The top two finishers in last season’s Supersport 300 did not give up in this first race of the year organized by the Motor Clube do Estoril, suggesting that they will, once again, have a very tough season in terms of the fight for the title.
Practically placed throughout most of the 14 laps of the race at the Estoril Circuit, the outcome of the duel ended up, however, coming one lap from the end. The time when Champion Tomás Alonso entered the pit lane to retire after the Kawasaki 400 began to fail between Parabólica Interior and Variante de Senna. An inglorious end to what was a fantastic duel in what was the first race of the day with a few drops of rain raising the possibility of a reduction in the race distance.
The person who breathed a sigh of relief with Alonso’s problems was Dinis Borges. Second in the Freestyle and also in the Timed Events, Borges entered the race stronger to place himself at the front of the field when the lights went out. Always at the front, the Vice-Champion still didn’t have an easy life, as while he was on the track Alonso never gave a break and almost always rode on the leader’s wheel.
However, those who benefited most from the defeat of the defending champion were Martin Jesus and Rafael Damásio. With a much slower pace, and always away from the fight ahead, Jesus ended up seeing the middle of the podium fall into his lap, more than 30 seconds ahead. Likewise, Rafael Damásio found himself promoted to third place, but 1:24.187s behind the winner.