After winning yesterday, João Curva took his BMW S1000R to his second victory this weekend today, Sunday, which marks the first race of the 2023 TLC Trophy season.
Continuing yesterday’s performance with the climb to the top of the podium, Curva set the second time in Sunday’s timed race (1.49.197s) which guaranteed him equal position on the starting grid. With a slower start than intended, the man in the S1000R found himself relegated to 5th at the end of the first lap.
Coming from pole and with the best time in the timed race (1:48.503s), Duarte Amaral ended up seeing his intentions for this first race of the championship achieved when he crashed at Curva 2 at Estoril and retired immediately. With this fall Amaral left the door open for Frédèric Bottoglieri. Triumph ST765RS, coming from third place on the grid, took the lead at that moment. But it was short-lived, as João Curva, growing stronger after a bad start, took first place in an exchange with Bottoglieri on the 3rd lap, a position he would maintain until the end.
After 10 laps of the Estoril Circuit, João Curva would win twice this weekend and start the 2023 season in the best way. The middle of the podium would go to Bottoglieri at 1.750s. At the bottom of the podium, but first among the “naked”, Paulo Vicente with his M1000R more than 4 seconds behind the curve.
In terms of classes, the Open triumph was once again in the hands of Rodrigo Amaral, followed by Fernando Mecier. On TBN 1 the top 3 were made up of João Curva, Paulo Vicente and Ricardo Amaral, while on TBN 2 the top three were Frédèric Bottoglieri, Romain Berton and Cyrille Schertenleib. André Capitão was the lone winner of SBK, and Raul Felgueiras and Márcio Silva in Super Sport.