The 2nd round of the Portugese National Championship was recently held at the track that will be hosting the next years Euro`s (Guarda).
The track began to deteriorate right away, and we could tell that it would continue to get bumpier and bumpier, so we would have to drive smart.
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During the 3 rounds of qualifying, I drove smoothly and consistently, having made a mistake only in the 2nd round, securing my position in the 1/2 final A with the number 2.
1. Joseph Quagraine
2. Miguel Matias 3. Ricardo Monteiro XRAY XB808
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In the 1/2 final I held my qualifying position, finishing in 2nd place and guaranteeing my spot in the main final where I would be starting 3rd.
1/2 final results
1. Joseph Quagraine 2. Ricardo Monteiro XRAY XB808
3. Carlos Duraes
4. Pedro Figueiredo
5. Miguel Lopes
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In the final everyone was rolling very fast and consistent, despite the fact that the track was very bumpy.
I got a very good start, moving up into 2nd just behind Joseph Quagraine. At the 10 minute mark I was able to make the pass on Quagraine when he made a mistake on a very bumpy turn. The next minutes were very thrilling, with me and Quagraine swapping the lead position. At about the 14 minute mark, I made a mistake and my car flipped. By the time the marshal was able to get me back on my wheels, my engine had flamed out. My pit crew was able to re-start the engine, but the lost time cost me a few laps and my chance at the lead. For the rest of the final I just kept rolling and rolling, trying to gain back some positions, but I ended up with a 7th place.
Final results
1. Joseph Quagraine
2. Miguel Matias
3. Fernando Almeida
4. Joao Pedro Gomes
5. Tiago Aguiar
6. Carlos Duraes 7. Ricardo Monteiro XRAY XB808
With this round the overall championship result is as follow:
1. Joseph Quagraine 228 points 2. Ricardo Monteiro 220 points XRAY XB808
3. Fernando Almeida 212 points
4. Miguel Matias 210 points
5. Pedro Figueiredo 208 points
