Mario Mayor secured the European Stock championship title on Wednesday. He ended the season with a fourth-place finish at Estoril, which was enough to seal the championship. Dino Iozzo dominated from start to finish, even after a red flag interruption.
The holeshot went to Iozzo (IUM Motorsports/Yamaha), who started from pole position and maintained the lead. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Yamaha GV Macrobonsai Racing) had a poor start, losing several positions. His teammate and championship leader, Mario Mayor, moved up to second place.
In the second lap, a red flag was shown to assist two riders who had crashed in the first corner: Cristian d’Arliano (Pinamoto RS/Yamaha), Eric Molina (Fifty Motorsports/Yamaha), and Rodrigo Valente (PS Racing/Yamaha). All were conscious.
After a long pause, the race resumed with 11 laps remaining. Again, Iozzo used his pole position to maintain the lead. However, this time he was overtaken in the first corner by Archie McDonald (MRE Talent/Yamaha) before reclaiming the position in the first lap.
The South African then began to pull away at the front, while McDonald stayed in second, leading the pursuing group. The two main title contenders, Dalla Porta and Mayor, were also in the mix.
Iozzo was unstoppable: he built a lead of over two and a half seconds over McDonald, who also managed to pull away in second. Meanwhile, Demis Mihaila (MDR Competición/Yamaha) retired in the third lap due to apparent bike issues.
The title fight became a battle between Mayor and Dalla Porta. The two Yamaha GV Macrobonsai Racing riders never let go of each other, occupying third and fourth positions alternately. Mayor was comfortable in that position, while Dalla Porta needed to recover 11 points.
With no rivals to challenge him, Iozzo crossed the finish line comfortably, beating McDonald by 1.601s. Dalla Porta secured third place definitively on the sixth lap, closing the podium just over two-tenths ahead of Mayor, who clinched the title with his fourth-place finish. Andy Verdoïa (Frando Racing VHC Team/Yamaha) completed the top five.
