Kyle Tilley and Phil Keen secured pole position for the second edition of the 300 km Algarve Sports Cars, setting the fastest time during qualifying at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Piloting a Chevron B19, the pairing posted a benchmark lap of 1:50.059 to edge out the Lola T70 Mk3B Spyder shared by Marc Devis and Nick Padmore in a contest decided by tenths of a second. The session established the starting grid for the headline fixture of the Algarve Classic Festival, which runs over a distance of 300 kilometres or a maximum duration of 120 minutes.
Regulations for the endurance race mandate pit stops for driver changes and refuelling, bringing together sports cars constructed between 1963 and 1972 alongside GT and Touring machinery produced from 1966 through 1980. While Tilley and Keen took the outright top spot, Devis and Padmore finished second on the overall timesheet, also making their Lola T70 Mk3B Spyder the quickest runner in the H-1972 division for engines over 2000 cc.
Starting Grid and Historic Chassis
Previous race winners John Emberson and Billy Bellinger qualified another Chevron B19 in third position on the grid. Alongside them on the second row will start João Macedo Silva and Diogo Ferrão, who put their Lola T70 Mk3 Coupé in fourth place to conclude qualifying as the highest-placed Portuguese competitors. The third row consists of the Chevron B16 shared by Alan Purbrick, David Brise, and Edward Morris in fifth, next to the sixth-placed Lola T212 of James Claridge and James Denty. Claridge and Denty's mount represents the historic chassis that contested the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans in the hands of Guy Edwards and Roger Enever.
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Class Competition and Awards
Battle within the dedicated classifications also established the order across earlier-period sports cars and production-based brackets. In the H-1969 class, Joel Hopwood and Oliver Bryant guided their Chevron B8 ahead of Richard McAlpine and Nigel Greensall, who returned to track action running an ex-Can-Am McLaren M1b. The GT/TC field saw Alfa Romeo GT Am entries capture the top two qualifying spots. Patrick Wilwert and Philippe Vermast led the division in their Ecurie Luxembourg entry, finishing ahead of the Curated Garage-prepared car shared by Volker Hichert and Peter Praller. Lining up on the following GT/TC row are Ernesto Silva Vieira and António Paquete in a Shelby Mustang GT 350, alongside Michel Welter and Felix Feltes in a BMW 2002.
Beyond the sporting results, competitors are vying for prizes provided by Briston Watches, with the timepiece maker awarding an exclusive watch to the overall race winners as well as each of the respective class victors.
