• Pedro Salvador shone overall, leaving the third weekend of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica with two Top 2 overall and in the PROAM Category, reinforcing the same position in the championship.
• Aloísio Monteiro again proved to be the fastest in Category GD and only a few incidents relegated him to 3rd position in the category in both races.

The Circuit de Navarra, in the heart of the Spanish Basque Country, was the scenario for the third double round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica, with The Racing Factory (TRF) presenting, as usual, with the pair of drivers formed by Pedro Salvador and Aloísio Monteiro. It was another opportunity for the team to grow and demonstrate all its competitiveness, leaving Navarra Racing Weekend with four more podiums in its bag.

Pedro Salvador assumed, as always, the baton of TRF’s attack on the top places in the overall and in the PROAM Category and he did it with mastery. During the day on Saturday, he managed to reach 3rd place in Qualifying 1.

In Race 1, a masterful start placed him in 2nd place, from where he would no longer be dislodged, despite the attacks that were made on him, in the two phases of the race. race, without Safety Car.

On Sunday, he moved up one place in Qualifying 2, achieving the 2nd fastest time, and in Race 2 he got off to a good start again and really tried to get to the lead. Realizing that the leader had a slightly stronger pace than what was possible with the current setup of the Porsche 991 GT3 CUP from TRF, he opted to secure another excellent 2nd place, which allows him to continue with all the capacity to be in the fight for the title.

“It was a very positive weekend. In Race 1, we faced a lot of heat and a lot of Safety Car time, but we managed to gain a position towards qualifying. Race 2 was difficult, with very strong competition, especially in the first part, but I managed to shake off the pressure around the middle of the race. We couldn’t take the win, but we showed good consistency over the weekend. Tomorrow we will start preparing for the next race, in search of the highest step on the podium!”, highlighted Pedro Salvador at the end.

As for Aloísio Monteiro’s weekend, the boss and driver of The Racing Factory experienced the same in a mixture of satisfaction for the competitiveness he demonstrated and frustration caused by the various incidents that, in both races, kept him away from two possible victories.

In what is his absolute debut season in the competition organized by P21 Motorsport, Aloísio Monteiro has once again demonstrated that he is the “target to shoot” in the GD Category. In both Qualifying sessions, he was clearly the strongest in his category, having set the 8th time overall on both occasions.

In Race 1, held late Saturday afternoon, Aloísio Monteiro did not start well and fell to second place in the category. But soon he was glued to the leader’s rear, pressing him in a strong way, being clear that he was much faster. When he tried to overtake, the struggle between the two provoked a spin from The Racing Factory driver who immediately dropped to the back of the field. He still tried to recover positions, but the arrival of the Safety Car and its permanence until the beginning of the last lap of the race, did not allow him more than to guarantee the Top 10 of the general and the 3rd place of the category, a meager income for his performance, crowned with obtaining the fastest lap in the race between the GDs’.

Sunday’s journey would be almost a replica of Saturday’s script. The exception was at the start, because, this time, Aloísio Monteiro signed a dazzling game, jumping to 5th place overall, putting himself well safe from his opponents among the GD.

His pace was so strong that he quickly latched on to the 4th-placed opponent, and there too much daring would be fatal. Realizing that he could overtake, Aloísio Monteiro attacked and, when it seemed that the overtaking was about to be completed, a more aggressive moment in the discussion of the position, led him to make a new spin and, like the race on Saturday, to fall to the last position overall. He began a new recovery, benefited from a new entry of the Safety Car to put in the peloton and, as soon as it left, he overtook several riders, but the first spin had greatly degraded the rear tires and the “forcing” caused two more spins, which made his recovery impossible, finishing in 11th place overall and, again, in 3rd place in the GD category, also managing to be a repeater in terms of the fastest lap.

“Despite everything, I leave Navarra very satisfied with my performance. Even though I’m new to this competition, I’ve shown the speed to always be in the fight for victory in my category. In Navarra, I was always the fastest among the GDs’, in qualifying and in the races, beating myself on equal terms with the best in the AM category. Luck was not on my side, and I recognize that, especially in the second race, I was too ambitious and, when the sensible thing was to hold on to a victory among the GDs’, I attacked to reach the absolute Top 4 and it didn’t go in the best way. But we are very confident for the future, and, in Estoril, we will be there to try to win both races!”.

As CEO of The Racing Factory, Aloísio Monteiro highlights “another incredible performance by Pedro Salvador, with two absolute podiums achieved and, above all, with a work to support the development of our cars, which is precious. Pedro has been essential to grow our structure, and it is necessary to remember that, also for our technical team, this is a debut season. The two Porsche 991 GT3 CUP also have some less strong points, perfectly identified and which we will work on so that, in Estoril, an evolution of the setup makes them even more competitive”.