SuperCars Endurance: McLaren and Ginetta in pole position with Moura,Hall e de Andrès shining at the highest level
Nicolas Pino (Ginetta G55) and Gonzalo de Andrés (McLaren 570S) got, this Saturday, the pole position for the two races of the SuperCars Endurance opening day, to be held Sunday at the Spanish circuit of Jarama.
If the first position on the grid was monopolized by foreign pilots, the Portuguese were, however, in great highlight, because although driving very different cars (TCR class), they were very close and will, therefore, start both races in the front places. We refer to Gustavo Moura, who, in the debut of his Hyundai Elantra N TCR, achieved two second places, one of them at 0.078s from the pole position, and to Daniel Teixeira (CUPRA TCR), third fastest driver in both qualifications and, it's worth mentioning, not very far from his compatriot. Both of them have plenty of reasons to be satisfied, since they got in between the GT cars, and promise not to give them a truce, leaving in the air an excellent omen of the beginning of the season for SuperCars Endurance, in terms of balance and competitiveness.
The British team Tockwith Motorsport, which registers two Ginetta cars, did not leave any credit to others, as it placed its duos in the first places and if one (Marmaduke Hall/Nicolas Pino) leads the GT4 Pro class, the other, of Jemme Mora and Aubrey Hall, dominates the GTC class.
The SMC Motorsport McLaren 570S, predicted to be the favourite, was not without problems in the first qualifying, with Guillermo Aso at the wheel, as it had happened in free practice, when it simply stopped working and went into 'safety mode'. However, in the second qualifying, with Gonzalo de Andrés, the driver from Madrid managed to beat everything.
Local driver Nico Abella, from Chefosport, was also in excellent shape, as he placed the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup, in the RC class, in the middle of the timesheets, making the best of his knowledge of the Jarama circuit.
In the GTC class, and after struggling, during the morning, with the Lotus Exige's engine failure, Francisco Gonçalves, for the first time at Madrid's track, ended up not far behind the Ginetta of the British team Tockwith Motorsport.
Among the GT4 Bronze competitors, Luís Silva, in the Sports & You Mercedes AMG was the one who stood out in the first qualifying, ahead of the rookie José Correia (Mercedes AMG), but, in the second qualifying, Francisco Carvalho (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), who knows the track better than his colleague Jorge Rodrigues, took the first place.
Still in free practice, the GT4 Pro class lost a French-British duo, candidates to the first places, due to the accident of the Bullit Racing's Mercedes AMG of Stephen Patricke and Romain Monti, which was heavily damaged, leading the Spanish team to pack its bags and head home.
Qualifying 1
1st, Tockwith Motorsport, Nicolas Pino (Ginetta G55), GT4 PRO, 1'38.295s
2nd, GC 24 Motorsport, Gustavo Moura (Hyundai Elantra E TCR), TCR, 1'39.412
3rd, JT59 Racing, Daniel Teixeira (CUPRA TCR), TCR, 1'39.901
4th, Sports & You, Luís Silva (Mercedes AMG), GT4 Bronze, 1.42.043
5º, Chefosport, Nico Abella (Peugeot Racing Cup), RC, 1.42.124
6th, Tockwith Motorsport, Aubrey Hall (Ginetta G50), GTC, 1.43.760
7th, 888_ Motorsport, Francisco Gonçalves (Lotus Exige), GTC, 1.43.887
8th, JC Group Racing Team, José Correia (Mercedes AMG), GT4 Bronze, 1.44.508
9th, Lema Racing, Jorge Rodrigues (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), GT4 Bronze, 1.44.808
10th, PROGT, Andrius Zemaitis (Porsche 981 Caymen MR), GT4 Bronze, 1.44.797
11th, Alfonso Colomina (Peugeot 308 Racing Cup), RC, 1.45.901
12th, Garagem João Gomes, Piero dal Maso (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), GT4 Bronze, 1.46.447
13th, SMC Motorsport, Paco Gastañaga (CUPRA TCR), TCR, 1.48.332
14th, SMC Motorsport, Aso Arjol (McLaren 570S), GT4 PRO, 4.30.301
15th, SMC Junior Motorsport, Alejandro Cutillas (Peugeot 308 TCR), TCR, 20.10.19
Qualifying 2
1st, SMC Motorsport, Gonzalo de Andrés (McLaren 570S), GT4 PRO, 1.39.346
2nd, GC 24 Motorsport, Gustavo Moura (Hyundai Elantra E TCR), TCR, 1.39.424
3rd, JT59 Racing, Daniel Teixeira (CUPRA TCR), TCR, 1.40.049
4th, Tockwith Motorsport, Mamaduke Hall (Ginetta G55), GT4 PRO, 1.40.258
5th, Tockwith Motorsport, Jemma More (Ginetta G50), GTC, 1.40.563
6th, Chefosport, Nico Abella (Peugeot Racing Cup), RC, 1.40.965
7th, 888_ Motorsport, Francisco Gonçalves (Lotus Exige), GTC, 1.42.766
8th, Lema Racing, Francisco Carvalho (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), GT4 Bronze, 1.42.948
9th, SMC Motorsport, Alfonso Colomina (Peugeot Racing Cup), RC, 1.43.596
10th, PROGT, Andrius Zemaitis (Porsche 981 Caymen MR), GT4 Bronze, 1.44.629
11th, JC Group Racing Team, Gabriela Correia (Mercedes AMG), GT4 Bronze, 1.44.874
12th, Garagem João Gomes, Nuno Nunes (Porsche 981 Cayman MR), GT4 Bronze, 1.45.830
13th, SMC Motorsport, Paco Gastañaga (CUPRA TCR), TCR, 1.46.174
14th, Sports & You, António Coimbra (Mercedes AMG), GT4 bronze, no time
PROGRAM
Sunday
11h00/11H45 - Race 1 (45')
14.55-15.40 - Race 2 (45')
