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BMW Formula Junior Cup crowns champion

Nuno Pinto is the new BMW Formula Junior Cup Champion. Estoril closes season with an amazing session. The last weekend of the BMW Formula Junior Cup competition was with no doubt, the most competitive and impressive of the season. This was of ...

Edited: Oct 25, 2002, 2:37 AM

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Nuno Pinto is the new BMW Formula Junior Cup Champion.
Estoril closes season with an amazing session.

The last weekend of the BMW Formula Junior Cup competition was with no doubt, the most competitive and impressive of the season. This was of great importance when it came to deciding who would take the title, for the first two arrived at the circuit with merely a nine-point advantage in favour of Nuno Pinto. This advantage revealed to be even narrower, when the pilot from Tomar got the better over Max Orsini during the season, by only one point.

However, the three races of the weekend had other performers who provided moments of great sensation, specially in the Final where Ho-Pin Tung, who was running for the first time in this competition, was the focal point throughout the race losing on the finishing line to Orsini by merely 60/ hundredths of a second.

"The race was very good, the car was excellent which allowed me to run the race with no problems. The dispute with Ho was very interesting and always very clean. In the end I was the strongest but it wasn't enough to win the title. It's a pity. I'd like to congratulate Nuno and all the organisation for providing such an amazing championship, where what is important is the driving capacity of the pilots - because the machines are all the same.", said the Italian who finished the season in second position, only one point from the champion. This difference was only possible thanks to the third and fifth positions obtained in the first and second Semi-Finals respectively.

The middle position on the podium went to the Dutch of Chinese origin, Ho- Pin Tung, who was with no doubt, the sensation of this session of the season. This result came after a 6th and 4th place in the first two qualification races of the Baviera Formula. "I loved the race. It's just a pity I didn't win, but it was exciting, specially those last meters where Orsini and I on a par since the esses. However, his car's performance was better and caught me at the finishing line. I must admit that at the beginning things were easier for me due to Donoso's problem who didn't leave the grid, but I also got used to the car and the track quite quickly.", said Ho-Pin Tung whose performance proved that in these competitions the pilot's driving capacity is what makes the difference and not the machine as these are the same for all.

Next on the podium was Nuno Pinto, awarded with the title of Champion 2002 in a race that after having reached the third position he basically just had to control his opponents in fact just like he did relatively to the championship from the middle of the season. "It was a difficult race. Orsini left before me which gave him some advantage over me in the fight for the title. However, I knew I had what it takes to win and so I immediately started pressuring to reduce Orsini's advantage. Only when I reached the third position did I become calmer for this position was sufficient to win the championship. I'm very happy, because I've wished for this title for some time now. It was an exciting season which profited from the participation of some excellent pilots", said the pilot from Tomar who took the title by merely a one-point advantage.

Estoril also designated the third position in the Championship, which due to the results obtained during the weekend went to Pablo Donoso. With one first place, second and fourth in the Final he made it nearly impossible for Hugo Pereira to take his place.

"It was a complicated race. I had problems with the clutch in the pre-grid and had to make direct use of the gearbox. That's why I wasn't able to pull off immediately for I had problems with the first gear which made me drop from first to ninth position. Then it was a question of regaining as many positions as possible. It's a pity because I really wanted to win. However, the outcome of the season is positive. I was able to finish the season in third place and with one race less than the rest which means that I could have fought for the title.", explained Donoso who finished the race in fourth place after having won the second Semi-Final and taking second place in the first.

For Hugo Pereira "things didn't run that smoothly. I wasn't able to avoid the confusion on the Turn One after pull off and I ended up spinning, which made me drop to last. Then I tried to recover but fifth position was the best I could do. It was a difficult season and one to forget. I'd like to congratulate Pinto who is a worthy Champion, Opção 04 for the excellent work and Baviera for supporting such a competitive Formula", said Pereira who finished the Final in fifth position, after a third position in Saturday's race and fifth in Thursday's.

Classification of the Final:
1st M. Orsini, 11 laps, in 23m21,595s
2nd H.P. Tung, at 0,060s
3rd N. Pinto, at 26,486s
4th P. Donoso, at 33,582s
5th H. Pereira, at 37,156s
6th T. Magalhães, at 48,914s
7th C. Mochon, 1m04,473s
8th M. Verdon-Roe, at 1m08,005s
9th A. Coimbra, at 1m11,093s;
10th L. Silva, at 1m36,878s
11th T.Guerreiro, at 1 lap
12th J. Santos, at 3 laps. Not classified:
A. Cunha.

Best lap: Max Orsini, 2m04,918s, at an average of 120,54 km/h.

-www.bmwformulajuniorcup.com

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