After rain poker: Garzo & Baldassarri prepare for the final MotoE showdown from rows 4 and 5
Rain and fast-drying asphalt made for a hectic tyre gamble in Portimão on Friday, which Dynavolt Intact GP riders Hector Garzo and Lorenzo Baldassarri experienced first-hand. Due to the rapidly changing conditions, both had to compete in yet another rainy Q1 and narrowly missed out on a place in Q2. This means that the Spanish-Italian duo will start Saturday's final races of the season from twelfth and fourteenth place – ready to fight their way back up the field.
Eight weeks have passed since the last MotoE World Championship race in San Marino. Now, not only a technically demanding track but also changeable weather awaited the two riders from the only German World Championship team at the 4.59-kilometre Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
For Hector Garzo, this is his last race weekend on the Ducati V21L. In the first free practice session, the Spaniard finished eleventh, putting him solidly in the midfield. After winning the world championship title last year, the 27-year-old will no longer be in contention for the title in 2025, but he still wants to enjoy his time with his crew and the all-electric machine once again and, above all, achieve a top result. When it started to rain just before practice, Garzo opted for rain tyres, but the asphalt dried so quickly that he had no chance of setting competitive times in the short 10-minute session and, like other riders, ended up outside the 105 per cent rule. This resulted in a Q1 start, where he eventually finished fourth with a time of 2'00.069 in another downpour. Starting from twelfth place on row four, the number 1 rider intends to give it his all once again in the two six-lap sprints.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo Baldassarri is still fighting for nothing less than the world championship title. The Italian is tied with his compatriot Matteo Ferrari in fourth place in the World Championship, 12 points behind. After finishing fifth in FP1, he suffered the same fate as his teammate. In practice, he finished just outside the 105 per cent rule and therefore also had to start in Q1. 'Balda', who celebrated his 29th birthday on Thursday, failed to find the perfect rhythm on the demanding rollercoaster track in Portimão. His lap time of 2:01.653 was 2.653 seconds behind pole-setter Alessandro Zaccone. But the cheerful Italian is not one to give up: on Saturday at 12:10 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. local time, he will do everything he can to get off to a good start, make up positions early on and fight his way as far forward as possible in both sprints – with the aim of ending the season with a top result and a title.
Results
FP
1. Mattia CASADEI/ ITA – 1'47.176
2. Jordi TORRES/ SPA – 1'47.622 (+0.446)
3. Jacopo HOSCIUC/ ROU – 1'47.686 (+0.510)
5. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI/ ITA – 1'47.901 (+0.725)
11. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'48.636 (+1.460)
PR
1. Eric GRANADO/ BRA – 1'48.049
2. Jacopo HOSCIUC/ ROU – 1'48.285 (+0.236)
3. Matteo FERRARI/ ITA – 1'48.377 (+0.328)
Not qualified (Out 105%) 1'53.451
1 Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'55.460 (+7.411)
7 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI/ ITA – 1'56.199 (+8.150)
Q1
1. Alessandro ZACCONE/ ITA – 1'59.000
2. Oscar GUTIERREZ/ SPA – 1'59.768 (+0.768)
3. Jordi TORRES/ SPA – 1'59.898 (+0.898)
4. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 2'00.069 (+1.069)
6. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI/ ITA – 2'01.653 (+2.653)
