Construction work on the brand-new Autodromo do Algarve circuit in southern Portugal is shaping up well and is even ahead of time for a mid-October completion date.

Circuit CEO Paulo Pinheiro said that two of the most important aspects of the new circuit, the track surface and the motorway link road, were well underway and that no insurmountable problems were expected in the remaining four months of the building schedule.

The first of the three final layers of tarmac was placed last Monday and will be completed next week, while the final layer will be finished on October 8. The all-important link road from the motorway to the circuit is expected to be opened in the last week of October.

The guardrail is 60% completed, gravel is being laid in the run-off areas, building structures and racetrack grandstands are being terminated and technical installations are well underway, while landscaping work around the track is next on the list for completion.

Riders, team owners and everyone else who has seen the circuit have all been very impressed with Portimao and expectations are growing for the inaugural event, the final round of the 2008 HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship, scheduled for November 2.