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IFM: Rodolfo Avila Porto race notes
Rodolfo Avila at the "Port" of bad luck Macanese single-seater racing driver Rodolfo Avila had a pretty wretched round in the streets of Porto, Portugal. In his racing debut at Portugal, Macau SAR motorsport ambassador failed to finish both ...
Edited: Jul 11, 2007, 12:13 AM
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Rodolfo Avila at the "Port" of bad luck
Macanese single-seater racing driver Rodolfo Avila had a pretty wretched round in the streets of Porto, Portugal. In his racing debut at Portugal, Macau SAR motorsport ambassador failed to finish both races - one due to an opponent mistake and another one due to mechanical reasons.
Rodolfo Avila believed he could have finished higher up the grid had he not being hit by a gearbox problem during qualifying. The Cram Competition #26 Formula S2000 did a solitary fast lap during the 30 minutes session. "I couldn't downshift properly between 3rd and 2nd gear so we decided to stop. This was a big disappointment for me. Normally on a street circuit there is no opportunity to overtake and Porto isn't different. I've to confess this Qualifying time ruined my hopes to get a good result in Portugal", held Avila.
Race 1 saw Avila trying to get the best possible position for Race 2. He made his usual, spectacular progress through the field, getting up to 17th place with some fantastic overtaking. Unfortunately, having passed Massimo Torre earlier in the first lap, he was hit by him from behind in lap three. This collision spun Avila around and out of the race. "I don't know what he was thinking about. He would never pass me there".
Race 2 was even shorter to Avila. In the first lap the Macanese driver had to go straight forward in the first chicane to avoid a crash with Massimo Torre (again).
"Apparently Torre tried to overtake me again where it was impossible and he bashed me but I managed somehow to avoid it at the last moment. To get back to the track I had to reverse and it was the reverse gear that damaged the gearbox. I just stopped in the pits with the gearbox stuck in 5th. For me the Portuguese weekend was very unsatisfactory because I didn't finish any race! In both races I suffered problems which weren't my fault", explained.
This spell of bad luck will surely end soon and allow Avila to start scoring. IFM rounds 9 and 10 will take place in Anderstorp, Sweden on 28 and 29 July 2007, where Avila is looking for better (Porto) luck. Meanwhile, the Macau driver is looking forward to set off his Macau Grand Prix F3 preparation.
"I just hope that somebody else doesn't want to crash into me next race weekend because four times this season is already more than enough. I am a bit annoyed about what happened in the races at Circuito da Boavista, but there is nothing I can do about that now", says the driver sponsored by Macau Government, Macau-slot.com, BNU, CESLAsia, PAL AsiaConsult, TsingTao, Fat Siu Lau Restaurant, Sujika Crafts and PT Asia.
-credit: www.rodolfoavila.com
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