Although the 24 Horas TT Vila de Fronteira has today an international projection, in the immense list of entries there is still space for amateur riders, or if you prefer, for gentleman drivers. Men and women with different professions, who share a passion for cars. This article is about the story of two of these gentleman drivers. Manuel Teixeira and Jorge Nunes.
The first, Manuel Teixeira, a lawyer and newcomer to all-terrain activities, found in the fast-paced Alentejo plains the ideal therapy for the slowness with which he is sometimes confronted in the exercise of his profession. The second, Jorge Nunes, is a household name for those who have a special passion for Porsches. Owner of Sportclasse — an independent Porsche specialist — and son of Américo Nunes, Jorge Nunes decided, also for the first time, to exchange Porsches for the controls of an all-terrain vehicle.
Integrated in different teams and cars, Manuel Teixeira in a Land Rover Bowler from the Silver Fox Racing Team formation, and Jorge Nunes in a Nissan Terrano II from RedeEnergia/SportClasse, assumed that they would go on this adventure with the same spirit: maximum fun. As secondary goals, they assumed that reaching the end of the 24 Hours of Frontier was ideal.
“Our goal in Fronteira is to have a great time!…”
In the case of the owner of Sportclasse, “everything happened following the desire of a group of friends who wanted to rent a car to race in Fronteira. We ended up getting more than one car and that's it… here we are”.
As for the constitution of the team, which was given the name Rede Energia/SportClasse, Jorge Nunes highlights the diverse experience of the elements: “some have experience… others, like me, have no experience at all. I'm more used to Porsches and asphalt”.
Making a comparison between the two modalities, Jorge argues that, unlike rallies and speed, “here, what matters is resistance”, since, “especially with the passage of buggys, the floor gains real craters. We have to manage the wear and tear on the car.”
As for costs, Jorge Nunes says that “basically, this was all set up with a lot of high-handedness. The car is almost 20 years old but it's enough for our purposes.”
"It will be very tough, but also very interesting"
Moreover, Manuel Teixeira's stance is not very different. Despite lining up with a competitive Bowler Proto, he faced the race with the same ease. “When I was told it was to race in a Bowler, I replied that it was too much car for me but I decided to accept it”.
Despite his lack of experience, he managed to print interesting rhythms and exceeded the team's expectations. “The team asked me to make times around 15 minutes per lap, so at the moment I can only be satisfied; I just did 13.03 m, that is, almost two minutes shorter than I was asked to do. I am very satisfied".
From dream… to (hard) reality
Confident after the free practice session that took place on Friday, the race itself, would end up being stepmother, both for Manuel Teixeira, as for Jorge Nunes. With the first not even able to complete his driving shift. In the second round of the 24 Hours of Frontier, Bowler suffered a blow to the chassis, which ended up mortgaging the rest of the race.
As for Jorge Nunes, he would end up having better luck, as, by taking the first driving shift, he still managed to savor the experience of driving in a racing environment. Commenting, right after the end of his shift in Fronteira, that “I got tired of having fun, despite the fact that most of the time we bounced around in the car. But, for those who like this adrenaline, it's really cool!”.
Regardless of the result, both promised to return next year. We will do the same.
