Portimao to host Le Mans

Portimao made their Le Mans Series debut last year when Jean-Christophe Boullion and Christophe Tinseau triumphed in the Pescarolo-Judd.

The 1000km do Algarve will start at 5pm on Saturday with the race expected to finish around 11pm.

"We'll be in the same situation you get at Le Mans on the Saturday evening in as much as the temperature usually falls the further you get into the race," said a Michelin endurance racing technician.

"The cars qualify and tend to start no medium-compound tyres but some teams might switch to softer rubber for the latter part of the race."

Boullion will return to Portimao again this year in the number 13 Rebellion Lola, which he tested at the venue in February.

"Portimao is a technically demanded circuit with several blind corners and some bumpy parts," said Boullion.

"Last year we posted the seventh fastest time in qualifying. Then, about 20 laps in, I managed to bridge the gap to the leader before moving ahead on lap 45 and handing over to Christophe.

"When I got back in the car, we were down to third again following a technical problem but I managed to gain a second or two per lap on the leading Aston Martin and ended up taking Pescarolo Sport's first win for three years."