The Honda Endurance Racing team has arrived at Portimão’s Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve, where the second round of the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship takes place this weekend. This is the first time the Portuguese track has hosted a round of the series and Honda’s all-French trio of Freddy Foray, Julien Da Costa and Sébastien Gimbert, all know the circuit well from previous racing experiences, as well as a recent private test for the Honda squad following the 24h of Le Mans.

The second round of the EWC championship will be contested over 12 hours with Foray, Da Costa and Gimbert ready to extract the most out of their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine and the many sets of high-performing Dunlop tyres at their disposal.

Action at Portimão will begin on Thursday (9 June) at 0900 with a two-hour free practice session, followed by the first qualifying session and then night practice. Qualifying two is scheduled for Friday morning with the 45-minute warm up from 1800 to 1845, while the 12-hour race will begin on Saturday at 0930am.

Freddy Foray 111

I’m really looking forward to racing at Portimão. It has been a long gap since the last race, but I guess it’s the same for everyone. I have been training a lot and I have become a father for the second time, too, so I cannot complain! Before the test we did in April I had a chance to race at Portimão in 2008: it’s an amazing track, although a little more bumpy now. We were not lucky in Le Mans, but it’s behind us now and I think a good result is possible for us this time out.

Julien Da Costa 111

I have spent most of my time during the two-month break with my usual duties as test rider for Dunlop, so I cannot say I have been away from circuits too much and I definitely didn’t get bored! We had the chance of a podium at Le Mans, but unfortunately, major issues out of our hands changed the course of our race, but that’s racing. It was the first time for me at Portimão last April and I have to say I was really impressed with the track: it’s like a roller coaster with all of its uphill/downhill sections and the blind crests, so I cannot wait to get back on track.

Sébastien Gimbert 111

I love Portimão and I’m really happy we were able to test there after Le Mans. There are a lot of technical corners and the Honda CBR1000RR seems to perform really well on this track. It’s a very physically demanding circuit and it’ll be interesting to see how the race will unfold there, as it’s still a bit of an unknown territory endurance racing wise. The wait is over, I have trained and spent some time with friends and family and now I’m ready to go!