Angolan sports car series
The Angolan sports car series ( Portuguese Temporada Internacional de Angola , also: Temporada Angolana ) was an automobile sports series that was held in 1973 and 1974 in the three largest cities of Angola . There were three races each year. The series was discontinued in 1975, with the beginning of the Angolan civil war .
history
There had been a few sports car races in Angola as early as the 1960s. They were often carried out on provisional routes, but sometimes also on small circuits such as the Circuito da Praia Morena in Benguela . The idea of a "Temporada Angolana" (Angolan season) consisting of several contiguous races was born in 1972; The initiator was the private automobile club Tuku Tuku. The Angolan races were intended to be part of an international sports car series that would begin in Portugal in the spring , continue with three races in Angola in the summer and end later in South Africa . For this purpose, two new racetracks were built in Angolan cities from 1972. The responsible organizer was the Portuguese racing driver Antonio Peixinho .
The Angolan sports car series only existed for two years. 1973 and 1974 three races were held in Angola as part of the series; however, the planned embedding in Portuguese and South African motorsport events could not be implemented. At the end of 1974, motorsport activities in Angola came to a standstill, which also affected the Angolan sports car series. After Portugal announced in the spring of 1974 as a result of the Carnation Revolution that it would give Angola independence for a short time, the vast majority of the population of European origin who had previously carried out motorsport in Angola withdrew to the mother country within a few months. The Angolan civil war , which broke out in 1975, paralyzed the country further, so that no more motorsport events took place for the next few decades.
Regulations
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The Angolan sports car series was open to vehicles of various classes. In addition to Group 6 racing cars such as the Chevron B23 , March 74S , and the Lola T294 , near-series touring cars also competed. Vehicles reported included De Tomaso Pantera , several Chevrolet Camaro and some Opel Commodore .
Most of the competitors were British and Portuguese racing drivers; pilots from South Africa also competed. Many pilots were purely private drivers; some of them called under pseudonyms. The international drivers received an entry fee.
Venues
The races of the sports car series took place in the three largest cities in the country.
In the early 1970s, two new racetracks were built in Angola, which were integrated into the sports car series. These were the Autódromo de Luanda in the Angolan capital and the Autodrom in the coastal city of Benguela , which opened every week in May 1972. The situation was different in Huambo , the second largest city in Angola, which was called New Lisbon in colonial times : Here the races were held on public roads in the urban area.
Events
1973
| No. | date | run | place | Racetrack | winner | vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 29, 1973 | 3 Horas de Luanda | Luanda | Autódromo de Luanda |
 Roger Heavens Guy Tunmer
|
Chevron B21 |
| 2 | 5th August 1973 | 6 Horas de Nova Lisboa 1973 | New Lisbon |
Andrew Fletcher William Tuckett
|
Chevron B21 | |
| 3 | 19th August 1973 | Benguela 500 km race in 1973 | Benguela | Autódromo de Benguela |
 Mário de Araújo Cabral Antonío Peixinho
|
Lola T292 |
1974
| No. | date | run | place | Racetrack | winner | vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 28, 1974 | New Lisbon 6-hour race 1974 | New Lisbon |
Mabílio de Albuquerque Antonio Peixinho
|
Lola T292 | |
| 2 | 4th August 1974 | Benguela 500 km race in 1974 | Benguela | Autódromo de Benguela |
Tony Birchenhough Roger Heavens
|
Lola T294 |
| 3 | 18th August 1974 | Luanda 2-hour race 1974 | Luanda | Autódromo de Luanda |
John Sabourin "Larama" (Manuel Amaral)
|
March 74S |
literature
- Ken Stewart, Norman Reich: Sun On The Grid. Grand Prix and Endurance Racing in Southern Africa . London 1998. ISBN 1-870519-49-3 .
Web links
- Angolan Sports Car Series. www.racingsportscars.com, accessed on November 29, 2012 .
References and comments
- ↑ For the terminology cf. the history of the series on the website www.sportscarclassic.com ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on December 3, 2012)
- ↑ For the history cf. a contemporary documentation of the 500 kilometer race in Benguela on the website www.motorsportinangola.blogspot.de (accessed on December 3, 2012).
- ↑ In addition, a few other motor sport events took place in Angola in 1973 that were not part of the Angolan sports car series. This included the sports car race at the Circuito do Novo Redondo in Sumbe in September 1973. See the race report on the website sportscarportugal2.com ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and still Not checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed December 3, 2012).
- ^ The Economist , August 16, 1975 issue.
- ↑ Time magazine spoke of an exodus in January 1975 .
- ↑ On the history of Angola cf. Large Modern Lexicon in 12 volumes, Bertelsmann Lexikothek 1985; Volume 1 S: 256.
- ↑ Only for the Autódromo de Benguela are individual privately organized automobile races recorded in 1976.
- ↑ Pictures from the 6-hour race in New Lisbon in 1973
- ↑ a b c Information on the winners on the website www.motorsportinangola.blogspot.de . The entry on the website www.racingsportscars.com lists Mário de Araújo Cabral and Antonío Peixinho as the overall winners.
