TITLES PREPARATIONS BEGIN IN JEREZ

Friday's collective test sessions at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto allowed teams to prepare for the fourth and final round of the Campeonato de España de Supercars. The Jerez meeting, which also counts towards the Iberian Supercars and the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade (CPV), will feature two races over the weekend. With all the Spanish titles still to be decided, this round could also prove crucial to the outcome of the Iberian and Portuguese competitions.

There are numerous contenders for the titles across the different divisions and categories, promising fierce battles and plenty of excitement right through to Sunday's final races. Friday's private test sessions offered some early indications of form, but the main takeaway was the remarkably close pace among the GT4 competitors, with the top eleven cars covered by just one second.

GT4 – close competition raises expectations

In the combined classification of the three sessions, Francisco Mora and Rodrigo Almeida were fastest with a time of 1:50.287 in the Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 entered by Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal. The pairing confirmed the pace that has kept them at the top of the Campeonato de España de Supercars GT category standings, where they have 92 points. Their team-mates José Carlos Pires and Francisco Abreu were second fastest, further underlining the strength of the Portuguese team's line-up. They currently lead the GT4 Pro-Bronze championship.

Filip Vava and Tomás Granzella also impressed, placing NM Racing Team's Mercedes-AMG GT4 among the top three. Their performance showed that they are ready to challenge for the GT4 Pro title, despite trailing the championship leaders by 23 points.

César Machado and Tomás Teixeira were third in the division and fourth overall in the Speedy Motorsport Toyota, closely followed by GT4 newcomers Luís Aguiar and Rafael Rajani in SMC Motorsport's McLaren Artura GT4, just seven thousandths of a second behind. The two pairings are level on 81 points in second place in the GT category standings and continue to chase Mora and Almeida.

Among the Pro-Bronze competitors, all driving Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2s, Nuno Pires and Orlando Batina of Batina Racing recorded 1:50.963, the second-fastest time in the division. Alexandre Areia and Nuno Afonso, from Gianfranco Motorsport, were immediately behind with 1:50.997. Pires and Batina remain among the title contenders, although José Carlos Pires and Francisco Abreu currently lead the standings.

Miguel and André Nabais, representing Gianfranco Motorsport, were fastest in GT4 Bronze with a time of 1:51.587. They edged out Andrés Prieto and Ricardo Costa in NM Racing Team's Mercedes-AMG GT4, who recorded 1:51.636, and Vasco Oliveira and Manuel Gião in RACAR Motorsport's Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, with 1:51.693. Oliveira arrives in Jerez leading the Spanish championship standings in the division, meaning the third-fastest time in Bronze leaves the pairing well placed ahead of the title decider.

In GT4 Am, Spanish drivers Josep Parera and Daniel Díaz Varela, from NM Racing Team, topped the timesheets with 1:53.736, just 95 thousandths ahead of Portuguese pairing Rúben Vaquinhas and Mico Mineiro in RV7's Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Javier Macías, victorious in Valencia and driving solo this weekend, was third in Promotion Motorsport's BMW M4 GT4 Evo.

GTC – contenders demonstrate their competitiveness

Making his return to the championship, Álvaro Vela and Sebastián Villadary were the surprise package at the wheel of Monteiros Competições' Porsche 911 Cup, setting the fastest combined time across the three sessions with a 1:53.931. He was one second quicker than Ángel Lanchares in a similar car entered by Lan GP Racing. Máximo Varela and Gabriel Caçoilo, driving one of the three Ligier JS2Rs fielded by Chefo Sport by Petrogold, completed the top three with 1:55.504. They were the fastest GTX competitors and made a strong start to their title challenge in GTC, a category they currently lead.

The Spanish outfit was also in excellent form among the other competitors in its division, with Ángel Santos and Alejandro Iribas in one of its French cars and Alba Vázquez and Himar Acosta in another, occupying the next positions. The four drivers were closely matched on pace.

Marcus Fothergill and Dave Bennett, from Protech Motorsport, were the third-fastest Cup pairing, behind António Almeida and Jemma Moore in Tockwith Motorsports' Ginetta G55. They finished ahead of Adam Fawsitt, representing Art of Speed, who is focused on securing the division title in the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade.

António Duarte, who will once again drive TRS Team's McLaren 570S alone, as he did at Vila Real, topped the GTX Am timesheets with 1:59.573. He enjoyed a comfortable advantage over Nicole Drought and Lucas Fothergill, who were getting to grips with the Andalusian circuit in the Porsche Cayman CS GT4 supported by Protech Motorsport.

Turismos – Teixeira sets the pace

In the Turismo category, Daniel Teixeira was fastest with a time of 1:57.800 at the wheel of JT59 Racing Team's Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The Murça driver is one of the leading contenders for the category title and arrives in Jerez level on points with Francisca Queiroz at the top of the standings. The LOB Motorsport driver secured fourth place in the combined classification and was third among the BMW M2 Cup Iberia competitors.

In the BMW M2 Cup Iberia field, Nathan Corbet and Gonçalo Moura, representing FPAK Junior Team, were fastest with a time of 2:00.664. They were followed by Diego Sirgado and Bernardo Passanha, just 0.211 seconds behind. Valentijn Greven, making his debut in the BMW M2 Cup Iberia this weekend, finished fourth at the wheel of Promotion Motorsport's BMW M2 Racing.

Frederico Formiga and João Castanheira, from Art of Speed, completed their fastest lap in 2:04.032 in their SEAT Leon Supercopa Mk.2, finishing sixth in the category and ahead of Paulo and Guilherme Silva, who recorded 2:06.236. The pairing's Audi RS3 LMS suffered a braking problem during Friday's running, which the team expects to resolve before Saturday's sessions.

With the gaps so small and the titles at stake, Friday's times offer an initial indication of the competitive picture, but the races over the weekend will ultimately decide the outcome. Qualifying sessions are scheduled for Saturday morning, followed by the opening races in the afternoon. The second races, also lasting 50 minutes, will take place on Sunday.

All the action can be followed at the circuit, through Race Ready's social media channels and on DAZN Spain DAZN Portugal.