Three Aguiar generations at the wheel of car expertises
16-09-2023
"I think the love of motorsport was already in our blood," said the youngest racer in the family, Filipe Aguiar. The sport of expertise has become a tradition for the Aguiar family and has now spanned three generations.
The story began 42 years ago, when Francisco Aguiar, the grandfather, started racing "for fun" with his cousin in Labrugeira. "As soon as I got the hang of it, I bought a mini and started racing in Portugal from north to south, taking part in trophies such as the National Expertise Trophy, the oldest in Portugal," Francisco revealed.
Nelson Aguiar, his father, got involved in the sport in Viseu in 2000, at the age of 25. At the time, "I had a taste for cars from a very young age, not least because I'd worked in mechanics since I was 13, and, before expertises, I drove in dirt rallies for two years," said Nelson.
Finally, Filipe Aguiar, Nelson's son, joined the team, making his debut at the age of 16 in a test in Arruda dos Vinhos and also in the National Test Trophy, and only last year did he start accompanying his grandfather and father in all the tests. "As soon as the opportunity to race came up, I couldn't say no," he explained.
A long-standing sport
Car expertises is one of the oldest motorised sports in Portugal, known for including single and double pedestrians, half laps and sometimes even triple pedestrians. It's a sport that also takes place in England and Spain, where Francisco Aguiar had the opportunity to take part in the Iberian Forensics Trophy. "I think it's in Portugal that the sport has evolved the most," concluded Francisco.
In the sport, the routes always change from race to race and, according to Filipe Aguiar, the rules are strict: "To have a clean race, you have to do the route that's asked of you, and you can't knock the pins down, otherwise you'll automatically be penalised; if there are any mistakes on the route, you'll have your test cancelled."
There are currently different types of championships. For example, the Expertises Nacional Trophy, which belongs to the Slalom Clube de Portugal, where Nelson Aguiar won the class and overall and Filipe Aguiar took third place in the class and fifth place overall. There was also the Raiano de Perícias Trophy, which belongs to Guarda Unida Desportiva and Fpak, and the Campeonato de Portugal de Perícias, in which, due to the distance, the Aguiar family had little presence. Despite the fact that almost all the competitions took place above the city of Viseu, Nelson revelled in his good performance: "The few times I took part I took part, I won one and came second in another".
Francisco and Nelson pointed out that the sport has been gaining even more recognition and investment. "We've noticed that there are many events with more than 50 drivers, more than many of the Rallys out there," they said.
Family rivalry
Depending only on the type of car class, the Aguiar family has always competed in the same category. Filipe admitted to the Nova Verdade newspaper that, even though he has only recently entered the world of competition, he thinks he can match his father's results, joking that the competitive atmosphere only exists between them, as his grandfather, who just turned 72, only competes "for sport".
Since then, the order in the standings has been constant: Nelson, Filipe and Francisco Aguiar. However, pride in the Aguiar name outweighs rivalry. Filipe and Francisco remember with great pride the moment when Nelson won the National Trophy for the first time. "It was a unique feeling, because he [Nelson] was in second place until the last race and it wasn't until the last stage that he managed to win the race and pass his rival," said Filipe, with a twinkle in his eye.
Nowadays, the family can see support and recognition in the sport, but "it's sad that you have to win in order to make a name for yourself," he said.
Filipe Aguiar, explaining that this is a sport in which it is difficult to maintain activity, because "to do a whole championship, you need a lot of money and that's why support and sponsorship are very important in this type of sport". Fortunately, the Aguiar family has been able to hold the events they want, such as the one on 9 and 10 September, when they travelled to Ribeira de Pena and Cerva, in the Vila Real district, to compete.