Like Saturday’s proceedings sunshine and high temperatures meant that the paddock could remove their winter jackets and rain gear for the first time this season. The track was dry and quite rough, slightly different to the terrain that Nunn mastered so efficiently in his first competitive outing of the weekend.
The first race saw the Briton dicing in the lower half for the top ten for much of the duration after working his way up from a first lap position of 15th. Seventh place was his prize and set the tone for an impressive weekend’s work
In the second race he was closing down Sebastien Pourcel in 8th when he stalled his Honda 250F and lost time and positions. After restarting he was able to complete the moto under the hot Portuguese sun by grabbing another 7th to show for his efforts. It was Nunn’s best GP result for several years.
“I’m really happy with this weekend,” he remarked. “That was my second pole position ever at a Grand Prix and we worked our way onwards from there. I can’t be too disappointed with two results in the top ten and fourth is pretty good. I wasn’t able to start as well as I could in the heat races. I held first gear again but the bike did not pick up as good on a drier track. I had to short-shift and it meant that I could not get the hole shot. The bike stopped when I used too much back brake in the second race and that was a mistake that annoyed me. I was kick starting it and it made me lose some time. This weekend though was the best one for me and the team and we keep on getting better. I’m not looking at winning at the moment, I’m just trying to finish as high as I can but we are improving all the time.”
Sadly Jason Dougan did not make the gate for the third Grand Prix but a much better performance in the same qualifying heat as Nunn saw the 16 year old tussling with more established and experienced riders. He finished 17th in Saturday’s race and then could not make the top six cut in the Last Chance chrono.
The next event for the team will be second round of the British Championship on April 18th at Lyng, Norfolk.
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