Portugal: a bike that the team and the riders enjoy

Friday, March 22nd - Practices

The Team Snipers returns to Europe after the first race in Qatar, finding itself at the Portimao circuit for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

This Friday, the first session was canceled due to the impracticable conditions of the circuit; conditions dictated by the dirt left due to the weather of the previous days.

The second session of the weekend, which therefore becomes the first, marks the debut on track of Hamad Al-Sahouti, who replaces the injured David Almansa.
A challenging debut for Hamad, who fails to set a provisional time sufficient for participation in the qualifiers.

On the other side of the Box, Matteo Bertelle instead shows immediately great speed and confidence, closing this first session in third position.

Matteo's words after the session: "I'm surprised I went so fast because the track continues to be quite dirty, but I feel good on the bike, speed is not lacking."

Saturday, March 23rd - Practices and Qualifying

The second day sees positive P2s with more stable weather compared to the previous day.

Al-Sahouti manages to significantly improve his time, achieving the goal of qualifying to participate in the rest of the weekend.
Bertelle continues to maintain his good pace and confidence on the bike, managing to qualify directly for the Q2.

In Q1, Al-Sahouti finds the skill and the right speed to overtake two riders, securing the 24th grid slot for the race.

A slight difficulty for Bertelle, who, due to traffic, remains slightly behind, finishing Q2 in 12th position.

Sunday, March 24th - Race

The race starts with a lot of intensity, with Bertelle immediately making a good start and moving up into the top 11, creating a gap with the chasers in just a few laps.
Al-Sahouti manages to maintain a good pace lap after lap, keeping up with the riders ahead of him.

During the race, the leading group breaks away, creating gaps and keeping Matteo within the group between positions 9 and 14.

The race concludes with Hamad gaining two positions, finishing in 22nd place despite the difficulties of his debut.
The last two laps put Matteo to the test due to sudden tire degradation, forcing him to battle with the entire group he had been leading, crossing the finish line in 12th place.

Riders Comments

Bertelle is pleased with the Portuguese weekend. "I'm bringing home very positive data and I'm happy with the bike; now we need to work on race management."

Hamad's debut is like a dream, albeit with some difficulties. "The race was quite tough, although I really enjoyed being able to compete with the others. When the tire wore out, there wasn't much I could do, but I hope to do better in the future!"