The qualifying sessions for the Iberian Supercars, Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade, and Supercars Jarama RACE at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve took place today with some drama. In the end, it was the leaders of the Iberian and Spanish series who prevailed.
Q1 Pole Position Captured by Iberian Supercars Leader
Rain fell just minutes before the first qualifying session, complicating tire choices right up to the last second before the green light. Ultimately, all drivers opted for slicks, despite some sections of the track still being wet, presenting risks that would have to be managed.
Luís Pedro Liberal (#98 Speedy Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4) was the primary casualty, as he was caught out by the conditions on his first lap, resulting in an off at Turn 1 and bringing out the red flag.
During the pause, rain made a brief return, though not enough to justify switching to wet tires, allowing the session to resume with slicks.
Track conditions gradually improved, leading to faster lap times as the session progressed. However, César Machado left no room for his competitors, securing the top of the timesheets with a blistering lap in the Speedy Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4, leaving José Carlos Pires’ Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 over eight-tenths behind.
Racar Motorsport’s solo driver José Carlos Pires also performed admirably, securing second overall and pole position in GT4 Bronze with a comfortable lead over Jorge Rodrigues, who placed fifth overall and is one of the main title contenders in the division.
In GT4 Pro, Nerea Martí turned in a strong performance, surprising the field by taking the BMW M4 GT4 of BMW España Motorsport to third, despite having been out of the spotlight in test sessions and free practice.
Manuel Gião and Mathieu Martins entered Algarve still in the hunt for the Iberian Supercars title, but gearbox issues prevented them from leaving the pits, relegating them to the back of the grid for tomorrow’s races, provided they are able to compete.
Meanwhile, Nil Montserrat placed the NM Racing Team’s Mercedes AMG GT4 in seventh on the grid, third in GT4 Bronze, keeping his GT4 Bronze title hopes alive. His rivals in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 qualified two places ahead, while Bernardo Sousa, in the Toyota GR Supra GT4 of Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal, finished between them.
Miguel Nabais continued his strong form in the Speedy Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS, taking pole in GT4 Am with an impressive twelfth overall, while his division rivals Keith Gatehouse in the NM Racing Team’s Mercedes AMG GT4 and Pedro Bastos Rezende in the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 followed.
Daniel Teixeira took full advantage of his Hyundai Elantra N TCR, qualifying sixteenth overall and outpacing his Turismo and TCR rivals, notably Beatriz Correia, who is competing in her first circuit race of the season in her Cupra TCR.
In the TC division among the FPAK Junior Team’s Ginetta G40 drivers, Ruben Silva emerged victorious, outperforming João Oliveira and Henrique Moura Oliveira by just 1.2 seconds in challenging conditions for the rookie drivers.
In the GTX division, Andrius Zemaitis, in a Porsche Cayman GT4 MR, was the fastest, edging out Pompeu Simões in a Porsche Cayman GT4 CS by just four-tenths of a second, setting up an intense duel between the two Speedy Motorsport-prepared cars.
In the Cup, Rui Miritta maintained his season-long dominance by securing pole position in his Porsche 911.
Supercars Jarama RACE Leader Tops Timesheets of Q2
The second qualifying session of the afternoon was even closer than the first, with pole position decided by less than a tenth of a second.
Filip Vava, leading the Supercars Jarama RACE GT4 category with Guillermo Aso, placed the NM Racing Team’s Mercedes AMG GT4 at the top by a slim 0.071s margin over José Carlos Pires’ Aston Martin, once again the top GT4 Bronze driver.
The margins between the top eight were tight, with Francisco Mora (Veloso Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS), Roberto Faria (Racar Motorsport Aston Martin), Jan Durán (Speedy Motorsport Toyota), Bailey Voisin (Araújo Competição Aston Martin Vantage GT4), Carlos Vieira (Toyota Gazoo Racing Caetano Portugal Toyota GR Supra GT4), and Andy Cantu (NM Racing Team Mercedes AMG GT4) close behind.
José de los Milagros, competing with his teammate for both the GT4 and GT4 Pro titles, qualified ninth but over a second behind pole, meaning he will have to fight hard to stay in contention.
Spanish driver Alberto de Martín narrowly missed the top ten but managed to outpace Patrick Cunha, setting up an interesting battle between the NM Racing Team’s Mercedes AMG GT4 and Veloso Motorsport’s Audi R8, both of whom are in the hunt for the GT4 Bronze title.
Miguel Nabais matched his brother’s performance by taking pole and strengthening his GT4 Am title chances, with Igor Sorokin close behind in second.
Daniel Teixeira again dominated the Touring cars with a P19 overall, outpacing José Correia, who returned to the Iberian Supercars in his Cupra TCR for the first time this season.
Among the FPAK Junior Team’s Ginetta G40 drivers, Rodrigo Ferreira was the fastest, with Gabriel Caçoilo and Henrique Ventura Oliveira close behind, separated by only two-tenths of a second.
Henrique Cruz, returning to the Iberian Supercars in a Ginetta G55 with Steve Kirton from Tockwith Motorsports, secured pole in GTX, overtaking former teammate Duarte Camelo, who placed Speedy Motorsport-run Porsche Cayman GT4 CS in second on his debut with the car.
Rui Miritta continued his perfect qualifying record by securing pole in the Cup, beating Marcus Fothergill, also in a Porsche 911 from Tockwith Motorsports.
Tomorrow will be a day of decisive races, with the first at 9:00 AM and the second at 4:55 PM, both of which can be viewed on A Bola TV, DAZN España and the official YouTube channel.