The races at the Estoril round of the Iberian Supercars were thrilling and fiercely contested, but there were additional reasons for interest beyond the on-track battles.
NAPA uses the paddock as a tool
NAPA gathered 1,500 guests in the Iberian Supercars paddock at the Autódromo do Estoril, taking advantage of the racing atmosphere to promote its image and networking.
The brand is promoted and marketed in Portugal by Soulima, a company of the Alliance Automotive Ibérica Group, which sponsors the competition.
NAPA is an American automotive components company that arrived in Portugal in 2023 with the aim of establishing itself in the Iberian aftermarket.
True to its roots in motorsport, in the United States of America it has been competing for decades in NASCAR, where it has already won the competition, and in the Iberian Peninsula the brand also wants to bet on this type of events, having seen in the Iberian Supercars the ideal tool to achieve its objectives.
At the Estoril circuit, NAPA brought together 1,500 guests (heads of spare parts shops, garages, etc.), providing everyone with a different kind of race day and the perfect environment for networking.
Portuguese VIPs and personalities in the paddock
The Iberian Supercars is becoming more and more attractive not only for drivers and teams, as demonstrated by the forty cars entered, but also for the public and even for personalities and celebrities.
Throughout the weekend it was possible to see several motorsport personalities, such as João Carlos Costa, Formula 1 commentator for Portugal's Sport TV, Nuno Pinto, Formula 1 commentator for Sport TV too and F1 driver Lance Stroll's coach, José Morgado, tennis commentator for Sport TV, Luís Caramelo, journalist who has been following the World Rally Championship for several years, not forgetting the president of the Portuguese ASN FPAK and former GT and Touring car driver, Ni Amorim.
On the celebrity scene, Miguel Cristovinho, member of the music band D.A.M.A., was in the paddock with his son, and was present in the pits and in the hospitality area of Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal, where he witnessed the victory of Bernardo Sousa and Carlos Vieira.
Bruna Gomes, the famous Youtuber and wife of the Madeiran driver, was also in the line-up of the importer of the Japanese brand, following the achievements of her husband, who also had the support of Luís Quina and André Madeira, two well-known influencers.
Isabel Angelino, the RTP presenter, was in the Racar Motorsport areas, showing her support for Manuel Gião, her boyfriend, who ended up winning the second race of the programme in the GT4 Pro division along with his teammate, Mathieu Martins.
Massive public response
It wasn't just celebrities and celebrities who passed through the Autódromo do Estoril over the weekend, the public also flocked to the historic Portuguese circuit.
The paddock was completely sold out, and Race Ready had to produce more tickets to meet the unexpectedly high demand, and the inside of the circuit was completely packed with fans.
Grandstand A, which is free to enter, was also very busy throughout the two days, but especially on Sunday during the two Iberian Supercars races.
Once again, NAPA brought a special colour to the paddock, and its guests also visited the starting grid of the first race and experienced the special moments that always precede the start of the races.
Over the two days, 12,000 people came to the Estoril Autodromo to watch the Iberian competition, a very respectable number.
The teams contributed to the success of the Pit-Walk for Fans
Throughout the two days of the Estoril Summer Party, an event that formed part of the second round of the Iberian Supercars, there were several initiatives for the public present in the paddock, but the highlight was the Pit-Walk for Fans, which allowed fans to visit the pit lane for a period of one hour, seeing drivers and cars up close.
The initiative was a success and the drivers and teams joined in en masse, setting up tables in front of the pits so that they could sign autographs for the hundreds of people passing through the pit-lane with the sign offered by NAPA, who had a place for each driver to sign.
Some teams went a step further, such as SMC Motorsport, who gave away caps to fans, and Araújo Competição, who served visitors an energy drink from one of their sponsors.
News from the weekend
The Estoril Summer Party introduced some new additions to the Iberian Supercars grid. Racar Motorsport entered two additional Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 cars: one for brothers Nuno and José Carlos Pires, and another for series newcomers António Lopes and Filipe Videira.
In the second Tockwith Motorsport Ginetta G55 were Henrique Cruz and Aubrey Hall, both familiar faces to the team, having raced earlier this year. At the Supercars Jarama RACE race at Jarama circuit, the young Portuguese ex-FPAK Junior Team driver teamed up with Jemma Moore in the same Ginetta, while the young Englishman raced with his brother Marmaduke Hall at the Jerez event. For the first time, Cruz and Hall joined forces and achieved success, winning both races in the GTX division.
For the first time this year, Rui Miritta had a teammate: Tiago Gonçalves, a Brazilian driver who has previously competed in some Portuguese events. The pair seemed to have gelled well, securing two victories in the Cup division at the wheel of a Monteiros Competições Porsche 911.
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