VILA REAL WELCOMES THE WEEKEND’S FASTEST CARS

Track activity has already begun in Vila Real, where the second round of this year’s Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade is taking place this weekend in the North of Portugal. The first two free practice sessions have already been completed.

FP1: Very ‘Green’ Track

The cars from Portugal’s premier speed competition were the first to take to the circuit, finding the asphalt very dirty, as is typical on a street track. Drivers mainly focused on reacquainting themselves with the demanding Vila Real layout—some returning to familiar ground, while others were experiencing it for the first time.

Nonetheless, Speedy Motorsport set the tone, with César Machado and Rafael Lobato clocking the fastest time ahead of their teammates José Carlos Pires and Pedro Salvador—both duos driving Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2s.

Third overall went to Patrick Cunha and Bruno Pires, who, at the wheel of a Veloso Motorsport Porsche Cayman CS RS, were the fastest in the GT4 Pro-Bronze category. They edged out Nuno Afonso and Alexandre Areia, who finished just 0.8s behind in the Gianfranco Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

In GT4 Bronze, the Racar Motorsport pairing of Vasco Oliveira and Francisco Carvalho came out on top, placing their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO in eighth overall and beating Miguel and André Nabais, who ended up tenth on the timesheets.

Most drivers in the GT4 Am class, apart from Pedro Bastos Rezende, had never raced in Vila Real or on a street circuit before, and were still adjusting to the new environment. Ruben Vaquinhas and Pedro Bastos Rezende, driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 prepared by Gianfranco Motorsport, were the quickest in the class, finishing ahead of António Lopes and Filipe Videira, who were also in a British car run by Racar Motorsport.

GTC Champion Rui Miritta topped the Cup class in his Porsche 911 Cup prepared by Monteiros Competições, just ahead of Pompeu Simões and Duarte Camelo in a Porsche Cayman CS run by Speedy Motorsport—the fastest duo in the GTX division.

FP2: Heat Kicks In

By the second free practice session, the track had cleaned up, but the intense heat in Vila Real prevented lap times from dropping as much as they might have in cooler conditions.

Even so, Francisco Abreu and Francisco Mora, in the Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 from Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal, managed a lap of 2:03.014, improving on the morning benchmark set by César Machado and Rafael Lobato by nearly eight-tenths of a second. Their time was just under two-tenths off Patrick Cunha’s 2023 lap, the fastest ever by a GT4 in the streets of Vila Real.

Speedy Motorsport’s duo took second, only 0.075s behind, underlining the close competition seen on the Vila Real circuit.

Third place went to the Batina Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, with Orlando Batina and Sérgio Azevedo setting the fastest time in the GT4 Pro-Bronze division, ahead of Nuno Afonso and Alexandre Areia, who were second quickest in a similar Gianfranco Motorsport car.

As in the first session, Vasco Oliveira and Francisco Carvalho, in the Racar Motorsport Aston Martin EVO car, led the way in GT4 Bronze. They beat the NM Racing Team’s Mercedes AMG GT4—driven by Ricardo Costa and series returnee Nuno Teixeira—by nine-tenths of a second. Teixeira was confirmed as part of the Spanish squad just yesterday afternoon.

The GT4 Am drivers, new to Vila Real, showed noticeable progress. Ruben Vaquinhas and Pedro Bastos Rezende, in their Gianfranco Motorsport Aston Martin, again outpaced António Lopes and Filipe Videira, who were in a similar Racar Motorsport car.

Rui Miritta, in his Porsche 911 Cup, once more led the Cup category, while Pompeu Simões and Duarte Camelo, in a Porsche Cayman, remained the fastest in GTX.

The third free practice session in Vila Real is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.