Watch live the Free Practice 3 of the 6 Hours of Portimão, Round 2 of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
The FIA WEC is the world’s premier international sportscar championship, contested over seven rounds across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
With multiple cars across three categories (Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGTE Am) all on track at the same time, the WEC is a sports car extravaganza that offers action, overtakes, excitement and entertainment for fans worldwide.
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New era WEC Invading Europe!
The 6 Hours of Portimao, marks the first time that the Cadillac, Ferrari, Porsche and Floyd Vanwall Hypercars have been seen competitively in Europe.
They join Toyota, Peugeot and Glickenhaus as the battle for the 2023 FIA Hypercar World Endurance Championship title heats up. There’s also 12 LMP2 entries, as well as 14 LMGTE Am cars making traffic management key at the Algarve International Circuit. The Portuguese fans will also have one home driver to support on-track – Antonio Felix da Costa – who is entered in LMP2 with Hertz Team JOTA.
Avis – WEC’s Official Vehicle Rental Services Premium Partner for the 2023 season – has put together a guide of everything you need to know ahead of Portimao.
- Click HERE to view the full event programme from Portimao.
- The latest entry list for WEC 6 Hours of Portimao can also be found HERE.
WEC Portimao Timetable
Saturday 15 April
- Free Practice 3: 11h15 – 12h15
- Qualifying: 15h30 – 16h35
Sunday 16 April
- Race: 12h00 – 18h00
Portugal makes a welcome return to FIA calendar with WEC Portimao
The FIA WEC moves to the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal for the 6 Hours of Portimão later this week and will be headlined by 11 Hypercars – many of which will be seen competitively in Europe for the very first time.Having hosted an eight-hour race back in 2021, this year’s six-hour event will mark the welcome return of the Portuguese venue to the FIA WEC calendar.
Cadillac Racing, Ferrari AF Corse, Porsche Penske Motorsport and Floyd Vanwall Racing Team will make their competitive Hypercar debut in Europe while Toyota Gazoo Racing and Glickenhaus Racing were both present in Portimao in 2021.
Indeed, the majority of WEC’s teams and drivers are familiar with the 4.653-km circuit, which has been a mainstay on the European Le Mans Series calendar for several years as well as being the venue of choice of some of the Hypercar manufacturers for their testing programs.
Elevation changes are a key feature of the layout built in 2008. A lap of the circuit sends drivers swooping up and down, before culminating in a plunge down to the final right-hander leading back onto the main straight. Along the way, Hypercar drivers travel with fully-opened throttle for 48.5% of a lap and shift gears 40 times during each tour of the circuit, reaching top speeds exceeding 310kph.
Toyota started its title-defending campaign on a high at Sebring last month, having scored a 1-2 victory, but Ferrari also emerged as a force to be reckoned with and managed to secure the first pole of the season. Both manufacturers have tested at the circuit, and so did Peugeot.
The latter of the three will be looking to bounce back following its difficult outing at Sebring and will hope to benefit from the knowledge of the circuit’s characteristics. Cadillac enjoyed a strong performance at Sebring but its V-Series.R hasn’t turned a wheel in anger on European soil yet.