GTC & TOURING CARS: FIVE KEY STORYLINES FROM THE SEASON SO FAR

A new dynamic is taking shape among the GTC and Touring Car categories in the Supercars Endurance. Grids have grown, new projects and drivers have found their place in the championship, while categories such as GTX Am and the BMW M2 Cup Iberia have brought fresh interest to the competition.

These factors have been complemented by an increasingly prominent female presence and a new generation of drivers discovering their route into GT racing on the Iberian circuits. We look at five of the aspects that best illustrate this evolution.

GTX as a gateway into GT racing

The GTX has established itself as an excellent entry point for drivers looking to begin a career in GT racing. For young drivers coming from karting or other categories, it provides an opportunity to discover this world, learn how to work with GT machinery and gain experience in a competitive environment, before potentially progressing to GT4.

The same logic applies to amateur drivers through GTX Am, which allows gentlemen drivers to discover GT racing in an accessible yet competitive environment. In this way, the category plays an important role in developing and progressing new protagonists, creating a pathway that can begin in GTX and, for those with the necessary ability and ambition, continue into GT4.

Examples include Alfonso Colomina, Álex Wendt and Jaime Sanchis, as well as Fernando Soares and Miguel Ferreira. Portuguese youngster Henrique Moura Oliveira followed a similar path, joining the FPAK Junior Team in 2024 before moving into GTX the following year. This season, he stepped up to GT4, making his debut at the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 run by Monteiros Competições.

The gentlemen drivers have also used GTX as a stepping stone towards GT4. Fernando Soares won the class championship in 2023 before stepping up to GT4 this season alongside Miguel Ferreira in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 run by NGT Motorsport. Alfonso Colomina, who shares a car with Lluis Mas, and the pairing of Alex Wendt and Jaime Sanchis have also made their GT4 debuts this season, at the wheel of McLaren Artura GT4s run by McLaren Barcelona – SMC Motorsport.

BMW M2 Cup Iberia brings new protagonists to the grid

The BMW M2 Cup Iberia is one of the major new additions to the season and promises to deliver particularly close racing. The competition got off to a gradual start, hampered by difficulties with the delivery of the cars, but three cars were already on the grid at Jarama.

The action soon followed, with Francisca ‘Kika’ Queiroz joining the fight for victory in the second race at the Madrid circuit against the FPAK Junior Team cars driven by Diego Sirgado and Gonçalo Moura in one, and Nathan Corbet and Bernardo Passanha in the other.

The expectation is for the grid to grow during the second half of the season, strengthening a competition with the potential to become one of the benchmark Touring Car categories in the championship.

Female presence continues to grow

The 2026 season has also seen a stronger female presence on the grids. Alba Vásquez leads the GTX class of the Campeonato de España de Supercars at the wheel of a Ligier JS2 R run by Chefo Motorsport, while Lebanon’s Stephanie Hobeika has made her motorsport debut in a TRS Team McLaren 570S GT4 and has shown notable progress.

Jemma Moore continues to establish herself as a young but already experienced presence, while Nicole Drought has joined the championship alongside Lucas Fothergill in a Protech Motorsport Porsche Cayman, leading the GTX Am class of the Campeonato de España de Supercars.

Francisca Queiroz, who already has some experience in motorsport, completes an increasingly significant group, embarking on her first Supercars Endurance season in a LOB Motorsport-run BMW M2 Racing.

Every division is growing

The championship's growth is not limited to GT4. The introduction of GTX Am has created a new opportunity for gentlemen drivers to enter the Supercars Endurance paddock, with the class attracting a positive level of interest.

At the opening round of the season, held at the Algarve International Circuit, 17 GTX cars – across GTX and GTX Am – and seven Cup cars took to the grid. This demonstrates the growth of the GTC category, a trend expected to continue through the final three rounds of the season. The split grids for GT4 and GTC/Turismos are also likely to contribute to this development.

The Touring Cars are continuing to gain prominence as well, underlining the championship's ability to accommodate different types of drivers, cars and projects. Teams such as Art of Speed, with its SEAT Leon Supercopa Mk2, LOB Motorsport, with its KIA Ceed TCRs and BMW M2 Racing, and the BMW machinery of the FPAK Junior Team are all contributing to the increasing number of cars in the category – an evolution expected to be confirmed during the second half of the season.

Forever Rui Miritta

The Supercars Endurance's visit to Vila Real was inevitably marked by the absence of Rui Miritta, who passed away in the days leading up to the event. A driver with a strong connection to the Supercars Endurance, he won several titles in the GTC and Cup categories, leaving a lasting mark on Portuguese motorsport and the Supercars Endurance paddock, not only through his results but also through his character and presence.

His absence was, and will continue to be, deeply felt. He had become the benchmark in the Cup category, the driver against whom his rivals measured themselves in a class where the gentlemen drivers regularly engaged in intense battles for victory.

The championship returns to action at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia from 24 to 27 September for the next round of the Iberian Supercars and Campeonato de España de Supercars. The Valencian event will mark the return of competition following the summer break and the start of the decisive phase of the season, with the various championships entering their final rounds.