The Matech GT Racing Team experienced a series of highs and lows at the FIA GT3 European Championship event at Portimão. Thomas Mutsch and Walter Salles took pole position in their Ford GT3 for the first race, but, however, with fourth position at the flag narrowly missed a podium finish. Following a collision with the sister car they had to settle for 13th position in the second race. Dino Lunardi and Eric de Doncker retired early from the first race before finishing 14th in the second race. "If I’m really honest I didn’t expect that after such a good start, a pole position in the first race and a second in the other race, this weekend would only bring a fourth place for us,” says Martin Bartek, Team Owner and Principal of Matech GT Racing. "A loose throttle cable this morning prevented us from finishing on the podium and a driver error ruined our chances of taking the result we all were expecting.”Walter Salles commented: "The car on Saturday was very well-balanced and very pleasant to drive. I could push really hard at every single corner on the track. It’s a shame that we completed the race with only 90 percent throttle because we could have got a better position. In the second race there was a collision between cars No 2 and No 1. When I did my stint the car was very hard on track and it got worse and worse especially in the right hand corners. I guess this was the result of the accident. I really enjoyed the track and I felt comfortable with it. Thomas was very generous to let me drive so much during the practice sessions so I could understand how to make the best use of the track. It might help me a lot to reach the pole position.”"Walter gave me the car in the first race in 4th position”, reported Thomas Mutsch . "Setup-wise the car felt good and I was able to be faster by lap after lap. From the start of my stint I had an issue with the throttle cable I didn’t have full power anymore. In this case finishing fourth was a good result. In the second race I had a good start moving up from seventh to 5th before I had an accident in turn 1 and got a puncture. I had to come into the pits and continue one lap down. It was a great feeling to be able to follow the two leading cars and match their pace.”In spite of missing the chance of a better result Team Boss Martin Bartek viewed the weekend positively: "If I look at the fastest lap times our cars set it gives me some satisfaction that one of our Ford GT3 cars was the fastest in both races.”