The qualifying sessions for the third round of the Iberian Supercars and Supercars Jarama RACE were fiercely competitive, with the top twelve drivers separated by less than a second. In the end, César Machado and Jan Durán clinched pole position for both races at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, driving the Speedy Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4.
As anticipated, the competition remained intense throughout both sessions, which determined the starting grids for the 45-minute races, setting the stage for an exciting and emotional showdown tomorrow.
Qualification 1: Decided in the final moment
In the first qualifying session of the day, several drivers held the top spot, but in his final flying lap, César Machado set a time that put him in first place, beating Jorge Rodrigues by a mere 0.073 seconds, highlighting the close competition throughout the session.
The Audi R8 LMS GT4 driver from Veloso Motorsport was in the battle for overall pole and was the fastest in GT4 Bronze, ahead of Salvador Tineo in the Team VRT Mercedes AMG GT4 and Manuel Gião in the Racar Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, both competing in GT4 Pro and finishing just behind.
Series newcomer Stepan Suslov took the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to fifth on the grid and second in GT4 Bronze, sharing the third row with Nerea Martí, who, behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4 for BMW España Motorsport, is racing on her home circuit.
Also delivering an excellent performance was Miguel Nabais in the Speedy Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, securing pole in GT4 Am and 14th overall, just 1.2 seconds off the fastest time. The Nabais brothers didn’t have an easy morning, as a suspension issue caused an off-track excursion, losing valuable track time.
José António Gomez made his debut this weekend in the series, but that didn’t stop him from showing competitiveness in one of the Ligier JS2Rs from Chefo Sport, taking pole in the GTX category, beating his teammate and fellow debutant Mikkel Kristensen, in a similar car.
Rui Miritta confirmed his strong pace from the morning session and was the fastest in the Cup class, beating Marcus Fothergill by just 0.062 seconds.
Qualification 2: Nail-Biter Session Sees Durán on Top
While César Machado secured pole by the narrowest of margins, his teammate Jan Durán claimed another one for the Speedy Motorsport duo, but his advantage was even smaller – just 0.037 seconds.
José de los Milagros, driving the BMW M4 GT4 for BMW España Motorsport, seemed destined to start from the top spot for tomorrow’s second race, but in the last moment, his rival in the Speedy Motorsport Toyota snatched that honour.
Following them were two Mercedes AMG GT4s from the NM Racing Team, with Filip Vava in third and Nil Montserrat in fourth. The latter claimed pole in GT4 Bronze, continuing the rivalry with the Veloso Motorsport Audi drivers, who are battling for the division’s title. Patrick Cunha finished eighth, second in his class.
André Nabais replicated his brother’s feat by being the fastest in GT4 Am, setting the 22nd fastest time overall, though Igor Sorokin, in the NM Racing Team Mercedes AMG GT4, wasn’t far behind, just two-tenths of a second away, finishing 24th overall.
The GTX class saw a fierce battle between Simon Moore, Jonathan Elsworth both in the Tockwith Motorsports Ginetta G50s, and series newcomer Manuel Cañizares in a Chefo Sport Ligier JS2R. This trio was separated by only three-tenths of a second, with British veteran Simon Moore claiming pole with a time set on the lap when he saw the chequered flag.
Monteiros Competições’ Rui Miritta put in a commanding performance in the Cup class, once again securing the top spot, and will start tomorrow’s second race from 19th on the grid.