HUGE GTC/TOURING GRID SET FOR SUPERCARS ENDURANCE SEASON OPENER

The Algarve Iberian Racing Weekend marks the start of the 2026 Supercars Endurance season at the Algarve International Circuit, host venue for the opening round of Iberian Supercars, the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade and the Campeonato de Supercars de España. The GTC/Touring Cars grid heads into the new campaign with 28 entries and an immensely varied and competitive field, featuring representation across the GTX, Cup, TC, TC+ and BMW M2 Cup Iberia divisions.

With the GT4 grids now running separately, these categories gain greater prominence, allowing drivers to engage in even more intense on-track battles with their direct rivals, while fans will benefit from close wheel-to-wheel racing between some truly exotic machinery.

The GTX division promises to be a premium battleground. Pompeu Simões, 2025 Iberian Supercars and Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade champion, returns determined to defend his crowns alongside Rafael Lobato in the Speedy Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 CS. But the 2025 Campeonato de Supercars de España champions, Ángel Santos and Alejandro Iribas, will not be arriving in Algarve merely to make up the numbers, with the Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2R set to challenge for top honours from the outset. Three reigning champions, three different motivations and one circuit, the stage is set for one of the season’s headline rivalries.

Around this core group of favourites, GTX delivers a richly diverse grid. Chefo Sport by Petrogold arrives as the division’s largest operation, fielding three Ligier JS2Rs: alongside Santos and Iribas, Alba Vázquez shares the second car with Chefo Sport familiar face Pere Marques, while Máximo Varela teams up with 2023 FPAK Junior Team graduate Gabriel Caçoilo in the third entry.

Team CDRS crosses the border from France and returns with David Chiche at the wheel of a Ligier JS2R, while Monteiros Competições places its faith in the iconic BMW M4 GT4 (F82), driven by Nathan Corbet and Jorge Rocha.

Veloso Motorsport launches a strong GTC programme with two Ligier JS2Rs, represented in GTX by Artur Ferreira and the well-known Francisco Carvalho in one of the French-built cars, while TRS makes an ambitious championship debut with young Lebanese driver Stephanie Hobeika and António Duarte aboard a McLaren 570S GT4. Completing the division’s line-up is Gianfranco Motorsport, fielding rookies Rodrigo Pires and Bruno Salgado in a Porsche Cayman GT4.

In GTX Am, the diversity is even greater and the depth of the field particularly impressive. Team CDRS enters three cars: Guillaume Huber in a Ligier JS2R, Christophe Isaac and Jean-Jacques Galli in another Ligier, and Emmanuel Gachiteguy alongside Franck Labescat in a Ginetta G50.

TRS strengthens its debut campaign with two other McLaren 570S GT4s, entrusted to Ivo Prada and Frederico Castro in one car and Breno Arruda and Tiago Loureiro in the other. All four drivers are making their Supercars Endurance debuts, with the exception of the Coimbra-born Loureiro, who previously competed with Art of Speed.

Veloso Motorsport completes its programme with series debutants Santiago Vallejo and Marcos de Jorge in a Ligier JS2R. Rounding out the group, Tockwith Motorsports brings two Ginetta G55s from Great Britain to Algarve, with Steve Kirton and Jonathan Elsworth sharing one car and António Almeida driving the second.

Protech Motorsport also joins the division this season, entering a Porsche Cayman GT4 CS in GTX Am for Lucas Fothergill and Nicole Drought, both of whom make their championship debuts this year.

In the Cup division, the storyline is simple and compelling: one champion defending his crown against a full field determined to dethrone him. Rui Miritta, who swept all three Supercars Endurance championships in the division during 2025, returns with Monteiros Competições at the wheel of a Porsche 911 carrying the same hunger for victory. Waiting to challenge him will be Protech Motorsport, fielding two cars with Craig Davies and Pedro Paiva Raposo in one Porsche 911 Cup and Marcus Fothergill and Dave Benett in the other.

Lan GP Racing enters Ángel Lanchares and Ramiro Garcia-Pumarino, each in their own Porsche 911 Cup, while Art of Speed fields Adam Fawsitt. The second Monteiros Competições entry, driven by Vitor Costa, completes a Cup grid that promises fierce competition from the first metre to the last.

The developments also extend to the Touring Car divisions, where Daniel Teixeira has been the dominant force. The 2025 TCR winner in both the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade and Iberian Supercars returns to TC+ at the wheel of his familiar JT59 Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR, firmly focused on retaining his titles.

In TC, Frederico Formiga and João Castanheira bring once again the Art of Speed SEAT Leon Supercopa MK2 in one of the grid’s most original entries, while the BMW M2 Cup Iberia comes to life with Francisca Roby Queiroz of LOB Motorsport at the wheel of a BMW M2 Racing, adding yet another layer of technical diversity to an already varied field.

As always, the races will be broadcast live on DAZN Spanish and DAZN Portugal, as well as on the Race Ready YouTube channel in both English and Spanish, with additional coverage provided by Motorsport TV Deutschland in Germany and Parc Fermé in Italy.