Drivers and teams from five continents and 12 nations are descending on Portugal for the 2023 Radical World Finals, October 16-22. The week-long competition can be considered a crescendo to the twelve Radical Cup series which take place across the globe and is being held during the European Le Mans Series Grand Season Finale double-header at the Autodromo Internacional Algave.
After a highly successful inaugural event in Las Vegas last year, which saw Daryl De Leon, Toby Sowrey and Patrick Liddy crowned, the bright lights of Sin City has been replaced with the endless beaches of the Algave, and the packed ELMS crowd.
Reflecting on the success of that first Radical World Finals event, Radical’s Global Motorsport Director Tom Drewer said, “Our tagline, ‘We make racers’, rang true in Las Vegas. Not only with one of our champions, young-gun Daryl De Leon who was poached from the Radical ranks shortly thereafter for a British Touring Car ride, but equally, with one of our runner-ups, and a man 30 years Daryl’s senior, Indy Al Miller, who proved it’s never too late to start living out your dreams and find success in this sport. This year’s field is another exciting mix of talent, both young and old, from all across the globe.”
Fresh from clinching the Platinum class title in the 2023 Blue Marble Radical Cup, former American Le Mans Series champion and two times Le Mans 24 Hour starter Jon Field (DW Racing) leads a contingent of four American drivers, who will all be vying for the top step in the Platinum class for Radical SR10 machinery. The others are Alan ‘Indy Al’ Miller (DW Racing), a professional jet ski racer come multi-time Radical Cup North America champion and 2023 World Finals runner up, fellow DW Racing teammate Gregg Gorski who has taken victories in both Radical Cup and the Creventic 24H Series, and Jim Booth (Valour Racing), the 2017 Radical European Masters champion and man who nicknamed the 425bhp Radical SR10 ‘The Torque Monster’.
Looking to take the Platinum crown back to England will be young-gun Ben Caisley (DW Racing), who has stepped up to the SR10 after narrowly missing out on the 2022 SR1 and 2023 SR3 class titles in the Hagerty Radical Cup UK, as will be perennial front runner Chris Preen (Valour Racing). Jersey’s John Harrison (DW Racing) returns to the Radical paddock and could also be one to watch, given he took second at Portimao in the 2017 season.
Six Brits hope to take top honors in the PRO 1500 class, including two teens. 17 year old Haydn Chance (Valour Racing) has just completed his first season with Radical after stepping up from the Ginetta Junior Championship, while fellow Valour driver Like Hilton, a former ZIP Kart Young Gun and Fiesta Junior driver, is convinced he’ll make a competitive debut at Portimão despite having had just one taste of a Radical SR3 XXR and Hankook rubber.
Equally, two veterans of the Radical paddock Peter Tyler (DW Racing) and John MacLeod (RSR) hope to spray a bottle of Gusborne on the podium. Macleod is no stranger to winning in Portugal, having clinched the Estoril round of the Radical European Masters back in 2018. RSR teammate Mark Williams is also representing the UK, but expect him to be proudly wearing the Scottish flag on the wing endplates of his SR3 XXR. Another to set into the latest generation SR3 is Rob Greenwood (Valour Racing), who started Radical Racing as a rookie in an SR1 in 2022.
From mainland Europe, representing Poland is Jacek Zielonka (360 Racing), while Filip Svensson (Radical Sweden) and another former European Masters stalwart, Mikael Bern, will fly the flag for Sweden. A former Nordic karting champion, Bern also has Formula Renault, Porsche Carrera Cup, STCC and Lamborghini Super Trofeo to his name along with a 24hrs Nürburgring start. Fellow Scandinavian driver, Erlend Olsen (Norway) has spent the last few years racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup prior to stepping into prototype racing with Radical and will be supported by Spanish dealer Marbella Motorsports.
Heading in to Portimao, the longest running driver in the GulfSport Radical Cup, Amir Feyzulin (Track Time Racing) is in form, having beat champion Alex Bukhantsov in the final race weekend of the Gulf 2022/23 season.
Representing China in the Radical World Finals will be Jack Yang (Valour), whose first taste of a race car was a Radical after buying his first SR3 from Radical New York, and who now competes in both the North America and United Kingdom Radical Cup series.
Matt Graham will be marking his 20th year racing Radicals by representing Canada at the World Finals, having raced Radicals across North America and Europe since 2003. Another to have Radical Cup North America starts to his name is Rahul Patel, who started his motorsport journey at Spring Mountain Country Club near Las Vegas, but now resides in Bermuda.
Finally, flying the Australian flag is Steve Campion (Garth Walden Racing), who after travelling further than anyone to make the race at Portimao is looking forward to ticking off the only other thing on his bucket list aside from driving at Bathurst – racing in Europe.
Drivers will get underway with an exclusive track day on Monday October 16, before a sabbatical Tuesday and Wednesday to soak up the surroundings and prepare for practice and qualifying to clinch pole on Thursday, before three heat races on Friday and Saturday, whose combined results set the grid for the winner takes all final on Saturday, October 21. An awards banquet will take place following the ELMS 4 hours of Portimao on Sunday, where each champion will receive a limited edition Omologato Portimao Chronograph watch.
Learn more at radicalmotorsport.com and follow all the action from the 2024 Radical World Finals via Radical Motorsport’s social media channels.