- Frédèric Bottoglieri wins in the TLC Trophy / Naked Bike Trophy;
- Alexandre Cabá adds and continues in Moto4;
- Lourenço Vicente wins Moto 5 and consolidates the title of National Champion 2023.
- Ruben Macuá with almost absolute dominance in the Dunlop Motoval Cup
- Ivo Lopes unopposed becomes National SBK Champion 2023;
- Gonçalo Ribeiro scores victory in the STK600.
- Dinis Borges is SSP300 2023 National Champion in a mind-blowing race
After the strong emotions and struggles on the first day of another round of the National Speed Championship at the Estoril Circuit, this morning, Sunday, was once again dedicated to timed training in the various categories. With blue skies and the temperature making us forget that summer is already over, the main interested parties for national titles did not leave their credits in other people’s hands and continued with their goals.
TLC TROPHY and NAKED BIKE TROPHY – Bottiglieri recovers from yesterday’s crash and wins Race 2 in Estoril
In the TLC Trophy and Naked Bike Trophy squad, Sunday morning began the fight with a warm-up pass along the Estoril route. The fights of the 2nd and final race of the weekend were reserved for the drivers of both classes in the afternoon.
Grid formed with emphasis on the Pole of Saturday’s winner, Duarte Amaral (1:47.844s), who had at his side the yesterday’s unlucky Frédèric Bottoglieri (1:48.317s), victim of a fall on the 3rd lap of Race 1. The 3rd The position was given to the always competitive João Curva (1:48.522s), who yesterday had been 2nd overall. Luís Franco, who yesterday climbed to the lowest place on the podium in Race 1, would only be 7th for the start. The ingredients for 10 scheduled trips to Estoril by TLC and Naked were found.
A close start at the traffic lights with Bottoglieri, Curva and Amaral competing in turn 1. The advantage would be for Bottoglieri who took the lead, but without much of a margin as João Curva was “right there” on his wheel. After 5 of the 12 scheduled laps around Estoril, Bottoglieri was leading with a mere 0.271s advantage over Curva. A little further away Amaral could see the seconds and the distance for the duo to accumulate.
At the start of the last lap, Bottoglieri and Curva were separated by just over 1s, which allowed the Triumph ST765RS driver to comfortably remain at the front. After yesterday’s defeat with the fall on the 3rd lap, this was a much-celebrated victory for Frédèric who was also the winner among the men of TNB2. João Curva had to settle for 2nd place overall, being the winner among TNB1, soon followed by Duarte Amaral (TNB1), who took the lowest place on the podium.
Among the 4 participants in the Open class, victory went to Rodrigo Amaral with 9th place overall. Raúl Felgueiras scored the victory in the SS with 8th place overall. The only rider registered in the SBK category, André Capitão would win in his class, being 13th overall.
MOTO4 + MirMOTO5 – Alexandre Cabá adds and continues in Moto4; Lourenço Vicente wins Moto 5 and consolidates the title of National Champion 2023
After Saturday’s performance, Alexandre Cabá (MOTO4), continued to demonstrate his supremacy in race 2 of the MOTO4 and MIR-MOTO5 classes. Once again in the timings on Sunday morning, the young driver set the pace on his BEON 150 and set the fastest time with 2:01.482s, which allowed him to secure Pole for the afternoon’s race and in this way continue, the one so far, perfect sporting weekend
Alongside Cabá, and improving his performance compared to Saturday, Tiago João (MOTO4), in MINALRELLI 85, was 2nd fastest in qualifying with 2:05:024s, which allowed him to be present on the front line of the grid. Closing the Top 3, David Dias with 2:06.681s. Note to yesterday’s 3rd place overall, Lourenço Vicente, who did not go beyond 4th place in the timed races, being the best rider among the MIR-MOTO5.
The 2nd race on Sunday afternoon was launched with anticipation of some fight for victory, when braking for turn 1 the strongest was Alexandre Cabá who jumped to 1st position. Without being able to open a substantial advantage, the young BEON 150 rider managed his pace in the face of more direct opposition from Tiago João. Among the MIR-MOTO5 men, Lourenço Vicente led the class in 4th place overall.
Lap 3 would dictate the fall of Tiago João, who was in 2nd position following Cabá. The crash, with no consequences for the young driver, automatically left the leader with an advantage of more than 15s over David Dias who was in 2nd position this time. From that moment until the end, it was just “a trip to Cabo da Roca” for Alexandre Cabá who limited himself to managing the race at his pleasure. Undisputed victory with more than 36s of advantage, and the best among Moto4. David Dias was 2nd overall and Lourenço Vicente, the best among the MIR-MOTO5, completed the podium in 3rd place, but with a special taste, the consecration as 2023 Moto5 National Champion.
DUNLOP MOTOVAL CUP – Ruben Macuá with almost absolute dominance in the Dunlop Motoval Cup
After yesterday’s victory, Ruben Macuá returned this morning to the Estoril Circuit to set the best time among the Dunlop Motoval Cup riders. This time, Macuá, with 1:45.948s, did not allow himself to be beaten or surprised by the competition and secured Pole, also being the best among the CDM1. With 1:46.583s, Rafael Ribeiro, who had been the fastest in the chronos yesterday, found himself relegated to 2nd place on the grid with Bernardo Aguiar in 3rd place with 1:46.614s.
With a perfect start and for the 3rd race of Sunday’s sports program, Ruben Macuá took the lead in race 2 with a cannon start for the 10 laps of the Dunlop Motoval Cup. After two laps and with the GSXR1000 (CDM2) driver consistently being the fastest on the track, the advantage for the field was already greater than 3s. Hot on his heels, but without any possibility of following him in terms of pace, Rafael Ribeiro was soon followed by the first man of the CDM1, Bernardo Aguiar.
A race without history for Macuá that adds yet another victory to its history and closes its passage through the CNV III in Estoril with full and almost absolute success. Victories and best lap in races 1 and 2, best time in qualifying on Sunday. If it weren’t for Bernardo Aguiar having set the best time in Saturday’s qualifying, Macuá would have been the absolute dominator.
In chess and after passing Macuá, in 2nd position overall, Rafael Ribeiro, more than 15s behind the winner and also being 2nd among the CDM2. Bernardo Aguiar would maintain 3rd position until the end, ensuring yet another podium for his personal account and standing out as first among the CDM1.
As far as classes are concerned, the Top 3 of the CDM2 was closed with Nelson Cruz, 6th overall. In the CDM1 men, in addition to Aguiar, top 3 with Ricardo Rodrigues and Wagner Pederneira, 4th and 5th overall respectively.
SBK1000 and STK600 – Ivo Lopes unopposed becomes National SBK Champion 2023
(Ivo Lopes – National SBK Champion 2023 / Photo: Kezman Photografy)
Ivo Lopes was, without any surprise, the fastest in the timed races on Sunday morning. With the best time in the second “39” (1:39.310s), Lopes showed his dominance over the peloton, never truly facing direct opposition. After Saturday’s victory where he gave a driving “masterclass”, the BMW1000 driver put together one more piece for a possible full weekend.
For his part, Romeu Leite repeated yesterday’s good performance and secured 2nd place on the grid with 1:42.206s with Miguel Romão in 3rd (1:42.918s). Among the STK and timed races, once again, Pedro Fragoso is the leader and is in 6th place overall on the grid with 1:44.997s.
Clean start with Ivo Lopes jumping to the front without any opposition with Romeu Leite and Ricardo Lopes hot on his heels. Among the STK men, and at the end of the 1st lap the leadership was in the hands of Pedro Fragoso who was riding in 7th position with Gonçalo Ribeiro and Tomás Silva in 8th and 9th position respectively.
The course of the 15 laps was entirely dominated by the BMW1000 man, Lopes was averaging 2.5s per lap over his pursuers. With Lopes doing his race, in SBK the fight was reduced to Romeu Leite (Yamaha R1) and Ricardo Lopes (CBR1000). The very small difference between the two was constant with the two drivers competing for every meter of the Estoril route. The STK men had a more unequal fight, with Fragoso, Ribeiro and Silva maintaining positions and separated by more than 1s. This was until 6 laps to go, when with a very well managed braking, Gonçalo Ribeiro took the lead of the STK, rising to 7th place overall. Fragoso saw his leadership among the “600” riders disappear in this way. In clear loss, Fragoso sank in the classification until the end to finish only 10th overall.
With the checkered grid in sight and at the exit of the Estoril satellite dish, Ivo Lopes held a 25s advantage over the chasing duo who continued in a lively dispute for the middle of the podium. Lopes won race 2 and completed a great weekend for the IL 75 Motorrad Portugal, becoming National SBk Champion 2023. With a 1.5s difference, Romeu Leite would manage to add another podium finisher to his personal list and Ricardo Lopes being 3rd overall.
Among SBK, Gonçalo Ribeiro would finally achieve victory, being 6th overall. Tomás Silva (8th) and Isaac Rosa (9th) closed the Top 3.
PRE-MOTO3 and SSP300 – Dinis Borges is SSP300 2023 National Champion in a mind-blowing race; Martim Marco wins PREMOTO3
(Dinis Borges – SSP300 National Champion 2023 / Photo: Kezman Photografy)
With a hard-fought victory in race 1 on Saturday, Dinis Borges saw Sunday’s timed races being equally difficult to manage. The Rame Moto Racing man maintained a head-to-head fight with Martim Marco, the only Pre-Moto3 class rider to compete and who was not on the track yesterday. With minimal differences, the discussion for Pole ended up favoring Martim Marco (1:53.491s) with Borges just 0.245s further behind. The 3rd time overall, 1:54.277s of the timers dictated the presence of Martim Jesus in that same position on the grid.
Last race of the day in this passage of the National Speed Championship through Estoril with Dinis Borges being the strongest in turn 1. However, even in the first lap, the only one registered in PREMOTO3, Martim Marco, would take the lead, relegating Borges, Jesus and Garcia , all SSP300 for 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Different categories, but a very intense fight with 4 riders wanting position 1.
With 4 laps to complete, Martim Marco (PREMOTO3) managed to open up the distance, breaking up the quartet. The fight centered between the SSP300 drivers, Borges, Jesus and Garcia. With the possibility of becoming national SSP300 champion, Borges, who ran 4th, attacked 3 laps from the final checkpoint. Gaining ground on Jesus and Garcia and following Martim Marco, Borges knew that only victory in the class or overall would give him the championship.
Last lap with Dinis Borges closing the gap to Martim Marco, total commitment from the Rame Moto Racing rider who, in a masterful maneuver on the Estoril parabolica, would even end up overtaking Martim Marco. Borges won by 0.017s and if 2nd place overall, 1st in the SSP300 was enough to be champion, this closing of the race demonstrated how much Borges wanted to be national champion by winning in Estoril. Overall victory and 2023 SSP300 National Championship for Dinis Borges.
2nd position overall would go to Martim Marco, who wins in PREMOTO3. For the lowest place on the podium the decision would be between “two Martins” with Garcia having an advantage of 0.110s over Jesus (4th overall).
Circuito Estoril