Mikey Lou Sanchez finishes 15th in his first ETC Race at Portimao.

Now racing a Honda NSF250R with the Finetwork MIR Racing Team in the European Talent Cup, Mikey had some ups and downs in his debut June 20-23 at Algarve International Circuit, in Portugal. Mikey was at a disadvantage from the start. With this track being the hardest circuit on the calendar to learn, a lot of the teams were there two weeks earlier doing testing. Mikey, unfortunately, was still recovering from a broken collarbone and was unable to test there.

The weekend started off with practice on Thursday. On Friday, Mikey was still struggling to get a good feeling on the bike and get his lap times down. During the last session on Friday he had a minor lowside crash, but he was able to recover and finish the session. 

The next morning was the super-important “Practice” session that determines whether or not you make it straight to Q2, which automatically qualifies riders for the main race, or you have to fight it out in Q1, where only the top four riders move on to Q2. 

In Saturday morning’s Practice session Mikey found himself in a pack on the beginning of his first flying lap. When he arrived in the fast second corner another rider took him out and ended his Practice session. This meant he was going to Q1 to fight for a spot to move on to Q2.

Q1 went well and Mikey advanced to Q2, which guaranteed a spot on the grid for the main race. Learning a new format for qualifying, he adapted and ended up finishing 10th in his qualifying session, which put him 19th overall on the final grid for his first ETC Race. 

On Sunday, the race began with clear and sunny skies and temperatures in the 90s F. Mikey got off the line and headed into Turn One in about P16. On the first lap, he ran wide in a couple of turns and got roughed up and went back to P22. From there, he began taking back positions. He never gave up and pushed to P15 at the checkered flag. 

Mikey Lou said, “I know my result wasn’t anything to cheer about, but this is the real rodeo right here. I know i can do better in the next race at Jerez because it’s a track that I like and know very well. Bring it on!”

Mikey Lou’s next race with the Finetwork MIR Racing Team is on September 15 at the Circuito de Jerez.