Sauber’s academy member finished most of the races in Portimão among the top ten

Miguel Costa had a positive weekend in Portimão, Portuguese karting track that hosted the opening round of the European Karting Championship. The driver won a third place in one of the qualifying heats and was most of the time within the top ten, being one of the highlights among the competitors who competed in the OK Junior class.

Even suffering with a strong cold, Costa showed a strong performance throughout the weekend. Besides the third place, the Sauber Academy Brazilian driver member conquered a fifth, a sixth and a seventh place in other three heats. The good performance kept on in the pre-final, when Miguel finished again among the top ten.

In the final stage, Costa started from the 16th position, due to an accident in one of the qualifying heats, and climbed up the field to complete the race in the 11th position. The FIA, however, understood that one of the overtaking was punishable, and the Brazilian ended up with the 20th place of the stage.

“The weekend was very productive. Even with body pain due to a strong cold, I had good performances in the heats, but an accident threw me to the end of the grid in the pre-final. I climbed five positions in the final to finish 11th, but ended up being punished afterwards. The result wasn’t the best, but I showed that I can ride at the front once again, which is important,” says Miguel.

The next challenge for the Brazilian in European karting is the second round of the Champions of the Future, scheduled for the Zuera kart track, in Spain. As in Portugal, the round will be the “open” for the continental championship round.