The weekend saw the eagerly-awaited formal reopening of the Boavista Circuit, during the 'Grande Prémio Histórico do Porto'. Months of hard work had been put in to get the old circuit ready for today's tough safety exigencies, and considering it’s a city circuit, it is however very well positioned, offering many splendid views out over the Atlantic Ocean, and it one of the biggest avenues in the city.

The circuit's golden age belonged to a time where city race tracks were in fashion right all across the world - and a handful of them are still running today, such as the historic circuit at Pau in France, and in particular of course, the Monaco Grand Prix, which has drawn the crowds to the tiny principality continually all over the Grand Prix decades, and which is the most integral part of the Formula One spectacle. 

The first racing events in Porto were held in the 1920s, and these were to grow into the legendary Boavista circuit, which was created in the 1930’s, with a 4kms distance. However, during the 1950’s, the track length was extended to allow it to become a fully fledged international circuit, with the total distance was increased to 7kms.

This last weekend, 45 years later, the Boavista Circuit in Porto reopened its doors to thousands of spectators and hundreds of cars in different categories and trophies, and just like the old days the air reverberated to the scream of Italian engines, many iconic cars from history revisiting a track where they had recorded famous wins countless years ago.

From the Formula One cars of the 1960s and Sportcars from the 1950s and 1960s, to the Gentleman Drivers of the GT Endurance, Touring GT and Sport Classics - just to name a few - the event schedule was hectic enough to make this weekend into a full time event.
 

A special reference was made to the emblematic machines created for the top competitions in the 1930s and 1940s - the Sport category which ruled the roost previous to the WWII - as well as the Masters GT: the current Spanish GT Championship. Obviously, and as we would expect, almost of all this categories had a presence of, at least, one fine Italian machine. With this magnificent list of participants, the program was deemed to be a great success. The presence of some actual cars such as the competitive Master GT Championship (even if out of the historic concept) brought to the north of Portugal and, in particular to the City of Porto, a real whiff of fresh air and the promise of a great future.

One surprisingly but very much expected race was indeed the Sport category, previous to the WWII. The Alfa P3 was a simply delightful machine to watch and hear. Roger Saul and Calum Lockie made the wining team with its P3, in a race that also saw Ken MacMaster and Bem Guyatt in a BMW 328 as the leaders for several laps. The most spectacular episode was when Roger Saul had a problem with the gear box of the P3 - such that would only work in 3rd gear - but, even so, he run to victory. A great day that revived famous traditions, and brought cars straight out of the pages of history back to life on a legendary track. In Roger Saul words, he said “We want to come back, we love this track”. Indeed, a unique moment on that everyone wants to see repeated.