The Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia was the scene of a scorching weekend, with 3 highly contested races in the 3rd round of the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica (PSCI). Manuel Alves won Sprint 1, Dylan Pereira triumphed in Sprint 2, and GT Corse took victory in the Endurance Race with the duo Alejandro Barambio and Borja Garcia. The only one to come away with a full victory was Rui Miritta, who took three victories in Category 1.

The Valencian race took place in the heat and with increased intensity. High marks for the spectacle put on by the 23 drivers of five nationalities, distributed across seven teams, present at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

Sprint Race 1: Manuel Alves imposed himself with authority

Not even the entry of the Safety Car was enough to stop Manuel Alves’ dominance in the first Sprint Race of the weekend. The LOB Motorsport driver naturally took his third victory of the season in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica (PSCI).

Starting from pole position, Alves immediately took the lead, followed by Alejandro Barambio (GT Corse). Right behind him, José Barros (AF & V Motorsport) had an unfortunate start, dropping to tenth, the starting point for a remarkable comeback.

The first lap was marked by an intense battle for third place between André Fernandes (AF & V Motorsport) and Jorge Ramirez (RGB Racing Team), with Fernandes getting the better of him with a determined maneuver. Further back, Asier Telleria — back in PSCI — was close to Ramirez’s car in the second Porsche 992 GT3 Cup from GT Corse, but had a violent crash on the second lap, forcing the Safety Car to come out.

With the field regrouped, the race resumed shortly after. Manuel Alves stood out again, quickly escaping at the front, while Alejandro Barambio remained comfortable in second place. Third place was the subject of a fierce battle between André Fernandes and José Barros, with the latter completing a brilliant comeback, taking the last step of the podium in the final moments.

Manuel Alves thus secured a categorical victory in the overall standings, to which he added triumphs in Category 2 and the PROAM Class. Alejandro Barambio, in turn, secured victory in the AM Class, consolidating GT Corse’s good moment.

Category 1: Rui Miritta returns to winning ways

In Category 1, Rui Miritta (Monteiros Competições) returned to winning ways with a confident and dominant performance, leading from start to finish. Pablo Hernández (Fenix ​​Racing) finished second, while youngster Maria Sanchéz Iglesias (Monteiros Competições) completed the podium, with a solid performance that also earned her second place in the Ladies Cup, behind regular winner Francisca Queiroz (LOB Motorsport). Miritta also took victory in the GD Class, with Hernández excelling in the AM Class.

Sprint Race 2: Dylan Pereira in dominating mode

Pole position, fastest lap and absolute dominance from the first to the last meter: this is another impeccable performance by Dylan Pereira, driving the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup from AF & V Motorsport, in the second Sprint Race of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica (PSCI) weekend.

The Portuguese-Luxembourgish driver started with authority and never let go of the lead. Behind him, Manuel Alves had a poor start and dropped to fourth, taking advantage of Borja Garcia (GT Corse) and Jorge Ramirez to move up to second and third, respectively.

While Alves battled with Ramirez to recover positions, Dylan Pereira and Borja Garcia began to stand out. The Spaniard, racing at home, still made a few attempts in the opening laps, but to no avail. Pereira reacted, increased the pace and quickly built up a comfortable lead, while Garcia isolated himself in second place.

However, on the sixth lap, both Borja Garcia and Jorge Ramirez were penalized with a drive-through penalty for a false start, dropping them to fifth and sixth positions. The penalty paved the way for Manuel Alves to reclaim second place, while rookie Sasha Hebrard Barucq, in an excellent performance at the wheel of the second Porsche from GT Corse, moved up to third place. José Barros put a lot of pressure on the French driver in the final laps, but was unable to overtake him.

The positions remained unchanged until the end. Dylan Pereira took a triple victory: overall, Category 2 and PROAM Class. Sasha Barucq shone on his debut by winning the AM Class.

Category 1: internal duel at Monteiros Competições

Category 1 provided one of the most exciting moments of the race, with a very close duel between three Monteiros Competições drivers: Rui Miritta, André Marques and Nuno Inocêncio. The three drivers were very close throughout the race, separated by just a few tenths of a second, but without changing positions. Miritta won, reinforcing his dominance over the weekend, with Marques in second and Inocêncio in third. The winning driver also took the triumph in the GD Class, while Marques won in the AM Class.

Ladies Cup: Francisca Queiroz back on top

Francisca Queiroz once again demonstrated consistency and speed, crossing the finish line in 8th place overall and claiming her second victory of the weekend in the Ladies Cup.

Endurance Race: GT Corse wins relentless battle

On Sunday afternoon, the PSCI field lined up on the grid for the 50-minute Endurance Race. Manuel Alves, for LOB Motorsport, started in pole position, with Alejandro Barambio (GT Corse) at his side — the first to take the wheel before handing the car over to Borja Garcia. The second row was occupied by the AF & V Motorsport cars, with the duos José Barros / Nuno Batista and André Fernandes / Dylan Pereira.

At the flying start, Alves took over and quickly began to gain an advantage. José Barros moved up to second, while Jorge Ramirez, solo for RCG Racing Team, jumped from the third row to third place. Barambio, in turn, lost positions at the start, falling to fifth, but quickly recovered to fourth place, overtaking André Fernandes.

The positions remained relatively stable until 15 minutes into the race, when João Macedo e Silva went off the track due to the loss of the left rear wheel of his Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. The incident forced the Safety Car to come out and delayed the opening of the mandatory pit stop window (minimum of 120 seconds for pairs and 125 seconds for solo drivers).

With the Safety Car out with 26 minutes remaining, the pit stop window opened. Alves, Barambio and Fernandes immediately pitted, while Barros and Ramirez opted to stay out on the track longer.

The changes confused the order. GT Corse took the lead thanks to an efficient pit stop, now with Borja Garcia at the wheel. The Valencian driver quickly opened up a seven-second lead, benefiting both from his pace and the intense fight behind him. Manuel Alves overtook Ramirez for second place, but was soon attacked by Dylan Pereira, who, after overtaking Ramirez, faced greater resistance to beat Alves. Nevertheless, the Luxembourg driver managed to reach second place and launched himself in pursuit of Garcia.

With around seven minutes remaining, it was clear that the GT Corse Porsche was perfectly set up and Garcia was in excellent shape. Despite his efforts, Pereira was only able to close the gap slightly, finishing second, more than six seconds behind the leader. However, AF & V Motorsport would suffer a 25-second penalty for irregularities in the pit stop, relegating Pereira and Fernandes’ car to fourth place overall.

A clear and fair victory for GT Corse, the result of a combination of pace, strategy and preparation. Manuel Alves, with an excellent performance, secured second place for LOB Motorsport — a valuable result in the drivers’ and teams’ championships. Jorge Ramirez, with a solid and consistent race, completed the podium for RCG Racing Team. The three teams also occupied the top three places in Category 2.

Category 1: Rui Miritta unbeatable

Rui Miritta confirmed his dominance by taking his third victory of the weekend, leading Monteiros Competições to yet another triumph in Category 1. The Portuguese driver was the strongest throughout the three races – while Nuno Inocêncio, another contender for victory – retired on the opening lap, leaving the team’s only Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup out of the race.

Fenix ​​Racing took second place with Pablo Hernández, and the podium was completed by the Falconeri Porsche, driven by Alexandre Fonseca and André Marques, who performed two consistent and effective stints.

Ladies Cup: Francisca Queiroz shines again

Francisca Queiroz stood out once again by finishing in an excellent 8th place overall, securing her third victory of the weekend in the Ladies Cup. The Portuguese driver was impeccable throughout the weekend. Behind her, the Maria Sanchez Iglesias/Chloe Grant duo completed a solid race at the wheel of the Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup from Falconeri, prepared by Monteiros Competições.

Next round

The Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica is now entering a well-deserved summer break. The next round, the fourth of the season and which marks the start of the second half of the championship, is scheduled for September 13 and 14 at the Circuito de Navarra.