The circuit hosted its first race on 2 November 2008 — the final round of the World Superbike Championship. Also that year, McLaren and Honda conducted a Formula One test at the circuit in December 2008, and Ferrari also ran there. Toyota tested at the circuit on 20 January 2009, the first outing of their new TF109 chassis. In June 2009, the track was confirmed to host a round of the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season, set for the weekend of 12 April 2009. The circuit hosted the final round of the GP2 Series season in September 2009. From 2010, it hosted a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
The Le Mans Series announced a 1000 km night race at Algarve on 2 August 2009. The FIA GT Championship announced a round of the 2009 season at the circuit on 13 September 2009.
The circuit is noted for its constantly undulating nature, resembling the old Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. A1 Team Portugal driver Filipe Albuquerque observed "big downhill slopes and right-hand turns after the main straight" and noted the circuit width is good for overtaking. A1 Team New Zealand driver Earl Bamber described "many special turns with personality" and called the circuit "a little bit dangerous like the old school circuits with a roller coaster ride." A1 Team France driver Nicolas Prost commented that the new asphalt had little grip.
In July 2020, amid a revised calendar caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the circuit was announced as host of the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix from 23 to 25 October 2020 — the first Portuguese Grand Prix since the 1996 race at the Autódromo do Estoril. The circuit hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix again in 2021 from 30 April to 2 May. In December 2025, it was announced that the circuit would return to the Formula One calendar in 2027 and 2028, hosting the Portuguese Grand Prix and replacing the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort.
In August 2020, the circuit was announced as host of the MotoGP Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix from 20 to 22 November 2020, concluding the coronavirus-affected season. The circuit hosted the Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix again in April 2021, and a second 2021 event named the Algarve Grand Prix from 5 to 7 November.
In January 2021, the circuit was announced as host of the FIA World Endurance Championship 8 Hours of Portimão in place of the 1000 Miles of Sebring. That round was subsequently postponed to 13 June 2021. The circuit returned to the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar for 2023 with a 6 Hours of Portimão round.
The circuit is the site of a statue in tribute to Craig Jones, representing Jones on his motorbike after passing the finishing line. The memorial was created by Paula Hespanha and Portuguese architect Manuel Pedro Ferreira Chaves and forms the centrepiece of a landscape sculpture representing the main straight of a racing circuit. One of the circuit's corners was named after Jones, a former World Supersport rider who was killed in a motorcycle crash at Brands Hatch in 2008. In 2022, rider Victor Steeman died during Race 1 of the Supersport 300 World Championship round at the circuit.
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