FIA GT1. Portimao. Eric Fabre

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Round seven of the FIA GT1 Championship made its way across Europe to the Portimao circuit in the Algarve region of Portugal.

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The calendar of races has been moving along at a fair old pace and with only two fly away races in South America at the end of November left it has been a great season so far.

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It seems an age away that the big bad GT cars were thumping around the Yas Marina circuit and thank fully the racing has got better and better as the season has progressed. It must be said that the racing at Portimao was intense and definitely made in close quarters.

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I sat captivated during race one as Sumo, the German-British partnership, showcased the very best of the close combat of GT1. The angry Nissan won a tense three-way battle at the head of the field with the Vitaphone Maserati No.1 of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini second.

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Long-time race leader and polesitters Marc Hennerici and Alex Margaritis in the Phoenix Corvette No.13 claimed third place.

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The results flipped on their head for the feature race as Championship leaders Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels returned to the top step.

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The Maserati MC12 held second place with Bertolini at the wheel for the first half of the race behind Peter Dumbreck’s Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R but a lightening pitstop by the Vitaphone Racing Team mechanics put Bartels out in front, where he stayed until the chequered flag.

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We can’t take the jump to the pics without mentioning Richard Westbrook. The current European GT2 Champion drove the Matech Ford GT like a man possessed. The level of aggression, skill and speed on show was mind blowing!

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If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching the race yet and especially Richards skills, you must log on to http://gt1world.com/gt1tv

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