Surfing in the sun: Ivan Domingues’ Hometown Tour

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Ivan Domingues gives us the lowdown on his hometown in Leiria, Portugal and what to do on a first-time visit.

The Portuguese driver picks out his favourite places to go and things to do around the district.

“My hometown is in Leiria, Portugal which is North of Lisbon. There’s not too much in the town, but there’s some more stuff to do around it in the district.

"I would probably have a nice breakfast at home to start off with. Eggs and avocado maybe, mangoes as well. Then we would have to pack the surfboard up in the car and head out to the beach at São Pedro de Moel and go surfing there.

“After that, I would go to the Beach, which isn’t far away, maybe 15 minutes from there a bit of lunch. There’s a specific fried fish and rice you can get, it’s pretty good.

“In the afternoon, what can we see? I would go to the museum in Batalha. They have a museum there about a war that happened a long time ago, but it would be cool to go there.

“After, I would go play some golf nearby there, so we could go there play some golf which would be nice. Then we can go home, get ready for dinner.

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“Normally, I would just invite some friends over and we would do a barbeque. That would be the rest of the night. I think it would be a lovely summer day off.

“I think something that’s underrated is surfing to be honest. I’ve seen some people do it, but not as many as you would think.

“You go to the Netherlands for example and there’s so many people surfing. In Portugal, the beaches are nicer but there aren’t as many people surfing. So I’d recommend people to start surfing more.

“I surf a bit, I can stand on the board and go straight and go side to side, but not as well. My best friend surfs, so we go sometimes, and he’s got me to take it up and learn. I have started now, and I have a board and suit now, so I’m starting to go with them. It’s a good way to disconnect.

“In my town, a lot of people are happy to go into town for food and drinks, but I think it’s quite boring. Some of my friends do it, but I would prefer to do a barbeque at home or something completely different.

“I also forgot to mention padel. I always have a competition with my friends when I’m home. But it can get very competitive. We have so many jokes with each other, it’s fun but very competitive.”