This weekend was a great day for Team XRAY in Portugal. Nearly 70 drivers showed up at Magrelos (Marco de Canaveses) in northern Portugal. It was a new track for everyone since it has been remodelled a little. It was a very smooth but dusty circuit.
(click to enlarge)
The race format was slightly different than normal, and as such it attracted more drivers. There were 3 mains to get a fast lap. Someone thought that this type of format benefited only fast drivers and not regular drivers who normally won the races, but surprisingly nearly all drivers who qualified in top places were those who ultimately got more laps on an increasingly bumpy track.
(click to enlarge)
In the first qualifier, Vitor Balbeira got the fast lap with 30.3sec, closely followed by Nuno Casal Ribeiro and Carlos Duraes. In the second round of qualifying, Team XRAY driver Cristian Villar got the fast lap of 29.54sec, and ran very constant times just over 30sec.
The third qualifier was won by young Carlos Duraes with Cristian Villar arriving in 3rd position.
(click to enlarge)
So the starting order for the final was Cristian Villar on pole, Carlos Duraes in 2nd, and Nuno Casal in 3rd. At the start Cristian got some distance from Carlos Duraes. Nuno Casal made some mistakes and had a flameout, putting him out of the battle for 1st position. Cristian ran calmly with conservative driving, and ultimately won the race.
Conclusion: good car, good race, very good weekend!
