"A very tough-fought victory has a different flavour"
Miguel Cristóvão and Francisco Carvalho took a victory in both the Iberian Supercars Endurance and in the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade (CPV) GTC category in the #88 Araújo Competição McLaren 570S GT4.
If Carvalho had been Portuguese champion in 2019, when he drove a Porsche GT4, Cristóvão, who counts with several other titles including the GT4 Pro class in the 2019 GT4 South European Series, claimed his first Portuguese title. "I have now won my first Portuguese title, as I had never participated before," says the driver from Cascais, while his teammate adds: "Winning a very sweaty championship, as this one was, has another flavour."
Cristóvão enjoyed the experience of driving the McLaren 570S GT4 in Iberian Supercars.
"The McLaren car, besides being very beautiful, is quite interesting to drive, although it revealed some problems at the reliability level that affected the performance, but all in all it was a pleasant season." And one of the facts that surprised him the most was the performance balance verified along the season, as he insisted: "There was a great homogeneity of running, due to the introduction of BoP (Balance of Performance), but it's always complicated, when you invest more in a car that should be faster and then see it running at a TCR level, or see other one-make cup cars running next to the GT4 cars. It's difficult and even strange to justify or understand, but it is what it is.”
“To win the championship was our goal, and we did it. However, it was difficult due to several bad luck and reliability problems, but, in the end, we feel the duty done and, of course, a great satisfaction,” Cristóvão said.
Francisco Carvalho attributes the interest and competitiveness generated in the season 2022 due to the GT4, TCR and GTC mixing grid: "Since the end of the Portuguese Touring Car Championship (PTCC), I've been arguing that the best formula for a good championship should be this one, and the result is plain to see. They are more accessible cars and feasible values for the Portuguese reality. There are all the ingredients to be a success, as it was this season".
As for 2023, the driver from Guarda has already decided: "The idea will be to repeat the CPV/Iberian Supercars Endurance with a GT4 car, but I hope that not so many setbacks arise and that I suffer less to win the title..."
