EARLY FAVOURITES EMERGE AHEAD OF QUALIFYING IN VILA REAL

The third free practice session of the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade round in Vila Real set the stage for tomorrow’s all-important qualifying. With pace and competition intensifying, expectations are high for fierce battles across all categories.

Held in the late afternoon, the session saw the fastest machines of the 54th Circuito Internacional de Vila Real take to the demanding and unforgiving Transmontano street circuit one last time before qualifying. Despite the hour, the heat remained relentless, placing physical and mechanical demands on drivers, cars, and teams alike.

Lap times dropped significantly, with the outright lap record for the circuit – a 2:02.852 set by Patrick Cunha in 2023 at the wheel of a Veloso Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT4 – being emphatically eclipsed. The Speedy Motorsport pairing of José Carlos Pires and Pedro Salvador set the benchmark with a 2:01.823, followed closely by team-mates César Machado and Rafael Lobato with a time of 2:01.971. The Racar Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Mathieu Martins and Roberto Faria also dipped under the previous time, clocking a 2:02.566.

Francisco Mora and Francisco Abreu, in a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 entered by Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal, placed fourth overall. They were followed by the fastest GT4 Pro-Am Bronze duo, Sérgio Azevedo and Orlando Batina, in the Batina Racing Toyota, who narrowly edged out the Porsche Cayman CS RS of Bruno Pires and Patrick Cunha from Veloso Motorsport by just over a tenth of a second. Their performance hints at a close fight for pole in this class during tomorrow’s session.

In the GT4 Bronze category, Vasco Oliveira and Francisco Carvalho continued to lead the way in their Racar Motorsport-run Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO. However, Ricardo Costa and series returnee Nuno Teixeira remain within striking distance in second place in class – tenth overall – in their Mercedes-AMG GT4 prepared by NM Racing Team.

Ruben Vaquinhas and Pedro Bastos Rezende once again impressed in the Gianfranco Motorsport-run Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, maintaining strong form in GT4 Bronze. They were followed by António Lopes and Filipe Videira, driving an identical Aston Martin from Racar Motorsport.

Rui Miritta remained unshaken at the head of the Cup class, guiding his Porsche 911 Cup car to 11th overall. Also showing strong pace were Pompeu Simões and Duarte Camelo, who placed their Speedy Motorsport-prepared Porsche Cayman CS at the top of the GTX standings, ahead of the BMW M4 GT4 (F82) driven by up-and-coming duo Henrique Moura Oliveira and Ruben Silva.

Qualifying is scheduled to get underway tomorrow at 11:10am (local time) and will be broadcast live on the Race Ready YouTube channel. Live interviews from the pit lane will also be available via the Supercars Instagram account.