This past weekend was the fourth and almost last round of the national championship in Portugal.
This round was held at the track of Ortigosa, Leiria and all top drivers attended. On Saturday the track was very good and we had sunny weather. We set up the car from what we had seen on that day. However, at night it rained a lot and we knew that this round was going to be very muddy. On Monday we found the track a bit muddy from the rain the night before but the qualifiers went normally. In all three qualifiers I had a good pace and drove for a top spot in the overall result, but I made some mistakes which put me into the last direct qualifying position for semi-final A.
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Semi-Final A:
1. Carlos Duraes
2. Rodrigo Luis
3. Miguel Matias 4. Ricardo Monteiro XRAY XB808
5. Joao Pedro Gomes
During the semi-final the track was already very bumpy and I knew it would be a tough challenge to be able to qualify for the main final. In the end, with very fast and consistent driving, I was able to claim 4th place for a 6th place start in the main final starting grid.
I had a bad start in the final and made some mistakes at the beginning, losing some time. But throughout the final I started to regain some time and places for the entire 30 minutes. At that point some heavy rain came down and everyone was hoping not to have a flame-out or mechanical issues. At the end I finished in 4th place, enduring all the rain until the end.
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Main Final Results:
1. Joseph Quagraine XRAY XB808
2. Joao Pedro Gomes
3. Carlos Duraes 4. Ricardo Monteiro XRAY XB808
5. Miguel Matias
At the end I am tied for 3rd place overall with Joao Pedro Gomes and so it will all come down to the last round.
Overall championship points:
1. Joseph Quagraine 456 pts. XRAY XB808
2. Miguel Matias 434 3. Ricardo Monteiro 432 XRAY XB808
