DANIEL TEIXEIRA IMPOSES HIS PACE

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve hosted two intense and closely fought qualifying sessions for the Supercars Endurance GTC/Touring Cars field, as part of the Algarve Iberian Racing Festival.

With almost thirty cars on track and entries across the GTX, GTX Am, Cup, TC+ and BMW M2 Cup Iberia divisions, both sessions underlined the remarkable competitiveness of the field. In each qualifying session, only a handful of tenths separated the leading drivers in every class, producing fierce battles ahead of the weekend’s two races.

QUALIFYING 1

In the overall classification, Daniel Teixeira (JT59 Racing Team, Hyundai Elantra N TCR) secured top spot with a blistering lap of 1m52.183s. He was followed by Rafael Lobato in the Speedy Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, 1.933s adrift, who emerged as the fastest driver in GTX.

Second in GTX, 1.221s behind, was series newcomer José Maria Marreiros in the Veloso Motorsport Ligier JS2R, while third place went to António Almeida in the Tockwith Motorsports Ginetta G55, just 0.090s behind the second-placed driver.

In the GTX Am division, Breno Arruda in the TRS McLaren 570S GT4 established himself as the fastest with a 1m56.105s lap, setting the ninth-fastest overall time of the session. He was followed by Ivo Prada, also driving a Woking-built machine entered by TRS, 1.881s behind, with Santiago Vallejo third in a Veloso Motorsport Ligier.

In the Cup division, 2025 champion Rui Miritta opened his title defence in perfect fashion, setting the fastest time in class with a 1m56.040s lap aboard the Monteiros Competições Porsche 911 Cup, the sixth-fastest overall time of the session. Second place went to Ángel Lanchares in the Lan GP Racing Porsche 911 Cup, 1.765s behind, while third was Marcus Fothergill in a similar Protech Motorsport-prepared car.

One of the curiosities of the session was Francisca Roby Queiroz in the brand-new BMW M2 Racing, which only arrived in Portugal in recent days, with the young driver finishing 27th overall.

QUALIFYING 2

The second qualifying session delivered a different picture, although the lap times once again spoke for themselves. Daniel Teixeira again dominated the overall standings with a 1m52.708s lap.

Former FPAK Junior Team driver Gabriel Caçoilo was second fastest overall in the Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier, claiming GTX pole position with a 1m54.068s lap. He defeated another former federation academy driver, Diogo Castro, who was making his debut aboard the Tockwith Motorsport Ginetta G55, by 0.722s. António Almeida, also driving a British-built car entered by the British squad, recorded the third-fastest GTX time, 0.939s behind.

In GTX Am, Tiago Loureiro highlighted the strong level of the new TRS team with a 1m55.777s lap, repeating the result achieved by his team-mate in the first qualifying session and securing the fastest time in class. Second place went to Jonathan Elsworth in a Tockwith Motorsports Ginetta, followed by Frederico Castro, also driving a TRS McLaren.

In the Cup division, the session saw a major shift at the top. Dave Benett, in the Protech Motorsport Porsche 911 Cup, secured pole position in class with a 1m54.763s lap, relegating champion Rui Miritta to second with a 1m55.778s effort, 1.015s behind. Third place went to Ramiro Garcia-Pumarino, who confirmed Lan GP Racing’s strong performance, 2.334s adrift of the leader.

Francisca Roby Queiroz continued her adaptation to the BMW M2 Racing, ending the second qualifying session in 27th overall.

RACES — SCHEDULES AND BROADCAST

The first of the two Supercars Endurance GTC/Touring Cars races takes place today at 4:30pm, while the second will be held tomorrow at 12:50pm. Both races will run for 50 minutes and will be broadcast live on DAZN Portugal and DAZN Spain, with additional coverage available on the Race Ready YouTube channel in Spanish, English, German and Italian.