The wait is over: season opener for CFMOTO on rollercoaster track in Portimão

This weekend, the Portuguese Grand Prix officially kicks off this year’s MotoGP™ season. Added to the race calendar for the first time in 2020, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve celebrates itself as the venue for the World Championship opener for this year. After the CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP riders had already been able to get in the mood for the track during the official IRTA tests last week and both managed to position themselves in the top 10 in the meantime, it will of course be all the more exciting to see how they will present themselves here in a race atmosphere next weekend.

4,635 m total length, 15 bends, 9 to the right and 6 to the left, a 969 m long finishing straight and up to 18 m total width – these are some of the hard facts you need to know about the course, which opened in 2008. It is definitely not boring here, because ups and downs are a constant companion along the entire length: gradients of up to 6.2%, downhill gradients with a maximum of 12%, blind curves, crests and dips make the track spectacular for riders and spectators alike.

After the hard preparation during the winter months, both CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP riders are fired up to prove their skills. In the last official tests before the start of the season, #43 Xavi Artigas (19) managed to finish 6th in the combined times on Saturday (1:48.881) and teammate #66 Joel Kelso (19) was even able to improve his lap time on Sunday to a 1:47.915. Not a bad outlook for the CFMOTO Factory Team, which is racing Xavi for the second year in a row. Kelso, who competed as a regular team rider in Moto3™ for the first time last year, is looking forward to convincing his new team of himself and his racing qualities.