Stephen Pattrick (#33 Bullitt Racing – Mercedes AMG GT4) and César Machado (#23 ABM Grand Prix – Ginetta G55 GT4) secured pole positions for the two final races of the GT4 South European Series at Autódromo do Estoril in Portugal. Pattrick gave Bullitt Racing its first-ever pole in the series in the first qualifying session, while Machado claimed his second consecutive pole in the second session.
With the track conditions improving throughout the sessions, Portuguese drivers Francisco Carvalho and series debutant Fábio Mota (#6 Veloso Motorsport – Porsche Cayman GT4) took the AM Cup pole positions for tomorrow’s races.
GTC class champions Marmaduke Hall and Edward Moore (#15 Tockwith Motorsports – Ginetta G55 GT4) were fastest of their category in both sessions in front of Jemma Moore (#25 Tockwith Motorsports – Ginetta G55 GT4) who is getting in some valuable mileage this weekend for future GT events. Moore posted the overall fourth quickest time in Q2.
The opening race of the Estoril weekend will get underway at 10:45 (GMT) tomorrow morning, followed by the final race of the season at 16:20 tomorrow afternoon. Both races will be broadcast live on GT4 South European Series’ social media channels.
Drivers Quotes:
Stephen Pattrick (1st Pro Am – Qualifying 2): “Qualifying went well for us. The track was drying out, and our race engineer Mark made a good call about putting on the wets. The track was slippery, but we managed to do quite well and we got pole. We are very happy. It looks it is going to be dry for tomorrow’s races which is great. We also have the benefit of having a fresh set of slicks. It is our first time here at Estoril, and it was first time for me on the track this weekend. We are very excited, it is a wonderful track and hopefully we will have two successful races tomorrow.”
César Machado (1st Pro Am – Qualifying 2): “We went out a bit in the dark. The track was wet in Q1 as it was in Q2. Mariano and I took the risk of going on slicks, hoping the track was going to dry up as the weather conditions were improving. It was tough in the beginning as the asphalt was quite wet and who was running on wets was much faster. Later in the session it tended in our favour. This circuit is not favourable to our Ginetta as we lost a lot to the Mercedes, however, for tomorrow, we will try to minimize our disadvantage with good stints and pit stops.”
Francisco Carvalho (1st Am – Qualifying 1): “It was good qualifying session for me. The track was wet but I went out in slicks. I warmed up very well the tires and managed to do good lap time in the last lap, achieving the pole-position in the AM Cup and the third quickest time overall. Tomorrow’s races shall be in dry conditions and we are going to give our best to collect two good results.”
Marmaduke Hall (1st GTC – Qualifying 1): “Qualifying was OK for us but I’m not over happy with it. I think we did the wrong tire choice and we run out of time in the session. I didn’t feel I got the optimum lap time. However, I don’t it matters too much for tomorrow. I am really enjoying the track and Edward did a good lap time.”
