During the fourth edition of the Circuito Chocolates Imperial, a Citroën Visa Cup series race held at Vila do Conde, Portugal, driver Reis Thomaz lost control of his Visa Chrono at the exit of the Curva do Castelo and crashed onto the barriers. The car rolled over and back onto the track along the main straight, where it was hit by some of the other competitors in the pack. It is believed that the injuries Reis Thomaz suffered when his car was hit by other vehicles - and not the initial impact - where a determining factor to his death, which happened shortly after the accident at the Hospital de São João in Vila do Conde.

José Maria Ferreira Reis Thomaz's death shocked Portugal's racing community. A much liked man - and mostly known by his surname, which he used for race entering purposes - Reis Thomaz, 41, was an accomplished engineer who, in the late 1970s, built the first and only car completely made with Portuguese components, a mini-vehicle named Sado. He was also professional journalist with the magazine Turbo, and had just begun to make regular appearances as a driver in the Citroën Visa Cup line-up.

Vila do Conde, one of the oldest circuits of Portugal, was inaugurated in 1950. The original 2.704-kilometer street course passed on the coastline through Avenida do Brasil - Praia Azul - Avenida do Ferrol - Esses - Avenida Júlio Graça - Curva do Rio - Avenida Marquês de Sá de Bandeira - Seca do Bacalhau - Curva do Castelo, in the southern area of the town of Vila do Conde, in Norte Region, Portugal. Possibly the track had some section in common with the 1,870-kilometer Circuito do Ave, which was first used in 1931. In 1993 the course was lengthened to 2.780 kilometers, and three new chicanes were built near the Praia Azul bend, at the Curva do Rio and on the very fast stretch of Seca do Bacalhau.

R.I.P