Andrea Adamo romped to a commanding victory at the first round of the Honda 150 European Championship, which was held at the German venue of Teutschenthal in May. The rising star has refined his craft since then and consequently continued his perfect run in qualifying at the Grand Prix of Portugal.
The momentum that was gained in that session helped Adamo tremendously in the first moto, as he rocketed out of the gate aboard his CRF150R and exited turn one inside of the top two. A Dutchman, Kjeld Stuurman, grabbed the holeshot, but gave way to Adamo and Anton Nordstrom Graaf after just half a lap. A titanic battle ensued at that point, as Nordstrom Graff took advantage of a mistake that Adamo made and controlled the lead for a brief period. Adamo muscled back past his rival less than a lap later though.
Adamo, the current series leader, controlled the race from that point on and added another twenty-five points to his championship total. Nordstrom Graaf dealt with some pressure from Luis Outeiro, but was able to secure the runner-up position at the chequered flag. Outeiro was a factor right from the start, much to the delight of the Portuguese fans in attendance, and logged some of the fastest laps of the race. ‘47’ just could not make a move stick on the two riders ahead of him though, so was forced to settle for third place.
Kjeld Stuurman held on for fourth, which was a season-best finish, after that great start. Rasmus Moen finished fifth, just ahead of Nikolay Malinov and Toa Kishi. Kishi showed a lot of potential earlier in the day, as he secured the second-fastest time in qualifying.
The Honda 150 European Championship riders will now reflect on the knowledge that they acquired on the first day in Agueda and prepare to apply that in the second moto tomorrow, which will take place at 08:45 (local time).
Andrea Adamo:
“The track was really difficult, but I had a good start and then a perfect race. Thanks to all of my family and sponsors. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow!”
Gordon Crockard:
“What I was most impressed with today was the Japanese rider, Toa Kishi, who was actually second in qualification. We also have a new rider here from Japan, Shiaru Honda, who is a guest of ours for three rounds.
“The results were similar to Teutschenthal, which I think is good. The kids are actually maximising their potential. Overall, I think that everyone rode very well. They all got to the finish without any mad crashes. It is great to see that there are three different nationalities at the front! Adamo is obviously looking the strongest, but maybe Luis Outeiro could challenge for the win if he gets the start? Luis had great support from the Portuguese fans, so it would be great to see him challenge for the victory.”