Parente and Salvador share honours in Braga

Armando Parente and Pedro Salvador claimed one win apiece in TCR Portugal opening weekend at Braga’s Circuito Vasco Sameiro. For both drivers it was their maiden victory in the series.
Parente made a winning debut in Race 1. He took a perfect start from third on the grid in the Team Novadriver Volkswagen Golf GTI but missed the braking point at Turn 1 and ran wide. He managed to rejoin in the lead though, because pole sitter Francisco Mora’s Veloso Motorsport Cupra and Francisco Abreu’s Sports & You Peugeot 308 had collided. The incident prompted the safety car to recover Mora’s car and when the race resumed, Parente managed to defend his lead from the Speedy Motorsport Cupra of Pedro Salvador who finished 1.2 seconds behind.
Francisco Carvalho completed the podium in a Veloso Motorsport Audi RS3 LMS, ahead of Salvador’s teammate Gustavo Moura’s Audi and the recovering Abreu. Manuel Gião, who was second in the early stages at the wheel of his Kia c’eed, was classified seventh after a pit stop due to a puncture.
Salvador imitated Parente in Race 2, taking the lead at the start from third on the grid. Salvador benefited from the fact that the second spot on the front row was empty because Mora had been dropped to the back for asking neutralization of the parc fermé rules after his incident in Race 1.
Pole sitter Rafael Lobato, who has taken over the Sports & You Peugeot from Abreu, followed Salvador in second position. However, he lost contact from the leader and settled in second place, while Mora recovered to third ahead of Carvalho.
José Cautela ran third for the first half of the race, but then dropped to fifth as the front tyres of the Team Novadriver Golf GTI he shared with Abreu wore down; both Gião and Moura retired with technical issues.
After the opening event, Salvador is leading the championship with 46 points, seven clear of the pair Parente-Cautela; Abreu-Lobato lie in third a further five points adrift.
TCR Portugal will be back into action at Vila Real’s street circuit on 22/24 June.