2010 Portuguese Grand Prix

The Estoril circuit, which first saw use in the GPVWC as a test track last year proved an interesting, if unforgiving, venue for the Superleague drivers in 2010. Janne Tanskanen provided another inspired performance in qualifying to take pole position from his team-mate Joe Consiglio, with Lee Morris a close third. Inseparable Woods Racing pair Kieran Ryan and Mark Wicks were 4th and 5th, with Wayne Mullins in 6th.

The start saw the Draig Racing car of Mullins suffer false start and receive a drive-through penalty. A delayed reaction to the mistake saw the Welshman drop many positions, while ahead of him both Morris and Mark Stanton stole a position to Consiglio and Wicks respectively. Mullins's nightmare start continued in turn 3, where he collected William Ponissi, sending the Italian into a spin and last. A very heavy-looking Wicks was passed also by Nick Rowland.

A few uneventful laps followed, interrupted only by Liam Hatchell's Synergetic's Cosworth engine puffing out of the race in a triumph of white smoke on lap 4. By lap 11, Stanton, Rowland and Wicks are racing closely while a resurgent Mullins, having served his penalty was 10th and in the points already.

Consiglio flies!

As the first round of pit stops drew to an end, it became clear cars were aiming for different strategies - the resulting mix-up in positions enough to confuse any master strategist out there. To add some extra spice, Joe Consiglio suffered a big shock during a seemingly routine lapping maneuver. A misunderstanding with Nikos Evangelidakis prompted a contact between the two - the Greek driver retiring and the Nordsjoen Racing car flying several metres before coming to a halt and, incredibly, being able to resume the race, although with massive damage.

Despite the shunt, the Maltese World Champion was still able to close in on Kieran Ryan and, after a 6-lap dogfight, pass his rival for 4th place. The emotions for Consiglio were far from over, however, as a miscommunication on the Nordsjoen wall saw both cars pitting at the same time. Janne Tanskanen, comfortably leading over Lee Morris, lost precious time in the event and saw himself overtaken by Morris as he came out of the pits.

Lap 52 saw Kieran Ryan reclaim his position on Consiglio, who spun and collected some more damage to give a hard time to Nordsjoen's mechanics after the race. Two laps after that, the turning moment in the race saw Mark Stanton lose control of his car on turn 1 and get stranded on the track; Chris Williamson managed to avoid him, but the same feat was not achieved by Morris, who hit the Constant Racing and suffered damage. Tanskanen reclaimed P1, and to make matters worse for CSG Racing, Kieran Ryan passed Rowland for 4th position. Both CSGs opted to pit at the end of the lap.

As Janne Tanskanen drove on to victory, Lee Morris rejoined just ahead of Mark Wicks. As many times this season, the Cornish driver's attempts to pressurize Morris into a mistake came to nothing, and the race finished in the same order.

Preceded by: 2010 British Grand Prix

2010 Portuguese Grand Prix 2010

Succeeded by: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix