Estoril Classics – A tour of the paddock before the finals Peter Auto

Peter Auto competitions end their 2021 season under the Portuguese sun of Estoril. There is no shortage of action on track, thanks to the presence of rare cars like the Ford Probe GTP in the Group C Racing category. The project, launched by the American branch of Zakspeed in the mid-1980s for engagement in the championship IMSA, was not crowned with success. But its very compact appearance and the rumble of its 8-liter Ford V6.0 engine of 650 horsepower compensate for its relatively light history.

The Ford GTP was restored by a German team. © Peter Auto

In Portugal, the prototype is driven by gentleman driver Lars Erik Nielsen. The Dane led the LM GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2000s through three podiums between 2006 and 2008, aboard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and a Ferrari F430GT.

Several renowned business leaders made the trip not far from Lisbon. A native of the country, Carlos Tavares will swap his costume as General Director of the Stellantis Group for a pilot's suit in the Sixties for a few hours.Endurance. He will be associated in a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe with former journalist and driver Pierre-François Rousselot, whose Carpooling will be read in issue 2333 of AUTOhebdo, on sale next Monday digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.

The Cobra Daytona Coupé was built by the ATS workshop in Le Mans. © J. Hergault

In Group C, a Spice SE89C is reserved for Éric de Seyne. Passionate about four wheels, the former biker is neither more nor less than the President of Yamaha Motor Europe. In testing, the man who took part in the Paris-Dakar at just 21 years old achieved the sixth fastest time in qualifying, and the second in Group C2.

Plateau not headed by Peter Auto, the Formula 1 pre-1986 is notably hosted by Frédéric Lajoux. The Monegasque placed his 1 Arrows A1979B ex-Riccardo Patrese in fourth place in qualifying.

F. Lajoux and his black and gold Arrows. © Félix Macías

“I will start on the second row but only in fourth place. Second in the entire fast part of the circuit with also the second best top speed (274 kmh), I am much too slow in the winding part. I'm going to re-stage my gearbox again to try to improve that... without degrading performance in other sectors. It's not my style to look for excuses but I would still point out that of the 3 cars in front of me, two are technologically much more advanced and efficient (Williams 1982 and Lotus 1983). »