2003 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 100 FA - BRAGA, PORTUGAL (JUNE 27, 28 AND 29, 2003)

GATTO IS THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

In Portugal, victories go to Lammers and Van Dam. Salvatore Gatto is the best of the Birel drivers and moves to third place in the championship.


After running practice and qualifying legs in Portugal's typical torrid heat, rain on race day reshuffled the cards on the Braga track.
And for everyone, the 3rd round of the European FA became a question of luck. Especially for Birel drivers, who had already tried their hardest during the practices to find the best set-up. Even Salvatore Gatto, the driver managed by Birel Motorsport and the Lissone company's best positioned driver in the general classification at the start of the race, was only in 24th after qualification times. But during the qualifying legs, the driver from Palermo gained an excellent placing and returned to the top ten in the starting gate of the first Final. Marco Ardigò was not so lucky, experiencing technical problems that prevented him from qualifying. When the first race got underway, Lammers and Gregory gained the top positions, and Lammers was the first to cross the finish line, beating his adversary by only 9 tenths. On their heels were the Tony Kart pair Forè and Cesetti, who at the finish line was about 8” behind the winners. Salvatore Gatto moved back up into an excellent 5th place, ahead of Van Dam and Combot. As race number two got underway, rain was still the main feature, and once again Lammers and Gregory were the fastest in the first few laps. But at the finish line, both would be beaten by an excellent Van Dam, who during his comeback also ran the fastest lap of the race, 1.03”.452. Manetti took fourth place, finishing his first Final without a prize. Davide Forè came in 5th, managing to cross the finish line before Salvatore Gatto. The top ten also included Spinozzi, Combot, Claverie and Cunningham. Bringing up the rear were Cesetti, at only 19th, and the talented Michele Fanetti (17th), who consoled himself with the 3rd best time trial of the race. After the Portuguese run, Bas Lammers consolidated his leadership in the championship, Forè was in second, 18 points behind, and Birel driver Salvatore Gatto was in third.