Mayor makes positive balance of automobile circuit projecting Vila Real

A 55th edition of the Vila Real International Circuit, which transforms city streets into a motor racing track, began on Friday and ends today.

“It’s an extremely positive review,” said the mayor, Alexandre Favaios, who spoke to the Lusa agency a few hours before finishing another edition of the circuit that brings international evidence to the city, through the TCR World Tour, which replaced the World Cup of Tourism Cars.

The 2026 edition attracted about 150 drivers, who participated in 12 races of six categories in which, in addition to the TCR, still stand out the Portugal Speed Championship and the Portugal Classic Championship.

From year to year, according to the president, there is a record of participants, which also requires greater effort in the logistics and articulation of the interests of the participants.

“There are aspects that are not only measured in number of pilots, in number of spectators and in direct economic impact, it is also very measured in what is the projection and valuation of the territory,” said Alexandre Favaios.

The president stressed that the event helps design Vila Real at national and international level, which also translates into “more strategic attraction and positioning” of the interior city of the country.

Asked about the human frame that involved the clue, Alexandre Favaios said that on Friday he was slightly below expectations in the previous year, but that the Sabbath “was clearly above”.

“ We had a lot more people around the circuit, we had a lot more people in the various stands. ... I am convinced that the number we normally point to this weekend, which is about 200,000 viewers, will be perfectly reached or, with today, even exceeded”, he said.

The fall in temperatures, felt today, also helped a greater concentration of people along the 4.6 km and 24 curves.

And these are, according to Alexandre Favaios, “4.6 kilometers of party”, since the spectators are spreading around the track, on improvised stands in scaffolding, on walls, on balconies and gardens and where even the trailer of a bus serves as a bench and, in all these places, there is food and drink.

“ People feel exactly that, feel the circuit as their own, feel the circuit as a party, in some way as the identity of Vila Real ", stressed.

Alexandre Favaios stressed that the circuit is sport, but it is also tourism, animation and economy, with direct impact on cafes, restaurants hotels and tourist accommodation of the municipality and neighboring municipalities.

“ The pretext is the races, but then it is all that comes after, the gastronomy, the wines, the concerts ", stressed.

In the city centre, David Fonseca and The Gift, as well as DJ Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Cure also performed the wine and gastronomy show Wine & Food Circuit, promoted by Regia Douro Park.

“It’s worth investing in the circuit, not only because of the direct impact, but because of the projection of Vila Real’s identity,” said the mayor, who stressed that it is already working and discussing the dates of edition 2027, remembering that they are conditioned by the TCR’s calendar, but that we also seek to meet the interests of the city.

The main objective “is to consolidate this model”, in which international competitions and national championships are combined.

The car races had their first motor racing race in 1931 and, after years of interregno, they were resumed in 2014 by the House of Vila Real.