Mild and sunny morning at Circuito Estoril to welcome the last round of 2024 of the CNV. An action-packed day with timed training in the morning and the first races in the afternoon. An integral part of this weekend’s sporting program is also the last and decisive round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship.
Photo: Filipe Rosa
TLC / NAKED BIKES TROPHY
The first fight on Saturday afternoon was handed over to the warriors of the TLC / Naked Bikes Trophy with Duarte Amaral (NB1) taking Pole on his BMWS 1000R with 1:47.178s. Alongside him, Frédèric Bottoglieri NB2) clocking 1:49.399s on the chronos and Luís Franco (NB1) with 1:49.982s. Racing alone in their categories, André Capitão (TLC SBK), with 2:05.382s, Fernando Mercier (TLC OP), with 2:03.072s and Raúl Felgueiras (TLC SS), with 1:56.020s, being 13th, 11th and 10th in match.
After absolute dominance in the timed races, Duarte Amaral applied the same recipe to the 10 laps of the Estoril circuit and with an unopposed pace, Amaral led from the first to the last meter to take victory in the first race of the afternoon, also being the best among the NB1.
For his part, Bottoglieri would not achieve more than one lap at Estoril and left the door open for the fight for the podium and the overall in the NB2. With Bottoglieri’s withdrawal, the main targets would be Luís Franco (NB1) and Ricardo Almeida (NB1). Franco, who had left P3 on the grid, took second place overall on lap 2 and Almeida, 4th on the starting grid, took the podium places from where they would never leave the field until the checkered flag.
The strongest among the NB2 would end up being Marcos Leal who finished 4th overall.
Raúl Felgueiras in the TLC SS would be 8th overall, Fernando Mercier (TLC OP) and André Capitão (TLC SBK) would be 11th and 12th overall.
85GP / MOTO4 / MIR MOTO5
The fun and competitive MOTO4, joined by the only 85GP/MOTO5 present in this round, would be the next clash. Henrique Vicente, Liqui Moly Iberian Racing Team, was the strongest overall and among MOTO4 and secured pole with 2:07.614s. Lourenço Vicente and Diego Ribeiro, also in MOTO4, closed the first row of the grid. Francisco Ribeiro, Clube Motorizado do Troço, the only participant in the 85GP/MOTO5 with 2:21.080s, started from 6th position overall. Highlighting the presence once again of drivers Carolina Azevedo, Carlota Carochinho, Lara Pinto and Lara Santos from the Sintra Motoracing Initiation School.
Henrique Vicente, with a fall on the first lap, dashed his aspirations of victory after having dominated the timed training sessions. Lourenço Vicente jumped into the lead, followed closely by Diego Ribeiro with Carolina Azevedo taking 4th place overall. And so it was expected that the race would continue until the checkerboard fell… however, two isolated crashes, both on the 8th lap, would lead to Diego Ribeiro abandoning the race and Lourenço Vicente losing the lead. Vicente still returned to the track, but only to be 2nd overall. The person who benefited from all this was the young rider from the Sintra Motoracing Initiation School, Carolina Azevedo, who enthusiastically celebrated the victory, being the best among the MOTO5. Francisco Ribeiro, the only rider among the MOTO4s, climbed to the lowest place on the podium. João Cancelinha and Lara Pinto would be 4th and 5th overall respectively.
SUPERSTOCK 600 / CUP DUNLOP MOTOVAL CMD1
When it was time for the STK600 and COPA DUNLOP MOTOVAL CDM1 to ride in Estoril, it would be Martim Marco, the strongest overall and among the STK600s to start from Pole with the best time (1:44.478s). At his side Gonçalo Ribeiro (STK600) and Ricardo Rodrigues (CMD1). Isaac Rosa (STK600) and Wagner Pederneira (CDM1) closed the Top 5 on the grid.
Green light and the start of a great race in which uncertainty about the final outcome was always present. In a duel of giants, Martim Marco and Gonçalo Ribeiro always ran together in the fight for victory. The scenario was the same for 3rd place overall with Pederneira and Rosa separated by tiny tenths. The latter were joined by Ricardo Rodrigues with half a distance completed, opening the range of interested parties to 3rd final place.
With 11 of the 15 laps completed, Marco and Ribeiro were still separated by tenths, but already with more than 30s of advantage over the Pederneira, Rosa, Rodrigues trio. And so expectations remained until the finish line.
Victory was on Martim Marco’s side, who on the last lap managed to gain a 1.3s gap over Gonçalo Ribeiro. We had to wait more than 40 seconds to see Isaac Rosa get the better of Wagner Pederneira and Ricardo Rodrigues. The Podium was thus completed with Marco, Ribeiro and Rosa, who also closed the Top3 of the STK600. Pederneira and Rodrigues were 4th and 5th overall, being the strongest among the CDM1. These and the Top 3 of the CDM1 were joined by Vitor Silva, 7th overall.
SUPERBIKES / CUP DUNLOP MOTOVAL CMD2
Between the Superbikes and CDM2, Luca Ottaviani (CDM2) from Extreme Racing Service SRLS started from Pole for the 4th race of the afternoon with 15 laps scheduled around the Estoril Circuit. Alongside him are Ruben Macuá (SBK) and Miguel Romão (SBK).
Intense race with Macuá, Romão and Ottaviani exchanging arguments with each other for the lead in the race, with a slight advantage for Macuá who took the lead to defend himself from the chasing duo. Following the front trio, Alexandre Suati, Rafael Ribeiro and Ricardo Lopes were fighting each other, but with their eyes on the podium places.
With half the distance covered, Lopes, running backwards, took 3rd place overall and momentarily entered the fight for the lead in the race with Macuá and Romão. In the opposite direction, Ottaviani lost pace and places in the classification and was running in 4th. As the laps around Estoril progressed, Macuá and Romão distanced themselves from Lopes, who, despite being at a loss to the first two, was also able to open up a gap to Ottaviani, who was riding smoothly with more than 8s over Alexandre Suati and the rest of the field.
With an assertive pace Ruben Macuá, the strongest among SBK, entered the last lap with just over 1s of advantage over Romão, which allowed him to cross the finish line calmly and win. Miguel Romão would climb to the middle of the podium, also being 2nd in SBK. The lowest place on the podium would go to another SBK, Ricardo Lopes.
Alexandre Suati, the best among the CDM2, would end up taking 4th place overall, beating Luca Ottaviani and Rafael Ribeiro.
PREMOTO3 / SUPERSPORT 300
A mere 0.252s made the difference that led Dinis Borges to take pole position in the last race on Saturday afternoon. Borges thus relegated Martim Jesus to secondary position, who had at his side closing the first row of the Vasco Camoesas grid. This trio also established itself as the strongest among the SSP300.
For their part, Vasco João, Frederico Guimarães and Tiago Martins, 4th, 5th and 6th overall, made up the Top 3 among PREMOTO3. Also worth mentioning is Rafaela Peixoto’s 8th time and Naama Rosa’s 11th time.
As expected, the main fight was centered at the front of the race with Borges and Jesus “exchanging pennants” and Camoesas in expectation, but in loss, accumulating some disadvantage. This trio completed around 4 laps, out of the 14 planned, and was already running more than 24s ahead of the peloton. In 4th overall, Tiago João (first among PREMOTO3) rode calmly and accumulated seconds over Tiago Martins (PREMOTO3).
With half the distance covered, the peloton was quite dispersed. Camoesas was out of contention for victory, but was running to secure 3rd place overall and the interest of the race was centered on the 0.072s that separated Borges and Jesus.
Without changes until the end, Dinis Borges won by just 0.071s, being the strongest among the SSP300. Martim Jesus would climb to the middle of the podium and Vasco Camoesas, a very long 17s away, would take 3rd place overall. The trio would be Top3 among the SSP300.
Among the PREMOTO3, Tiago João (4th), Tiago Martins (5th) and Naama Rosa (11th) would be the Top3.
Circuito Estoril