EPIC RECOVERY SEES GARCÍA-PUMARINO AND LANCHARES TRIUMPH IN GTC / TOURING CARS RACE 2 AT JARAMA

The second GTC and Touring Cars race of the Jarama round of the Supercars Endurance, counting towards the Campeonato de España de Supercars and forming part of the prestigious Jarama Classic, once again delivered a thrilling contest. In front of thousands of spectators at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama-RACE, Ramiro García-Pumarino and Ángel Lanchares produced a remarkable recovery drive to take their Lan GP Racing Porsche 911 Cup to overall victory after starting from the very back of the grid.

The race took place in extremely high temperatures, with track temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, conditions that once again tested drivers, tyres and machinery to their limits. The fifty-minute contest featured numerous battles across the various divisions, providing plenty of entertainment for the large crowd gathered at the historic Madrid circuit.

The comeback by the race winners was one of the stories of the day. Ángel Lanchares, who had retired the previous day with engine problems in his Porsche, joined the line-up of Lan GP Racing’s other car and, together with Ramiro García-Pumarino, completed a superb recovery drive. In the final ten minutes, García-Pumarino overtook Rui Miritta for the lead before pulling clear to secure a victory that was warmly celebrated by the Spanish fans.

Scoring valuable championship points, reigning champion Rui Miritta finished second overall in his Monteiros Competições Porsche 911 Cup, while Alejandro Iribas and Ángel Santos claimed third overall and victory in GTX with their Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2 R.

Vítor Costa completed the Cup podium after another highly consistent performance, repeating the result he achieved on Saturday. Taking advantage of a loss of pace from the Protech Motorsport Porsche, he climbed into third place just before the chequered flag.

Marcus Fothergill had been one of the key figures during the first half of the race, leading the field during his stint at the wheel of the Protech Motorsport Porsche. However, Dave Benett lost several positions during the second stint and ultimately finished outside the division podium places.

GTX provided some of the most entertaining battles of the race. Alejandro Iribas and Ángel Santos secured category victory after a strong recovery through the second half of the contest. The pace displayed by the young Spaniard proved decisive in taking the Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2 R to the top step of the podium.

Even after a minor off-track excursion, António Almeida and Aubrey Hall finished second in class with their Tockwith Motorsports Ginetta G55, once again demonstrating the competitiveness of the British team through the consistency shown by both drivers.

Third place in the category went to Alba Vázquez and Txus Jaio, also driving a Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2 R. The result carries particular significance in the championship battle, as it allows the young Spanish driver to leave Jarama leading the GTX standings.

The division’s race was also marked by the early retirement of Gabriel Caçoilo and Máximo Varela. The previous day’s winners were forced out in the opening stages due to an alternator failure, which triggered the deployment of the Safety Car. Shortly after the restart, Bruno Salgado, sharing the Gianfranco Motorsport Porsche Cayman CS with young debutant Rodrigo Pires, also retired following an off-track incident.

Special mention must also go to Ivo Prada, who shares the TRS McLaren 570S GT4 with Stephanie Hobeika and at one stage led the GTX category. However, following the pit stops, he lost positions and eventually finished fourth in class.

In TC+, where championship leader Daniel Teixeira did not even take the start, André Ferreira confirmed all the promise he had shown throughout the weekend. Making his championship debut, the driver of the LOB Motorsport KIA Ceed TCR produced an excellent performance, finishing a superb fourth overall while also securing victory in the category.

The Portuguese driver even challenged for the leading positions for much of the race despite being hampered by gearbox issues. Nevertheless, he managed to bring the KIA to the finish and complete a highly encouraging debut in the championship.

The BMW M2 Cup Iberia division once again delivered one of the most intense contests of the day. Francisca “Kika” Queiroz took the LOB Motorsport BMW M2 Racing to victory after a constant battle with the two FPAK Junior Team entries run by BeFast Motorsport.

Diego Sirgado and Gonçalo Moura finished second in class, while Bernardo Passanha and Nathan Corbet completed the podium. The gaps between the three BMWs remained extremely small throughout almost the entire race, providing one of the most entertaining battles of an especially competitive Sunday.

Nicole Drought and Lucas Fothergill finished tenth overall and secured victory in GTX Am with the Protech Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. The British pairing even found themselves battling with several GTX competitors and leave Jarama leading the category standings in the Spanish championship.

With the Jarama round now complete, the Supercars Endurance season heads to one of the most iconic venues in Iberian motorsport. The next championship event, counting exclusively towards the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade, will take place from 10 to 12 July at the Circuito Internacional de Vila Real, where the streets of the northern Portuguese city will once again host one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the Portuguese motorsport calendar.