“We will have MotoGP in 2025 and 2026. Tomorrow [Thursday] the final date will be announced, but it will be at the end of the calendar. The event will have that special potential to decide the championship here”, said Jaime Costa, president of the board of directors of the company that manages the Algarve racetrack, at a press conference at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (AIA) facilities.

The two-year contract, something that is happening for the first time in the relationship between Parkalgar and Dorna, the organizer of the World Championship, gives the company stability to work, until the end of next year, on the organization of the 2025 event, highlighted the general director.

“For the first time, we have a two-year scenario in which to work. The first event will be in a year’s time, so there is no excuse for the work not to be done well by us and the entities linked to tourism, which can greatly enhance the arrival of MotoGP once again in Portugal and the Algarve”, he said.

Jaime Costa wants the racetrack not to be seen as just a place where races are held, because “above all, it is an economic agent for the region”, which generates wealth for the Algarve economy, with all its infrastructures, which includes a hotel and a go-kart track.

“Since 2022, [the AIA] has generated 650,000 room nights in the region, 40 million euros (ME) in purchases from Portuguese companies, especially those located in the Algarve, 35 million euros in exports, 16 million euros in gross added value for the economy, 343 million euros in total direct and indirect economic impact, and two million visitors have passed through here in three years, at the racetrack, the go-kart track and the hotel”, specified the businessman, during the press conference.

For 2025, Jaime Costa revealed, the racetrack has already “sold 280 days of track, activities, catering and accommodation”.

The president of Parkalgar also recalled the role that his predecessor in the position, Paulo Pinheiro, founder of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (AIA), who passed away last July, played in the entire process, including in the negotiations for the renewal of the contract.

“This great achievement was only possible because someone had the courage to start in 2020. And the courage to start is often not remembered, but it was the courage of one person, the courage of engineer Paulo Pinheiro”, he stressed.

Present at the session, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, revealed that the Government will award the Medal of International Tourism Merit posthumously to Paulo Pinheiro, in a ceremony to be held on September 27, on the occasion of World Tourism Day.

In a video message released during the press conference, the Trackhouse rider, who will sign for Yamaha from Pramac for the next two seasons, expressed his satisfaction with the announcement.

“I am sure that next year we will be able to hold an even better GP with more positive energy. I would like to congratulate the racetrack management for all their efforts in the negotiations with Dorna and the Government to ensure that we can once again guarantee the race for the next two seasons. I hope that these two grand prix events will bring us much joy and help us honour our beloved Paulo Pinheiro”, said Miguel Oliveira.

The Portuguese MotoGP Grand Prix, which takes place at the Algarve International Circuit (AIA), will remain on the World Championship calendar for at least another two years, it was announced today in Portimão.

The Portuguese stage of the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship has been held at the Algarve International Circuit (AIA), in Portimão, since 2020, after having previously been held in Jarama (Spain) in 1987 and in Estoril between 2000 and 2012.