MARTINS AND VAVA SHARE GT4 POLES IN JARAMA

The second round of the Supercars Endurance season, integrated into the prestigious Jarama Classic and counting towards the Campeonato de España de Supercars, began exactly as fans had hoped: with spectacle, uncertainty and an exceptional level of competition. In front of already well-filled grandstands at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama – RACE, two drivers shared the spotlight in GT4 qualifying: Mathieu Martins and Filip Vava.

While the names at the top changed between sessions, the competitiveness remained constant. In the first qualifying session, six cars finished within less than a second of the fastest time, but the second session raised the bar even higher. Ten cars were covered by the same margin to the session leader, providing one of the clearest indications of the balance that currently characterises the Supercars Endurance GT4 field. Under the intense heat that traditionally accompanies the championship’s visit to Madrid, drivers and teams found tenths of a second where there appeared to be no room left for improvement.

Qualifying 1

The opening battle in the top division went the way of Mathieu Martins. The driver of the Racar Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo confirmed the pace he had shown throughout the weekend and secured pole position with a lap no one else could match. Even so, the margin was far from comfortable. Francisco Mora, winner of the first Algarve race alongside Rodrigo Almeida in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, finished less than four tenths behind, while César Machado placed another Toyota, this one entered by Speedy Motorsport, in third position, hinting at an intense Aston Martin versus Toyota battle in the races.

The fight for pole in Pro-Bronze was equally competitive. José Carlos Pires put the Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 at the top of the timesheets, repeating the strong form he displayed in the opening round, where he won the first race of the division. The main opposition came from Gianfranco Motorsport, with Nuno Afonso securing second place, and Batina Racing, with Nuno Pires completing the top three, all separated by only a few tenths of a second.

In Bronze, Vasco Oliveira continued to demonstrate why he is one of the category’s benchmark drivers. The Racar Motorsport driver, winner of the first Algarve race, took the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 EVO to the fastest time in the division, ahead of Ricardo Costa in the NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT4. Luís Calheiros placed the Veloso Motorsport Porsche Cayman RS CS in third position, maintaining the technical diversity that characterises the category.

GT4 Am saw Alex Wendt emerge as the fastest driver of the session. At the wheel of the SMC Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4, the Spanish driver came out on top ahead of Smörg, who placed the Promotion Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO in second position.

The session was marked by Carlos Vieira’s accident near the end, although it did not prevent the former Portuguese rally champion from securing the sixth-fastest time of the session for Veloso Motorsport.

Qualifying 2

When the cars returned to the track for the second session, the level of competitiveness became even more apparent. The gaps narrowed, the lap times improved and every tenth of a second became priceless.

It was then Filip Vava’s turn to take centre stage. The NM Racing Team driver placed the Mercedes-AMG GT4 on pole position for the second race, but had to fight until the final moments to keep his rivals at bay. Tomás Teixeira finished just 99 thousandths of a second behind in the Speedy Motorsport Toyota in GT4 Pro, while young Danish driver Anton Morsing secured third place in the division for Racar Motorsport, leaving three different manufacturers separated by little more than four tenths of a second.

One of the standout performances of the day came in Pro-Bronze. Alexandre Areia put the Gianfranco Motorsport Toyota second overall in the session, finishing behind only Filip Vava in the outright classification. Orlando Batina secured second place in the division, while Francisco Abreu placed a third Toyota among the fastest cars, confirming the Japanese manufacturer’s dominance in the category.

In a session interrupted by an off-track excursion from Rúben Costa, Racar Motorsport once again stood out in GT4 Bronze, this time through Ivan Velasco. The Spaniard put the Aston Martin at the top of the category, ahead of Borja Hormigos in the Autoworks Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 and Andrés Prieto, who once again placed the NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT4 among the front-runners.

In GT4 Am, Jaime Garcia Sanchis took the SMC Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 to pole position in the category, leaving Javier Macias and the Promotion Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO in second place, separated by only a few tenths.

Everything is now in place for two highly intense races. The Campeonato de España de Supercars GT4 races will take place this Saturday at 15:25 and Sunday at 14:15 at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama – RACE. Fans will be able to follow all the action live on DAZN Portugal and DAZN Spain, as well as on Race Ready’s digital platforms, with commentary in English and Spanish. International coverage will also be provided by Motorsport TV Deutschland in Germany, Parc Fermé in Italy and Braking Zone TV in Brazil.