SuperCars Endurance: Gustavo Moura
took the first laurels in Jarama
Gustavo Moura (Hyundai Elantra N TCR) signed a dream debut with his new car, by winning, in a categorical way, this Sunday morning, the first race of the opening day of SuperCars Endurance, at the Spanish circuit of Jarama, beating the Mercedes AMG of the duo António Coimbra/Luís Silva by a margin of 8.615 seconds.
The Portuguese drivers were in the spotlight, as they monopolized the podium places, after a race in which the TCRs drove a good part of the race in the front. Daniel Teixeira (CUPRA TCR) also stood out, as he only took part in the race due to the sportsmanship of Spanish veteran Paco Gastañaga, as he gave up the radiator fan of his CUPRA TCR, forgoing, therefore, to line up in the 45 minutes race. Teixeira was brilliant and ran almost always in second, behind Moura, and only gave up that place to António Coimbra when he was forced to lower the pace, because the front left tyre starts to fall apart, causing a strong vibration in the CUPRA. "It was a shame to lose the second place, it's true, but my war was more the TCR....," confessed the JT59 Racing Team driver.
At the front, Moura took the lead at the start, overtaking Nicolas Pino (Ginetta G55), but after half a dozen laps the Chilean driver was in first place. However, the GC24 Motorsport's Portuguese, who races 'solo', was not intimidated and when the Tockwith Motorsport team changed the driver he got back to the lead, which he kept until receiving the checkered flag.
"I suffered a bit in the final part with the tyre wear as I had the front left almost taking off. I had to put my foot up and manage the advantage I had over my nearest rival very well. It was great to win and I am immensely happy with that", said Gustavo Moura.
The third place was decided in the last of the 25 laps and it was a consequence of Daniel Teixeira's difficulties due to the tyres wearing in his CUPRA TCR during the second half of the race. And after receiving the Sports & You Mercedes AMG from his colleague Luís Silva in sixth position, António Coimbra set a very strong pace and took advantage of every opportunity that came his way, as he pointed out at the end: "We were lucky and unlucky, because when I went out the Safety Car came in, but it was still possible to win the GT4 Bronze category. There were one or two more laps to go and maybe our team could win the overall. Anyway, we had a calm race, with a good rhythm, but without risking".
In view of the dominance of the Portuguese drivers, the Tockwith Motorsport duo Marmaduke Hall/Nicolas Pino, in fourth position, with the Ginetta G55, finished as the best foreigner and winner of the GT4 Pro class, leaving third, Gonzalo de Andres/Guillermo Arjol, a big gap behind, as the McLaren 570S was again not without problems.
Nico Abella, the driver and boss of the Chefosport team, was simply untouchable in the RC class, at the wheel of a Peugeot 308 Racing Cup, conquering a magnificent fifth place, leaving behind opponents with much more powerful cars.
The Jorge Rodrigues/Francisco Carvalho (Porsche 981 Cayman MR) duo, in sixth place, finished second in the GT4 Bronze class, less than one second ahead of the Lithuanian Andrius Zemaitis (Porsche 981 Cayman MR).
Rookie Francisco Goncalves (Lotus Exige) was second in the GTC class, whose winners were Jemma Moore and Aubrey Hall in the Tockwith Motorsport Ginetta G50.
The JC Group Racing Team were not so lucky as José Correia had a run-off and his Mercedes AMG was buried in the gravel, where it lost several laps before handing over the wheel to his daughter Gabriela.
Race 1
1st, GC 24 Motorsport, Gustavo Moura (Hyundai Elantra E TCR), TCR, 45.14.310
2nd, Sports & You, António Coimbra/Luís Silva (Mercedes AMG), GT4 Bronze, +8.615s
3rd, JT59 Racing, Daniel Teixeira (CUPRA TCR), TCR, + 12.907
4th, Tockwith Motorsport, Marmaduke Hall/Nicolas Pino (Ginetta G55), GT4 PRO, + 25.036
5th, Chefosport, Nico Abella (Peugeot Racing Cup), RC, + 38.405
6th, Lema Racing, Jorge Rodrigues/Francisco Carvalho (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), GT4 Bronze, +44.581
7th, PROGT, Andrius Zemaitis (Porsche 981 Caymen MR), GT4 Bronze, +45.356
8th, Tockwith Motorsport, Jemma More/Aubrey Hall (Ginetta G50), GTC, +1.06.348
9th, SMC Motorsport, Aso Arjol (McLaren 570S), GT4 PRO, +1.26.930
10th, SMC Motorsport, Alfonso Colomina (Peugeot 308 Racing Cup), RC, 1 lap
11th, Garagem João Gomes, Piero dal Maso/Nuno Nunes (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), GT4 Bronze, 1 lap
12th, 888_ Motorsport, Francisco Gonçalves (Lotus Exige), GTC, 1lap
13th, JC Group Racing Team, José Correia/Gabriela Correia (Mercedes AMG), GT4 Bronze, 7laps
14th, SMC Junior Motorsport, Alejandro Cutillas (Peugeot 308 TCR), TCR, 11 lap.
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