lansdowners and GP Originals riders). The pair took the win on the final lap pushing Atkinson down to the 2nd step. Brooks and Pond regrouped and took 3rd. Hudson’s team finished further down the order but managed the fastest lap.

It was great to see Tony Green out on track and a couple of Xclusiv Events teams entered. Several Lansdowne and GP Originals riders teamed up plus wives and mechanics were getting stuck in, all racing for positions.

After that it was all back to the Xclusiv Events’ villa for a slap up barbecue that resulted in one broken nose in the XE camp from a Gin miscalculation!

Racing begins

Race one on Saturday was thankfully dry and sunny but as the temperatures climbed the glare from the Algarvian sun became a ‘racing condition’ requiring riders to adapt to suit.

After a little grid reshuffling the lights went out and racing got underway. All eyes on Kennaugh as he pushed through, rapidly reaching the front of the pack to challenge Aktinson’s lead. However, there were a few surprise contenders also showing their hand.

Xclusiv Events rider, Neil Gregory had suffered several disasters on the run-up to Portimão. He had made three different arrangements to rent a suitable machine for the event but all his endeavours failed at the 11th hour. Veryard Racing stepped in with a spare machine just as the bikes were about to leave on the truck. Sadly he had also slipped off a curb and was on crutches – you couldn't make it up! Despite all this trauma, his previous exploits in Spanish PowerBike racing was paying dividends. As the only rider with lots of Portimão track knowledge he was making serious progress through the field.

250 pilot, Vines, had been enduro riding in France and had to make an epic bus, train, plane, car journey but failed to make the test sessions. No problem, by lap four he was in a comfortable 3rd and not far at all from the battling Atkinson and Kennaugh.

By the 5th lap Atkinson had retired leaving Vines comfortably in 2nd. Sadly on the final lap the 250’s ignition expired prematurely ending his race. Kennaugh had pulled the pin and posted 2:03.241, the fastest lap of the weekend. Neil Gregory was the surprise of the race delivering an impressive 2nd place finish.

Fernando Mendes enjoyed seeing the Portuguese flag flying on the podium for his 3rd place result. Fellow 250 rider Steve Pond had suffered a stuck throttle in qualifying and failed to post a full lap. From the back of the grid he finished the race in a creditable 6th.

Notable performances came from Chris Rose (350) and Roy Flower (250), both lacking race laps this season. The pair enjoyed a good battle and finished 6th and 7th of the GP Originals runners.

Race two

We had now resigned ourselves to the fact that there was  no guaranteed sunshine and Sunday morning was another wet start. After a weekend of car racing the track surface was slippery but everyone rose to the challenge, still smiling and enjoying the whole experience.

Ian Cowles had very kindly offered his ignition to Gary Vines. The 250 crowd were eager to see if he could really pull off a win against the 350s with all their horsepower.

Atkinson took off at the front but Vines was up for it on the smaller capacity machine. Kennaugh again had to push his way through from the back of the grid under challenging conditions.

Gordon Russell and Mike Farrall both had disastrous starts and were left pushing. Eventually the pair got going and made short work of getting back in the thick of it.

George Thomas was really pushing his TZ350 hard, holding 3rd place overall to lap three before taking a tumble unhurt. Thomas still managed the second fastest lap of the race at 2:26.263.

Vines established himself at the front and began pulling away, the ‘Wobbly Bob’ supported rider put in the fastest lap of the race at 2:25.345 and finished 5.877 seconds clear of Atkinson.

Impressive rides from Duncan Fitchett and Michael Russell, both GP Originals riders but on their Lansdowne Manxs for this event. The pair finished 3rd and 4th on the road with Kennaugh in 5th and 3rd of the two-strokers.

Well deserved awards

Ragged Edge Racing generously continued their sponsorship for this non-championship round in Portugal so we had a further two £50 bodywork vouchers to present. After much discussion amongst the riders we decided to give one to Lea Gourlay for his efforts helping out many people with their bikes. The other went to Ian Cowles for making sure Gary Vines was out there to win race two.

All the GP Originals riders who took advantage of the transportation received €25 cash-back from the £1000 Xclusiv Events season’s sponsorship.

To sum up a fantastic weekend

As the only motorcycle race of the event our garages were a hive of activity. Our French contender, Jean René kindly brought along a selection of Ventoux wines, delicious bunches of grapes and a basket of walnuts for all to enjoy!

We would like to thank everyone that rallied together for this event. It was part experiment, part holiday and, in the most part, an excellent race meeting between the two premier classic and post classic race series’ based in the UK.

All the families and team members really made it special with superb banter and entertainment. The hotel accomodation really made it a weekend to remember and ensured that everyone mixed perfectly over breakfast, evening drinks and by the pools.

Special thanks to Richard Adams of the Lansdowne Classic Series for his hard work dealing with the circuit and organisers. Sally and Gordon Russell for their tireless organisational skills. Xclusiv Events for their efficient transport and excellent barbecue – it’s great to have such enthusiastic sponsors and team members on board.

The Algarve Classic Festival thought GP Originals and The Lansdowne put on a superb show and if we all want to do it again next year the option is there… bring it on!

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