Miguel Ángel Oliveira is an exception on the MotoGP grid. He is the only Portuguese rider not only in the premier class, but also in the World Championship. And that means that the entire weight of the Portuguese fans falls on his shoulders. In fact, he is quite popular in our neighbouring country, and for years he has been directly involved in promoting the sport of two wheels in his country.
But now Oliveira, who will leave his time at Aprilia behind in 2025 to ride a Yamaha for Prima Pramac Racing, is going one step further and directly asking the Portuguese Government for help to take action regarding the 2025 Portuguese GP.
Although we still don’t have a complete provisional calendar for next season, all rumours point to the fact that the event at the Portimao Autodrome will not be on it.
Pinheiro’s death complicates a possible 2025 Portuguese GP
Since it came on the calendar, the circuit located in the Algarve region has gradually gained fans and in 2024 it set a record with 73,000 people attending on Sunday. This success, however, does not guarantee continuity as one of the main architects of it, Paulo Pinheiro, who was founder and CEO of the circuit, passed away last July.
This means that the situation is complex, as Pinheiro was the great unifier of support needed to achieve the quota that Dorna demands from the organisers of each Grand Prix. Until now, various town councils and the Algarve region were the main supporters, but they are not enough.
That is why it was Miguel Ángel Oliveira himself who, after being asked about the rumours of not continuing, was clear and forceful in his words. And the fact is that a GP costs a lot of money to the track that organises it and, simply, it is more profitable for them to rent it privately: “For the GP to continue, we need the government to pay the fee, it’s that simple. And we need the government to understand that they are the ones who benefit the most from this situation.” And he added: “MotoGP brings a lot of money to the region, a lot of prestige in terms of image to Portugal. And we need the government to understand this and make a decision to move forward.”
To conclude with a: “Because it is totally private, the management of the Autodromo do Algarve would rather rent the track to any client than actually have to pay someone to have MotoGP there. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
We will see if this request for help leads the Portuguese Government to maintain the Grand Prix on its lands or if, on the contrary, 2024 has been the last edition for the moment and this initiative to revive the Portuguese GP also comes to an end as happened years ago when the event was held in Estoril.
