Abstract
The Luanda racetrack, inaugurated on 28 May 1972, was
Portugal’s first international racetrack - albeit briefly. Barely, though. Just
twenty days later, the Estoril Racetrack was inaugurated near Lisbon, while, a week earlier, the Benguela racetrack had been inaugurated, only to be disavowed by official regulatory bodies. This period marked
the culmination of local, regional and infra-imperial rivalries led by
business elites seeking to maintain their stakes in Angola. Drawing
on new empirical data - including film archives and oral history - this
article explains the social, political and sporting processes that led to these events. It concludes that they reflect ideological tensions surrounding the colonial project and competing visions of both the
nation and colonial modernity.
Portugal’s first international racetrack - albeit briefly. Barely, though. Just
twenty days later, the Estoril Racetrack was inaugurated near Lisbon, while, a week earlier, the Benguela racetrack had been inaugurated, only to be disavowed by official regulatory bodies. This period marked
the culmination of local, regional and infra-imperial rivalries led by
business elites seeking to maintain their stakes in Angola. Drawing
on new empirical data - including film archives and oral history - this
article explains the social, political and sporting processes that led to these events. It concludes that they reflect ideological tensions surrounding the colonial project and competing visions of both the
nation and colonial modernity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 103-111 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Les Sports Modernes |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2025 |