The races in the four categories held last weekend at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve were all full of surprises and twists.
Prototype Cup: Team Virage returns to action and wins
As often happens, the second round of the European Endurance Prototype Cup delivered its verdict in the last hour of the race. Thanks to a well-executed strategy and drivers in excellent form at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Team Virage won the overall classification for the first time this season. After the success of the N°88 car (Jacek Zielonka, Raphael Narac, Daniel Macia) in the LMP3 class at Paul Ricard, the N°1 (Georgios Kolovos, Axel Gnos and Sacha Lehmann) scored a double blow by winning the race and the class.
Second under the checkered flag, James Winslow, John Corbett and Alim Geshev (Graff Racing) achieved great success in the NP02. Starting from nineteenth position, the crew of car No. 7 was very intelligent, especially when it came to management. The race was marked by a red flag almost two hours after the first third, when a combination of circumstances led to a serious accident in which three cars retired (the Nerguti Competition NP02 n°99, the MV2S Racing NP02 n° 28 and the DKR Duqueine LMP3 n°34).
At Paul Ricard, Graff Racing had achieved a double with the victory of car number 9 (Eric Trouillet, Luis Sanjuan, David Droux), seventh on the day, ahead of car number 8 (Loris Kyburz, Louis Rossi, Sébastien Page), which suffered a puncture and finished fourteenth under the checkered flag.
This Sunday in Portugal, Pascal Rauturier’s team saw its third NP02 win its class. Yet Ian Aguilera would have liked to deny them this triumph. The Mexican from CD Sport did everything to reach James Winslow in the last hour. The Briton maintained a good pace to maintain his position until the finish. CD Sport N°3 (Michael Jensen, Nick Adcock, Ian Aguilera) took second place after starting from 22nd position.
Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Christophe Cresp gave MV2S Racing a classy podium. The former single-seater driver impressed during his first stint, when he moved from twentieth position to the front of the grid. Cogemo Racing car N°555 was the protagonist of the race, finishing at the foot of the podium, but Sébastien Morales, Philippe Thirion and Denis Caillon still won the NP02 Ultimate class.
Action on the track
Photo credit: Ultimate Cup
In LMP3, behind the Virage team, TS Corse finished the 6 Hours in second place. Nathan Kumar, Ayrton Simmons and Gianluca Giraudi were unable to challenge the number 1 car, but protected themselves from any attack at the end of the race, as the number 24 Duqueine finished with a comfortable margin ahead of the number Inter Europol 34.
Alexander Bukhantsov, Niels Koolen and local hero Pedro Perino completed the class podium. Thanks to a good comeback by the Portuguese driver in the final half hour, despite two close stops, the Polish team secured their second consecutive podium in the European Endurance Prototype Cup.
The N°84 of ANS Motorsport has a lot to regret. Ninth when the lights went out, Julien Lemoine entered the pits at the end of the first lap. He went out two laps late and his race already seemed almost over. The various dangers allowed the team to gradually move up the order and think of a podium.
Unfortunately, a 30-second Stop&Go for excessive speed in the pit lane dashed their chances. Julien Lemoine and Nicolas Schatz placed fourth in their class. The pole position winners finished fifth. Despite a very solid first stint from Marius Fossard, Bretton Racing’s No.26 car continued to challenge for a possible top-3 finish.
Once he got into the car, following Bernardo Pinheiro, Manuel Esperito Santo set an enormous pace. After spending a long time in third position, the Portuguese driver had to go through the pit lane to refuel in the final minutes, but the podium was now gone.
The replay of the 6 Hours of Portimão is available on the championship’s YouTube channel. The next round of the Ultimate Cup European Series will be held in Hockenheim, Germany, from 4 to 7 July.
Gregor Raymondis, general manager: “The Ultimate Cup European Series was racing in Portimão for the first time. We were very happy to come here because it is a beautiful circuit and a destination close to our hearts. We saw a fantastic race by the Prototypes , with a great battle until the checkered flag. 34 prototypes were entered, a varied group with 19 Nova NP02s and 15 Ligier LMP3s.
“We would like to thank the teams at the circuit who acted in record time to rescue Stéphane Ortelli after the accident. The impact was violent, but Stéphane was cared for admirably. He underwent surgery on his ankle but is fine and on behalf of the entire Ultimate Cup we wish him a speedy recovery.”
#3 SR&R, Ferrari 488 GT3: Francesco Atzori, Aramis
Photo credit: Ultimate Cup
The Trofeu GT celebrates in the Algarve
The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve hosted two GT championships this weekend, the Trofeu GT Endurance and the Trofeu GT Sprint. Ten different manufacturers competed in the two categories on the hilly Portuguese track.
Trofeu GTE: Visiom wins, 2B gets a double in the Porsche Cup
The 4 Hours of Trofeu GTE promised to be a hotly contested event, with plenty of action in the various categories. In qualifying, the Ferrari Visiom n°1 (Jean Bernard Bouvet, Jean Paul Pagny, David Hallyday) was put in difficulty by the Vortex n°20 of Arnaud and Olivier Gomez, authors of the pole.
Both cars broke away at the start, but Vortex maintained the lead. Unfortunately, the race was not easy for her, as she had a series of technical problems in the first half hour. Once in the lead, David Hallyday extended his lead over the rest of the field. After supporting Jean Paul Pagny and Jean Bernard Bouvet, he returned to the track to take his Ferrari to the checkered flag in style.
With four 992 GT3 Cups vying for victory with an hour to go, the Porsche Cup category delivered its verdict in the final moments. Thanks to a particularly fast Romain Favre, the N°7 2B Autosport car secured the overall podium and the class victory. Romain and Olivier Favre, accompanied by Yann Penlou, preceded the Vandewoestyne brothers’ sister car. Karl and César stood on the podium together for the first time in the championship.
Action on the track
Photo credit: Ultimate Cup
In the final minutes, Anthony Beltoise (GP Racing Team) managed to catch up with the valiant Sébastien Lajoux (Seb Lajoux Racing) to steal third place and bring his teammates Gabriel Péméant and Loïc Terre onto the podium.
The Vortex 2.0 of Solenn Amrouche and Cyril Calmon took second place in UCS1 behind the leading Ferrari. Christophe Derouineau, Stéphane Gouverneur and Jimmy Luminier (Vortex) won UCS3.
The UCS4 category went to Regis Rego De Sebes and Daniel Waszczinski (L’Espace Bienvenue). The internal battle in UCS Light went in favor of the N°19 Chazel Technologie Course Alpine (Benoit Marion, Julien Bounie, Olivier Martinez).
The N°123 (Frédéric De Brabant, Jean Louis Dauger) and the N°110 (Guillaume Masset, Stéphane Lipp, Félix Crepet, Michel Abattu) are in the top-3.
Trofeu GTS: Lamborghini and Ferrari in the lead, the Seb Lajoux Racing team smiles
The Italian manufacturers had a field day in Portugal. In the Trofeu GT Sprint, Lamborghini and Ferrari took turns winning. Alfredo Hernandez (BDR Competition Grupo Prom), Alexis Berthet (CMR) and Francesco Atzori won twice in the four races of the weekend.
The Italian also won the Cavallino Tridente Cup, while the other victories went to Frédéric Lacore (Racing Spirit of Leman) in race 1 and Lyle Schofield (SR&R) in race 3. In addition to the overall victory, Alfredo Hernandez and Alexis Berthet they won the UCS2 category.
In the Porsche Cup, no one managed to beat the two 992 GT3 Cups from Seb Lajoux Racing. Stéphane Perrin and Sébastien Lajoux took the N°908 to the head of the class. In the other two races, Jérémy Faligand won the laurels.
In UCS4, Pierre Arraou (Herrero Racing) and François Denis (Speedcar) shared the victories. Winner of Race 3, Marine Pidoux (Speedcar) denied André Zaphiratos (Driv’n) a quadruple victory.
#353 SR&R, Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo: Lyle Schofield, Lourenço Monteiro
Photo credit: Ultimate Cup
Ultimate Formula Cup: spectacle at every turn in Portimão
The second meeting of the Ultimate Formula Cup kept all its promises at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. In the F3R 13” class, the battles on the track went from good to better, culminating in a crazy final lap with five drivers vying for the overall victory.
The first to get busy was Adrien Closmenil. After a perfect race, the Thunder by Winfield Racing driver had a more than seven-second lead over the rest of the field. Enzo Richer (Formula Motorsport) and Milan Petelet (Minerva Oil by Krafft Racing) completed the top-3.
On Saturday morning it was the turn of the runner-up from the previous day to win after a perfectly controlled race. Adrien Closmenil, initially second, was demoted, allowing Marius Mezard (Sport-Promotion) and Milan Petelet to reach the podium.
The last race of the weekend closed the second meeting of the season in style. Race 3 was a race of rare intensity, with every corner an overtaking opportunity. Lap after lap, Enzo Richer, Adrien Closmenil, Milan Petelet, Marius Mezard and Juan Francisco Soldavini (Art-Line Virage) took the lead.
Crossing the finish line with just five seconds of regulation time, the riders finished the race in style. With three opponents at Turn 3 and four at T5, it was impossible to predict the winner. Art-Line’s opportunist Virage held off Adrien Closmenil at the finish line to take his first win in the category.
Enzo Richer took the third step of the podium with a 0″044 lead over Milan Petelet. Marius Mezard was sixth. Second on the grid, the Sport-Promotion driver made a mistake at the start and found himself back in the group. Despite a magnificent recovering to the lead, the three-time Paul Ricard winner ended up outside the top-five due to a collision on the last lap.
In the Gentlemen category, Walter Rykart (Formula Motorsport) and Gilles Depierre (Rever’Team) shared the victories. Christophe Hurni was not far from making three victories in a row in FR2.0. Unfortunately, a retirement in race 2 deprived the Sport-Promotion driver of a hat-trick of victories. Thierry Malhomme (Lamo Racing) took the win. Yann Lavocat (Krafft Racing) left nothing to chance with three successes in the F3R 17” class.
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