Abarth 500 Selenia – European Trophy

Emanuele Moncini, from Brescia, won both the two races of the third round of the Abarth 500 Selenia–European Trophy on the Portuguese circuit of Oporto. The Italian driver won Race1 ahead of Portuguese Pedro Marreiros and Race2 ahead of Jorge Rodrigues, another national of Portugal. Thanks to his third place in Race1 and to his seventh place in Race2, Italiano Manuel Villa remains in command in the Abarth 500 Selenia-European Trophy standings with a 33 points lead over Frenchman Benoît Perret.

The street circuit of Oporto proved very spectacular for the high flyer Abarth 500 Assetto Corse.

In the first race, Moncini has built his victory right since the start, overtaking brilliantly the pole-setter, Portuguese Patrick Cunha. Moncini then kept a commanding lead over his rivals, a lead he gradually increased up to five seconds. Hot on his heels, a group of pursuers immediately formed. Patrick Cunha and Pedro Marreiros fought a fiercely contested battle for second place, threatened by Manuel Villa towards the end of the race. In the fifth lap, Cunha was overtaken by Marreiros and Villa, before he was forced into retirement. The last laps were marked by the fruitless attempt from Villa to overtake Marreiros.

In Race2, Moncini made again a good start from the second row of the grid to jump in the lead immediately, with Rodrigues second and Marreiros third, those two fighting together ahead of their fellow countryman Leite.
Meanwhile, further back down the field, Patrick Cunha and Manuel Martins were fighting for fifth position, giving rise to the most action-packed duel in this second race. In lap seven, Martins managed to overtake his opponent. His satisfaction was short-lived as he braked too late for a corner in the very last lap, dropping his position.

Also to be pointed out is the steady and valuable learning curve of Simone and Erika Monforte, the very young brothers from Pordenone. Thanks to a string of good placings, Simone is lying fourth in the standings of the Abarth 500 Selenia–European Trophy, of which the next round is scheduled on 18 and 19 July at the English circuit of Brands Hatch.

Race1 classification: 1. Emanuele Moncini (I), 10 laps in 24min33.906s; 2. Pedro Marreiros (P), + 3.356s; 3. Manuel Villa (I), + 5.767s; 4. Joao Ramos (P), +12.472s; 5. Jorge Rodrigues (P), + 19.615s; 6. Manuel Martins (P), + 34.255s; 7. Simone Monforte (I), + 1min05.502s; 8. Erika Monforte (I), + 1min41.312s.
Fastest lap by Jorge Rodrigues in 2min25.790s - average speed 117.78 kph.

Race 2 classification: 1. Emanuele Moncini (I), 10 laps in 24min31.180s; 2. Jorge Rodrigues (P), + 4.232s; 3. Pedro Marreiros (P), + 5.987s; 4. Pedro Leite (P), + 25.574s; 5. Patrick Cunha (P), + 41.452s; 6. Manuel Martins (P), + 1min01.125s; 7. Manuel Villa (I), 2min29.604s; 8. Benoît Perret (F), + 2 laps.
Fastest lap by Emanuele Moncini in 2min26.017s - average speed 117.60 kph.

Abarth 500 Selenia - European Trophy provisional standings: 1. Manuel Villa (I), 85 points; 2. Benoît Perret (F), 52; 3. Jorge Rodrigues (P), 51; 4. Simone Monforte (I), 44; 5. Lucas Guerrero (E) and Emanuele Moncini (I), 43; 7. Peter Fulin (CZ), 38; 8. Enrico Fulgenzi (I), 37; 9. Pedro Marreiros (P), 34; 10. Michael Vorba (CZ), 30.