Emanuele Moncini, from Brescia, won both the two races of the third round of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe on the Portuguese street circuit at Porto over the weekend. The Italian driver won Race 1 ahead of Portuguese Pedro Marreiros and Race 2 ahead of Jorge Rodrigues, another Portuguese national pilot. Thanks to his third place in Race 1 and to his seventh place in Race 2, Italian Manuel Villa remains in command in the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe championship standings with a 33 point lead over Frenchman Benoît Perret.

The street circuit at Porto proved very spectacular for the 190bhp Abarth 500 Assetto Corse racers which were facing each other on this particularly spectacular and demanding 4,720m long street track winding around the Boavista Park. This historical circuit had hosted the Grand Prix of Portugal in the 1950's. In fact its history goes back even further as the demanding circuit has witnessed car racing since 1931 when the “flying kilometre” events were held for several several years.

The Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe is one of three new championships for the identical-specification 500 Abarth Assetto Corse racer that are being run this year, and this series is guaranteed prestige and exposure as it is supporting the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

After the qualifying session of the third round of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe Portuguese driver Patrick Cunha obtained pole position, achieving a time of 2min24.685s at an average speed of 118.68 kph. He emerged ahead of Moncini and fellow countryman Marreiros. Having posted the fourth fastest time, Villa, the leader of the championship points standings going into the weekend, would start from the second row of the grid.

On the demanding Portuguese track, the Abarth 500 Assetto Corse drivers' had been looking for the best possible setup and the most efficient racing line in order to chase pole and prepare for the two races over the weekend. This was no easy task. During the first free practice session on Friday local drivers had taken advantage of their wealth of experience on this particular type of circuit. In the second session, Villa and Moncini closed the gap to secure second and third positions, thus emphasising how important it is to accumulate kilometres at the wheel before understanding such an atypical track.

In the first race, Moncini built his victory on the tough streets right from the start, overtaking brilliantly the pole-setter, 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. Cunha and Marreiros fought a fiercely contested battle for second place, threatened Villa towards the end of the race. On 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 Race 2, 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 Pedro Leite. Meanwhile, further back down the field, Cunha and Manuel Martins were fighting for fifth position, giving rise to the most action-packed duel in this second race. On 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 from his position.

Also to be pointed out was 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 now lying in an impressive fourth in the standings of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe of which the next round is scheduled on 18 and 19 July at the English circuit of Brands Hatch.

Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe Race 1 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 set by Jorge Rodrigues in 2min25.790s - average speed 117.78 kph.

Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe 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 set by Emanuele Moncini in 2min26.017s - average speed 117.60 kph.

Trofeo Abarth 500 Europe provisional standings (after 3 rounds): 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.