João Gil Neves extended his unbeaten run in LMP2. Gustavo Goulart beat two-time champion Belchior Neto by just 620 milliseconds in LMGT3. United Simracing left Portimão with both wins and the lead in the teams’ standings, but the opener also revealed the rivals determined to prevent a repeat.
Le Mans Masters Season 3 continues today, 28 September, in Barcelona. After the first 90 minutes in the Algarve, there are now benchmarks to chase, gaps to close and drivers who need the second round to end very differently from the first.
João Gil keeps winning. Who can get close?
A new season did not interrupt João Gil Neves’ winning streak. After the six victories that secured him the LMP2 title in Season 2, the United driver opened the new campaign with pole position, the fastest race lap and victory at Portimão.
That makes seven consecutive wins in the class. The latest came with a 32.924-second advantage over José Mendes, a margin that once again makes the champion the driver to beat.
José Mendes, however, gave Lusitania a strong start. Second in qualifying and in the race, he was João Gil’s closest rival and arrives in Barcelona with 57 points to the leader’s 75. His first challenge will be to close the gap on track; only then can he think about reversing their order in the standings.
Miguel Silvério, of LK Motorsport, completed the podium, converting third on the grid into a finish on the same lap as the winner. Behind him was Ricardo Lopes, last season’s runner-up, who climbed from sixth to fourth for Grow Racing Team. Barcelona now offers him a chance to return to the podium finishes that characterised his Season 2 campaign.
Paulo Duarte Ribeiro rounded out the top five for Track Limits Motorsport, while Bruno Neves took Team Full Race from tenth to sixth. Those results keep these drivers in contention in a championship where a well-executed race can be worth as much as a faster qualifying performance.
Goulart applies pressure from within United
In LMGT3, Portimão painted a very different picture: after 90 minutes, Gustavo Goulart and Belchior Neto finished just over half a second apart.
Both started near the back of the grid without a recorded qualifying time, and both finished at the front of the class. Goulart took the win; Belchior began the defence of his two consecutive titles with a second place worth 57 points.
For United, it was a one-two finish. For the drivers’ championship, it was the first sign that the threat to Belchior’s third consecutive title could also come from within his own team.
Barcelona will show whether that balance holds at another circuit. Goulart aims to back up his opening win. Belchior wants to respond before the gap grows. And their rivals have reason to believe they can join the fight.
André Lopes put Sardines on Carbon on the podium, finishing third. Rodrigo Teixeira, who set the fastest qualifying time in the class, finished fourth and represents Zaidulovers. The single-lap pace is already there; the next step is to turn it into a race performance capable of beating the United drivers.
Diogo Neves completed the top five for Lusitania, followed by teammate Henrique Dias. Daniel Pereira, meanwhile, retired after qualifying second. The team showed pace and a presence at the front, but also experienced how a strong start does not always carry through to the chequered flag.
Lusitania chases as Sardines needs a response
The wins for João Gil and Goulart gave United Simracing 150 points in the teams’ standings. As only each team’s best-placed driver in each class scores, Belchior’s second place strengthened the race result without adding to the team’s points tally.
Lusitania is the closest challenger, with 82 points, earned through José Mendes’ second place in LMP2 and Diogo Neves’ fifth in LMGT3.
Defending champion Sardines on Carbon was left with André Lopes’ 42 points. Marco Ferreira’s retirement in LMP2 prevented the team from scoring in both classes. Barcelona is therefore an important opportunity to recover the all-round team strength that earned it the previous title.
It is not enough to look only at who wins overall. A solid GT finish can cushion a difficult night in the prototypes — and a retirement in either class can leave the whole team losing ground.
Ninety minutes to confirm or overturn the picture from Portimão
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya combines fast, long corners, technical sections and a long main straight, testing car balance and tyre management.
With eight tyres available per round and no tyre warmers, the regulations give added weight to each driver’s choices. Finding speed will be only part of the job; maintaining it over 90 minutes, through pit stops and traffic from the other class, could decide the result.
João Gil arrives looking to extend a streak no one has managed to break. Goulart aims to repeat his win over Belchior. Lusitania tries to close in on United, while Sardines needs to score in both classes again.
Portimão established the first leaders. Today, Barcelona begins to show how hard they will have to work to stay ahead.
