An extremely positive start for KBS Racing Team in the opening race of the 2010 seasonf of Motorsport Vodafone National Motorcycling Championship. The team, based in Almada, achieved a Top 10 finish in their first race of what is, a debut season for both team and rider.
Even with the forced absence of #41 rider Hugo Castanheira in the Promomoto 1000cc class due to a serious fall in pre-season testing, the recently formed KBS Racing Team kept going strong with a solid performance all weekend long. In his first ever race, #136 rider Ricardo Borges in the Promomoto 600cc class, managed to maintain a solid rhythm throughout the first qualifying session.
Both timed sessions were held under dry conditions with fairly moderate track and ambient temperatures that provided near ideal conditions for the KBS Racing Team rider. The outcome of the first qualifying session was 9th place out of 19 riders, placing Ricardo (#136) on the third line of the grid.
The first race of the 2010 Motorsport Vodafone Promomoto 600cc cup was won by Tiago Cleto after having started 4th on the grid. The rider, on a Yamaha R6, took 1st position on the last lap, which had been up until then, led by pole sitter Romeu Leite. Tiago Cleto finished the race with a lead of more than four seconds over second place rider Ricardo Lourenço on a Suzuki GSXR. Miguel Vilares, also on a Suzuki GSXR, occupied the third and final spot on the podium.
The KBS Racing Team rider who is sponsored by Nónio Hiross / Nexx Helmets / Pictorial / New Cheers Bar, finished 7th overall and had the following to say after finishing his first race: “I managed 8th place in Saturday’s timed session and on Sunday I dropped down to 9th even though I improved my time. During the race I was struggling to get into a comfortable rhythm but managed to progress up to 7th. This was a fantastic start to the season, so close to the Top 5! It’s surpassed every single expectation we had for team’s debut race weekend. We hope to continue to progress throughout the remainder of the season and I would like to thank my sponsors and everyone who was made our participation possible in the Motorsport Vodafone National Motorcycling Championship.”
