Qualifying sessions produce a host of different contenders

The qualifying sessions at the Jerez Iberian Racing Festival established the first competitive benchmarks ahead of the Supercars Endurance races, with several drivers emerging as leading protagonists and a number of Campeonato de España de Supercars title contenders making their presence felt. The event also counts towards the Iberian Supercars and the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade.

Both qualifying sessions highlighted the competitiveness of the grids, with small margins and different drivers taking centre stage across the categories. As well as determining the starting positions, the results carry particular significance in the context of the Spanish title deciders, with several contenders demonstrating the pace to challenge in Jerez. Attention now turns to the races, which will determine the champions of the Campeonato de España de Supercars.

GT4 – Mora and Martins share the spotlight

Francisco Mora made the perfect start to the day, setting a 1:49.479 at the wheel of the Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 entered by Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal to secure pole position for the first race. The Portuguese driver outpaced César Machado, from Speedy Motorsport, who placed his Toyota second, 0.380 seconds behind. Luís Aguiar was third with a 1:49.866 in the SMC Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4.

All three drivers are among the leading contenders for the GT4 title in the Campeonato de España de Supercars. Mora and team-mate Rodrigo Almeida lead the standings with 92 points, while Machado and Tomás Teixeira share second place with Aguiar and Rafael Rajani, both pairings having scored 81 points.

Tomás Granzella placed NM Racing Team's Mercedes-AMG GT4 fourth with a time of 1:50.140, while José Carlos Pires was fifth fastest in the Toyota entered by Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal. The Portuguese driver, who leads the Pro-Bronze standings alongside Francisco Abreu, once again demonstrated the pace to challenge for the leading positions in the division.

RACAR Motorsport's Anton Morsing was sixth fastest, followed by Jan Durán, from BMW España Motorsport. Both drivers, alongside their respective team-mates, are among the contenders capable of fighting for podium finishes.

Nuno Pires, from Batina Racing, was eighth, while Guillermo Aso, from NM Racing Team, and Raúl Zunzarren, from Speedy Motorsport, completed the top ten. These pairings are also involved in the title battle, with Nuno Pires and Orlando Batina, as well as Zunzarren and Rúben Costa, looking to close the gap to the leaders.

In Bronze, Vasco Oliveira was fastest with a 1:51.098 at the wheel of RACAR Motorsport's Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. The Portuguese driver, who shares the car with Manuel Gião, arrives in Jerez leading the Campeonato de España de Supercars standings in the division and clearly determined to secure the title.

Ricardo Costa, in NM Racing Team's Mercedes-AMG GT4, was second fastest, followed by Nuno Afonso, from Gianfranco Motorsport, who competes in GT4 Pro-Bronze.

In GT4 Am, Rúben Vaquinhas topped the times with a 1:52.968 at the wheel of the Gianfranco Motorsport Aston Martin. Javier Macías placed Promotion Motorsport's BMW M4 GT4 EVO second with a 1:54.076, followed by Alejandro Wendt in the SMC Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4. Fernando Soares, from NGT Motorsport, Josep Parera, from NM Racing Team, and José Garcia, from Sunder Motorworks, completed the division's classification.

In the second session, Mathieu Martins took overall honours with a 1:49.075 in RACAR Motorsport's Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO. The Portuguese driver was 0.536 seconds quicker than Filip Vava, from NM Racing Team, while Eric Gené, representing BMW España Motorsport, was third fastest.

Rafael Rajani placed the SMC Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 fourth. Vava and Gené are both leading protagonists in the Pro-Bronze title fight, while Martins and team-mate Anton Morsing also arrive in Jerez in contention for the crown, albeit with more limited chances.

Andrés Prieto delivered an excellent performance to take fifth place overall with a 1:50.141, topping the Bronze division. He was followed by NM Racing Team team-mate Mario Pinazo, who finished sixth overall and was fastest in Pro-Bronze.

Francisco Abreu placed the Toyota entered by Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal seventh, second in Pro-Bronze, putting himself in a strong position to secure the division title.

Tomás Teixeira, from Speedy Motorsport, was eighth, followed by Rodrigo Almeida, from Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal. Both drivers, who are involved in the battle for the overall GT4 title, finished ahead of Luís Tavares in one of the Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 cars.

Alexandre Areia was the third-fastest Pro-Bronze driver in the Gianfranco Motorsport Toyota, while Manuel Gião placed RACAR Motorsport's Aston Martin second in Bronze.

Simon Connor Primm, who has previously competed in the DTM and now represents CV Performance x JP Motorsport, was 13th overall, followed by Rúben Costa, from Speedy Motorsport, and Orlando Batina, from Batina Racing.

Diogo Castro and newcomer Daniel Díez, from NM Racing Team, occupied the next positions. The young driver from Coimbra, a former member of the FPAK Junior Team, is making his GT4 debut this weekend.

In GT4 Am, Jaime García was fastest with a 1:52.589 at the wheel of the SMC Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4. Rómulo ‘Mico’ Mineiro, from Gianfranco Motorsport, was second, followed by Javier Macías, from Promotion Motorsport, and Miguel Ferreira, from NGT Motorsport. The Sunder Motorworks Porsche, driven by Oana Ghiocel, brought up the rear of the session's timesheets, although a gearbox problem limited the team's performance.

GTC – Caçoilo and Vela fastest in the two qualifying sessions

Gabriel Caçoilo made a strong start to his GTC title challenge by topping the first qualifying session with a 1:52.939 at the wheel of the Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2R. The young Portuguese driver, who shares the championship lead with Máximo Varela, outpaced Sebastian Villadary, who placed Monteiros Competições' Porsche 911 Cup second with a 1:53.066 on his debut in the division.

António Almeida was one of the session's surprises, taking third place in Tockwith Motorsports' Ginetta G55 with a time of 1:54.875. He was also the second-fastest driver in the GTX division. The Portuguese gentleman driver arrives in Jerez among the title contenders, currently occupying seventh place in the standings.

Returning driver José Maria Marreiros, in the Veloso Motorsport Ligier JS2R, was next, followed by Ángel Santos, Rodrigo Pires and Alba Vázquez. Santos and team-mate Alejandro Iribas occupy second place in the championship with 71 points, while Alba Vázquez, sixth in the standings with 53 points, also retains a chance of challenging for the title.

Despite his strong result, Rodrigo Pires did not enjoy a trouble-free qualifying session, going off track in the Gianfranco Motorsport Porsche Cayman CS.

In the Cup division, Ángel Lanchares placed the Lan GP Racing Porsche 911 third. The Spaniard arrives in Jerez eighth in the GTC championship standings with 45 points and remains among the drivers with a chance of fighting for the title. Adam Fawsitt, from Art of Speed, was fourth fastest in the division, while Vítor Costa and Ramiro García-Pumarino completed the top five.

The latter occupies fourth place in the standings with 62 points and also remains in contention for the crown. Nicole Drought was fastest in GTX Am with a 1:58.841 in the Protech Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, while António Duarte, in TRS Team's McLaren 570S GT4, was second.

In the second session, Álvaro Vela took centre stage among the GTC competitors, setting the fastest time of 1:53.973 at the wheel of Monteiros Competições' Porsche 911 Cup. Alejandro Iribas placed the Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2R second with a 1:54.117, confirming the strong pace of the pairing currently second in the championship.

Team-mate Himar Acosta recorded a 1:54.548, followed by Jemma Moore in Tockwith Motorsports' Ginetta G55, just five thousandths of a second behind. The British driver occupies fifth place in the standings with 57 points and remains among the title contenders.

In the Cup division, Marcus Fothergill was second fastest with a 1:54.834 at the wheel of the Protech Motorsport Porsche. The British driver, who shares the car with Dave Bennett, arrives in Jerez third in the championship standings with 66 points and is one of the leading contenders for the title.

Ángel Lanchares and Ramiro García-Pumarino, both representing Lan GP Racing, occupied the next positions, while Adam Fawsitt was fifth fastest in the division.

Máximo Varela, in the Chefo Sport by Petrogold Ligier JS2R, was fifth among the GTC competitors and third in GTX. The Spanish driver shares the championship lead with Caçoilo, making the performances of both drivers in qualifying particularly important to the title battle.

Vítor Costa, who suffered a puncture, and Artur Ferreira, from Veloso Motorsport, followed. In GTX Am, Lucas Fothergill was fastest with a 1:59.581 in the Protech Motorsport Porsche, just 0.028 seconds ahead of António Duarte, from TRS Team.

Turismos – Daniel Teixeira remains at the front

Daniel Teixeira was fastest among the Turismos in both qualifying sessions, setting a 1:52.199 in the first at the wheel of the JT59 Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The driver from Murça again topped the times in the second session, improving his benchmark to 1:52.843. Teixeira arrives in Jerez level on 89 points with Francisca Queiroz at the top of the championship standings, and his qualifying performances strengthen his position in the title fight.

In TC+, Paulo Silva placed the Befast Motorsport Audi RS3 LMS TCR second with a 2:02.057, after Guilherme Silva had been the division's second-fastest driver in the opening session with a 2:01.578.

In the BMW M2 Cup Iberia, Diego Sirgado was fastest in the first qualifying session with a 1:58.927 at the wheel of the FPAK Junior Team BMW M2 Racing. Team-mate Nathan Corbet finished second with a 2:00.570, followed by Francisca Queiroz, from LOB Motorsport, with a 2:01.235.

The Portuguese driver, who shares the Turismos championship lead with Daniel Teixeira, was therefore the third-fastest competitor in the division. Dutch newcomer Valentijn Greven, making his debut in the competition this season, placed the Promotion Motorsport BMW M2 Racing fourth with a 2:03.048.

In the second session, Bernardo Passanha, also representing FPAK Junior Team, took the lead in the division with a 2:00.055, followed by team-mate Gonçalo Moura with a 2:00.444. Passanha arrives in Jerez third in the Turismos standings with 76 points, while Moura is fourth with 74, and both remain in contention for the title. Francisca Queiroz again finished third, reinforcing her position among the leading BMW M2 Cup competitors, while Valentijn Greven retained fourth place.

In the TC division, Frederico Formiga was fastest in the first session with a 2:01.791, putting the Art of Speed SEAT Leon Supercopa very close to the BMW M2 Racing drivers. In the second session, team-mate João Castanheira recorded a 2:05.615.