GTC / Touring Cars: Ligiers lead the way in Valencia

The Valencia round of Supercars Endurance, forming the fourth event counting towards the Iberian Supercars and the Campeonato de España de Supercars, began under Ligier domination, in an opening day marked by intense heat at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Despite the early superiority of the French machines, other teams are expected to recover ground over the coming sessions.

Himar Acosta and Artur Ferreira placed Veloso Motorsport’s Ligier JS2R at the top of the timesheets, ahead of two similar cars from Chefo Sport. Alba Vázquez and Scott Marsh were second fastest, followed closely by Gabriel Caçoilo and Maximo Varela, confirming the initial strength of the French marque at the start of the Valencian weekend.

Right behind the Ligier GTs came two Porsches. Rodrigo Pires and Bruno Salgado put Gianfranco Motorsport’s Porsche Cayman CS in direct pursuit of the Ligiers, while Diogo Castro and Santiago Ribeiro also showed strong pace in their debut with Speedy Motorsport, driving the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

Among the Touring Cars, Daniel Teixeira once again stood out naturally. The JT59 Racing Team driver, at the wheel of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, was the fastest in the category and set the seventh‑best time overall, reinforcing the dominance he has shown throughout the season.

In GTX Am, Breno Arruda and António Duarte were the quickest in the TRS Team McLaren 570S GT4. The second‑best time went to Santiago Vallejo and Marcos Rodríguez in Veloso Motorsport’s Ligier, finishing less than a second behind the leaders and keeping the fight wide open for the rest of the weekend.

Vítor Costa returned in strong form in the Cup division. With Monteiros Competição’s Porsche 911 Cup fully repaired after the Vila Real incident, the Portuguese driver topped the class, leaving Ángel Lanchares, in Lan GP Racing’s Porsche 911 Cup, half a second behind. The small gap hints at an intense battle in Saturday and Sunday’s races.

The BMW M2 Cup Iberia delivered one of the session’s closest fights. Debutant Daniel Casas, in Promotion Motorsport’s BMW M2 Racing, was fastest, beating Bernardo Passanha and Gonçalo Moura — in the best of the FPAK Junior Team cars — by just four tenths of a second. Kika Queiroz, from LOB Motorsport, was only a few thousandths behind the second‑placed duo, reinforcing the division’s absolute competitiveness, with Nathan Corbet and Diego Sirgado also close behind.

Qualifying begins tomorrow at 11:45, followed by the first race at 15:25. On Sunday, the second 50‑minute race starts at 11:35. All times correspond to Lisbon time.

Tickets for the event are available on the circuit’s official website, starting at €30, granting access to the grandstands, paddock and various additional activities, including Monster Truck demonstrations, a car exhibition and live concerts throughout the three‑day programme.

Qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast live on DAZN Portugal and DAZN Spain, and can also be followed on Race Ready’s social media channels, with commentary in Spanish and English. Outside the Iberian Peninsula, the event will also be aired on Motorsport TV Deutschland (Germany), Parc Fermé (Italy) and Braking Zone TV (Brazil), ensuring international coverage that further enhances the visibility of Supercars Endurance.

Las entradas para el evento están disponibles en la web oficial del circuito, con precios desde 30€, permitiendo acceso a las gradas, al paddock y a diversas actividades complementarias, incluyendo exhibiciones de Monster Trucks, una exposición de automóviles y conciertos en vivo durante los tres días.

Las sesiones de clasificación y las carreras tendrán retransmisión en directo en DAZN Portugal y DAZN España, y también podrán seguirse en las redes sociales de Race Ready, con comentarios en español e inglés. Fuera de la Península Ibérica, el evento será igualmente emitido en Motorsport TV Deutschland (Alemania), Parc Fermé (Italia) y Braking Zone TV (Brasil), garantizando una cobertura internacional que refuerza la proyección del Supercars Endurance.