Monsanto track ready to become World stage once again

It’s the track that one of the great talents of our sport calls home and it’s where our own Events Editor experienced the unique & heightened atmosphere of an IFMAR World Championship for the very first time, so it is great to see Monsanto track in Portugal looking glorious once again and ready to become a world stage for our sport again.  Where a young Bruno Coelho honed his driving skills, the track is located in the picturesque setting of Monsanto Forest Park in the capital city of Lisbon and was the host of the 2008 IFMAR 1:10 200mm Onroad World Championship.  A time when the category was on the crest of a wave, the race attracting drivers from 28 countries, it was Bruno’s father Cesar who organised the 3rd edition of these World Championships.  In qualifying it was to be Jilles Groskamp, driving a Sirio powered Kyosho, who took the TQ while a young Bruno, then driving a Mugen, ended up 77th out of 137 strong entry.  In the final it was the Picco powered Kyosho of Daniele Ielasi who took the World title from American Chris Tosolini with Martin Hudy completing the podium on his Worlds Final debut.  Currently in a time when unfortunately we hear of tracks being forced to close around the world, it is great to see Monsanto, after a lot of hard work by the club, being brought back to its glory days with a brand new asphalt surface.  With the latest IFMAR 1:10 200mm Onroad World Championship coming up in November at Huge RC in Thailand, it will be the turn of Europe & EFRA to host the next edition in 2026.  Are we looking at the ideal host track?  Who knows we might even get Bruno to return to his nitro racing roots and have a go at adding a ‘home’ World title to his CV!

A young Bruno Coelho racing at the IFMAR 1:10 200mm Onroad World Championships at his home track of Monsanto in 2008.

Images: Bruno Coelho [Facebook] / Red RC