A SHOW WITH PLENTY OF GO

The Caramulo Motorfestival is among Portugal's premier car events, blending displays with a crowd-pleasing hillclimb

- SIMON HUCKNALL

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Goodwood should feel rightly proud that Portugal's Caramulo Motorfestival exists. Held from 5-7 September, this year marked the 19th running of the event that has grown to become its country's leading motorsport gathering, attracting 80-100,000 visitors over three days. Organised by the Museu do Caramulo, it truly engulfs the host village, which is situated on the southern slope of the Serra do Caramulo Mountain range, 90 minutes from Porto.

Like Goodwood's Festival of Speed, the Portuguese meeting is centred around a hillclimb, with an eclectic mixture of classic and modern, road and racing cars and motorcycles starting in the village and finishing nearly 3km later facing the Serra da Estrela, the Portuguese mainland's highest peak (see p12). Unlike the famous British event, though, this one is free for spectators, being largely funded by car manufacturers for whom it has also become a de facto motor show. And while Caramulo can't yet match the overall scale and content breadth of its UK counterpart, there are sufficient activities – including a superbly curated car museum, spectators' classic car and motorcycle zones, an automobilia fair, and an impressive collection of WW2 vehicles – to keep both enthusiasts and families entertained.

Reassuringly, there is a marked bias towards classic machinery within the hillclimb's entry list, with each driver in each class opting for one of two challenges: Chronomasters (essentially a regularity, based around average speeds), or Speedmasters (an outright timed assault).