The 27th bp Ultimate 24 Horas TT Vila de Fronteira kicked off today with the qualifying session, featuring 81 teams and more than 300 drivers from seven nationalities. In a session that defined the starting grid, competitors faced an even more demanding course due to the arrival of rain. The team of Luís Cidade / João Monteiro / Mário Franco / Pedro Santinho Mendes (Can-Am Maverick R) took the biggest risks and secured pole position for the marathon that begins tomorrow at 15:00.
In the bp Ultimate 4 Horas SSV Vila de Fronteira, held six hours earlier, Luís Cidade topped the timesheets with an impressive 33-second advantage over second place. The driver achieved the remarkable feat of taking pole position for both weekend races: “I’ve raced here several times and I really enjoy this track,” he explained.
The opening competitive day of the event organised by the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) proved challenging, as drivers encountered an extremely slippery surface due to heavy mud. The difficulty level of this 24-hour adventure — or, put another way, 1,440 minutes — rose significantly. Even so, competitors pushed close to the limit along the 16.2 km course, aiming for the best possible starting position.
The fastest times were set early in the session, while the surface still allowed quicker laps around the demanding Terródromo de Fronteira. For three hours, spectators witnessed a fierce pole-position battle between Portuguese and French teams.
At the start of the session, Tiago Reis put his team at the top of the standings, but later the squad of Luís Cidade / João Monteiro / Mário Franco / Pedro Santinho Mendes (Can-Am Maverick R) went even faster and will start from the front, with strong expectations of fighting for victory. “The track was slightly damaged due to the rain, but we knew we had the car to take pole. Luís Cidade caught a clean lap and was very quick. Our car goes over everything, and we feel confident for the race. Starting from pole is safer, as we avoid the chaos of 80 cars charging into the first corner,” said João Monteiro.
The second-best time went to Laurent Poletti / Ronald Basso / Tiago Reis (MMP Buggy), 31.5 seconds behind pole. The time was set by the Portuguese driver: “I could have improved, but the team decided to stop earlier,” explained Reis. On this new experience, he added: “Everything is new for me, and I’m very satisfied. I hope to help the team win this race again.”
The team of Adrien Favarel / Beni / Jeremie Warna / Jeddia Favre (MMP Buggy) secured the third-fastest time, 1m05.3 behind the leaders, while the Portuguese-French squad of Mário Andrade / Cédric Duple / Yann Morize / Florent Chavot set the fourth-best lap at 1m16.1. “I didn’t know this car, I only did two laps on these tyres and it was a bit of a shock, but it’s the same for everyone. The track was very slippery, so it was impossible to set a great time — the important thing was to start near the front to avoid the first-corner chaos. A 24-hour race is long, and there are surprises right until the end,” said Mário Andrade, a four-time winner of the event. His team, Andrade Competition, holds the all-time record at Fronteira, with nine victories.
Source: ACP Motorsport
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