VILA REAL IGNITES IN THRILLING STREET CIRCUIT RACING SHOWDOWN

After yesterday’s rain, the second race of the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade round at the 54th edition of the Circuito Internacional Vila Real was held under the sun and intense heat – but the excitement remained high.

Pedro Salvador, driving a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, started from pole position for the 50-minute race and held onto the lead, although closely pursued by Rafael Lobato – also in a Speedy Motorsport car of the same model – along with Mathieu Martins in a Racar Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 and Francisco Abreu in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal car.

Making his debut in the championship this year, Pedro Salvador came under heavy pressure from his teammate but managed to maintain the lead, albeit by a narrow margin. That margin was further reduced following a Safety Car situation caused by an incident involving the Veloso Motorsport Porsche Cayman CS RS, driven by Patrick Cunha, and the Racar Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Filipe Videira.

The British made car hit the chicane at the Mateus Descent and had to retire to the pits, but the barriers lining the track in that area needed to be repaired, which required the race to be neutralised.

When racing resumed, it coincided with the mandatory driver changes, prompting a flurry of activity in the pit lane. Among those who lost out in this shuffle were César Machado, teammate of Rafael Lobato, who dropped to fourth, and Francisco Mora, who shares the Supra with Francisco Abreu, falling to sixth.

On the gaining side were Roberto Faria, who shares one of Racar Motorsport’s Aston Martins with Mathieu Martins, and Vasco Oliveira, co-driver with Francisco Carvalho in another of the Odivelas-based team, who climbed to third.

César Machado, the reigning overall GT champion, pushed Vasco Oliveira hard but was unable to reclaim the position. Oliveira held onto third place overall and took victory in the GT4 Bronze division, aided by a red flag caused by Nuno Afonso’s incident. The Gianfranco Motorsport driver, behind the wheel of a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, spilled a large amount of oil on the track, effectively ending the race just before the chequered flag.

At the front, José Carlos Pires brought home the win started by Pedro Salvador, securing victory in the second race of the weekend, ahead of Roberto Faria and Mathieu Martins, who finished second.

Bruno Pires and Patrick Cunha, despite a few scares during the race, delivered an excellent performance, taking the win in the GT4 Pro-Bronze category. They outperformed the Toyotas of Nuno Afonso and Alex Areia (Gianfranco Motorsport), who despite the incident finished second, and Sérgio Azevedo and Orlando Batina of Batina Racing who struggled with engine overheating.

Ruben Vaquinhas and Pedro Bastos Rezende maintained their unbeaten run in GT4 Am, despite suffering a puncture in the first half of the race. They took the win in the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 entered by Gianfranco Motorsport, ahead of the similar Racar Motorsport car driven by Filipe Videira and António Lopes.

Pompeu Simões and Duarte Camelo completed a perfect weekend with another win in the GTX class, driving the Speedy Motorsport-prepared Porsche Cayman CS. They finished ahead of Henrique Moura Oliveira and Ruben Silva in the BMW M4 GT4 (F82) from Monteiros Competições, and Luca Staccini and Gracie Mitchell, who ended with a driveshaft problem affected Ginetta G55 from Tockwith Motorsports.

The Cup division had a repeat podium from yesterday. Favourite Rui Miritta took victory in the Porsche 911 entered by Monteiros Competições, continuing his strong performance through the challenging streets of Vila Real. Close behind were Adam Fawsitt and Pedro Raposo (Protech Motorsport) and Vítor Costa (Monteiros Competições), all driving the iconic model from the Zuffenhausen manufacturer.

Following this afternoon’s race, the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade will return at Jerez de la Frontera from 31st October to 2nd November, while the Iberian Supercars and Supercars España will be back in action from 12th to 14th September in Valencia.