Jorge Rodrigues and Patrick Cunha drove Veloso Motorsport's Audi R8 LMS GT4 to victory in the second race of the Iberian Supercars Endurance sister series, Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade, at the 52nd edition of the Circuito Internacional de Vila Real.
The layout of the capital of Vila Real was adorned with an impressive crowd of spectators to witness the most anticipated race of the program. The drivers of Portugal's top racing series responded with a high-level display, pushing their limits and those of their exuberant cars on every lap, skillfully navigating each corner to the maximum, and often passing within millimeters of the barriers that are always ready to punish any excess.
Patrick Cunha started from pole position and set a blistering pace that his pursuers struggled to keep up with.
To help the Audi driver's cause, Francisco Abreu, in the Speedy Motorsport BMW M4 GT4, tried to overtake Orlando Batina, who was second in the Batina Racing BMW M4 GT4 (F82), at the end of the Abambres corner, and there was contact between the two.
Both cars were delayed considerably, especially Orlando Batina's, with Carlos Vieira in the Racar Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 moving into second place.
After the driver changes, the race changed for the better, with the leader, Jorge Rodrigues, being chased by Manuel Gião, who took the wheel from Carlos Vieira, and José Carlos Pires, in place of Francisco Abreu.
The Racar Motorsport Mercedes-AMG veteran driver was closing in on the Veloso Motorsport Audi, while the Speedy Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 man was closing in on both.
The big question was whether the top three could stay together to fight it out in the final laps of the forty-five minute race.
Jorge Rodrigues managed the approach of his rivals well, leaving Manuel Gião less than three seconds behind, while the latter had José Carlos Pires just four-tenths of a second behind when he crossed the finish line.
In the end, Jorge Rodrigues and Patrick Cunha crossed the finish line in first place, winning GT4 Bronze division, while Manuel Gião and Carlos Vieira imposed themselves for the first time this year in GT4 Pro ahead of José Carlos Pires and Francisco Abreu, who were in second place in the same division.
Despite losing a lot of time with the touch, Orlando Batina and Sérgio Azevedo finished third in GT4 Pro, while Francisco Carvalho and Nuno Batista, in the McLaren 570S GT4 of Araújo Competição, with a solid race finished second in GT4 Bronze division.
Supercars Endurance TCR Champion Daniel Teixeira, driving the Cupra TCR of JT59 Racing Team, was the winner among the TCR competitors and in the Touring category after an impeccable race. The driver from Murça was involved in a collision with Fábio Mota, when the driver of the Ginetta G55 GT4 from Tockwith Motorsports, sharing the car with Bruno Pires, misjudged a potential overtaking maneuver for third place, resulting in a touch to the rear of the Spanish car.
The Tockwith Motorsports driver was forced to head to the pits with steering problems, while Daniel Teixeira could continue, climbing to the top step of the podium in his category after yesterday's disappointment.
Manuel Fernandes, driving the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup for Team VRT, won among the TC competitors, accompanied on the podium by newcomers Carlos Tavares and Jean-Philippe Imparato, in a similar car from the same Spanish team, and by Borja Hormigos and Héctor Hernández, driving the BMW M240i Racing for Autoworks Motorsport.
Álvaro Ramos, driving the Aston Martin Vantage for Araújo Competição, had a solid race, winning in the GTC category, while Gonçalo Manahu and Manuel Castro, in the Porsche 911 Cup for Fabela Sport, crossed the finish line in first place among the Cup division competitors. However, a penalty for not fulfilling the mandatory pit stop time resulted in the victory being awarded to João Vieira, driving the Porsche 911 Cup run by Garagem Aurora.
The next and final round of the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade will take place at Estoril on November 25th and 26th. The Iberian Supercars Endurance returns on October 20/22 at Circuito de Jerez.
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