Portugal’s Court of Auditors has headed off the risky purchase of the Estoril race track by Cascais council to save ratepayers from unquantifiable financial liabilities best suited to a commercial venture.
The Court of Auditors formally has objected to the agreement signed between Cascais council and state holding company Parpública to purchase the Estoril race track for €4.9 million.
In a judgment dated 27 November, 2015 the judges of the Court of Auditors consider void the contract signed on 6 August, 2015, stating that the acquisition of the track by Cascais council will do little to safeguarded the interests of the local population.
The judgment states that "the council did not provide the necessary technical studies that should have preceded the acquisition of the asset, and that the agreement with Parpública entailed taking over contractual obligations likely to generate expense, without guaranteed funds available to support it.
Cascais council has been notified of the objection and will appeal the decision by the end of this week.
In August this year Cascais council formalised its intention to purchase the Estoril race track and signed a contract, subject to the result of a site inspection and a positive opinion from the Court of Auditors.
It is not clear what strain of madness the council was suffering from when it decided to buy the race track unless it, a. had a buyer in mind or b. can sell the land for housing.
Financial exposure to the running of an F1-free racetrackis hardly within the remit of a local authority.
_____
The Autódromo do Estoril (officially, Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva) is owned by state-run holding management company Parpública.
It was the home of the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996. The capacity of the motorsport stadium is 45,000. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license.
Its first years saw many national races, as well as an occasional Formula 2 race. However, the course soon fell into disrepair due to the owning company having been taken over by the state between 1975 and 1978 and a significant redevelopment effort was needed before international motorsport returned in 1984.
The Estoril circuit was built in 1972 on a rocky plateau near the village of Alcabideche, 9 km from the city of Estoril.
Throughout the years, Estoril has had numerous problems with safety, failing safety inspections on more than one occasion.
