The final two races of the 2024 edition of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica thrilled the many thousands of spectators who packed the stands at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya. Dylan Pereira drove Veloso Motorsport’s Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup to a double stage victory, but not without the renowned Portuguese-Luxembourgish driver facing strong opposition, especially in Race 2. Jorge Ramirez took the only title still up for grabs, becoming champion of Group 992.
The two victories achieved by the 2022 Porsche Supercup champion gave substance to his natural favoritism, but they were no “walk in the park”, as the high competitive level of the drivers that make up the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica forced Dylan Pereira to put on the track all your talent.
In Qualifying Dylan was the fastest, but saw the Portuguese Gonçalo Fernandes (Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup) stay just 7 tenths of a second behind, in a session in which Manuel Alves was the third best, Jorge Ramirez the fourth and leader of the 992 GT3 Cup . Rui Miritta placed the best of the 991.1 GT3 Cup models in 11th place in the session.
Race 1: Dylan Pereira triumphs with authority
Several very intense duels were staged by the Porsche “armada” throughout the race, which led to the introduction of three distinct “Full Course Yellow” periods and the attribution of several penalties and one disqualification, after the end of the race.
The one who was completely immune to all the incidents was Dylan Pereira, who did not let himself be surprised at the start, immediately taking the lead, which he would not let go of until the checkered flag, crossing the finish line with almost 16 seconds ahead of Manuel Alves. Vasco Barros, Alves’ teammate at LOB Motorsport, completed the overall podium, securing 3rd place, 20 seconds behind the winner. The three drivers repeated their positions in Group 991.2 and in the PROAM Class.
In the fight for the title in Group 992, which initially had three contenders in Barcelona, the one who benefited in Race 1 was Colombian Juan Vega. The Hadeca Racing driver finished the race in 2nd place in the Group, behind the Spaniard Alejandro Barambio (Equipo GT Corse), but he did not score points for the championship. Vega also saw his teammate and title challenger Yuri Protasov disqualified and Jorge Ramirez (RGB Racing Team) retire. With all this, the trio would go to the last race of the year with a gap of just 6 points, with Ramirez in 1st, Protasov in 2nd and Vega in 3rd place.
The podium counts in the race for Group 992 closed with Oleksandr Dobik in 3rd place. The Ukrainian from Hadeca Racing also managed to secure victory in the GD Class, finishing the race in 8th place overall. In the AM Class, Barambio won, Gonçalo Fernandes was 2nd and Vega secured 3rd place, with the three drivers crossing the finish line in 4th, 5th and 6th overall.
Rui Miritta didn’t give in and won with authority in Group 991.1, ahead of Filipe Nascimento (Orbital Ignition Racing Team). The Monteiros Competições driver was also 9th overall and second in the GD Class, while Nascimento secured 3rd place in this class.
Race 2: Dylan Pereira resists Borja Garcia’s attacks and takes the full
Good weather, a large crowd, and a grid packed with quantity and quality marked the start of the last race of the 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica season.
As always, the starting grid was constructed based on the overall classification of Race 1, inverting the top eight finishers. Thus, Oleksandr Dobik, in the 992 GT3 Cup from Hadeca Racing and João Macedo e Silva, in a 991.1 GT3 Cup, took the front row, while Dylan Pereira was relegated to the fourth row, with great curiosity about how long the driver from Veloso Motorsport would take a while to reach the front places.
The answer came quickly and, thanks to a brilliant start, the Portuguese-Luxembourgish driver jumped to second position in the first few corners, while Juan Veja jumped from the 3rd row to the lead. But the Colombian barely resisted the attacks from Dylan Pereira who, on the opening lap, took the lead and the threat of a new absolute superiority for the Veloso Motorsport driver hung in the air.
That was not the case, because in the meantime, Borja Garcia, who started from the 2nd row driving the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup from Equipo GT Corse, had reached 2nd place and was in pursuit of the race leader. The two would have the longest and most impressive duel of the weekend.
Garcia tried everything during the 28 minutes + 1 lap of the race, sticking close to the rear of Dylan Pereira’s Porsche 991.2 and trying out every possible maneuver to complete the overtaking, but always without success, thanks to the mastery with which the Portuguese-Luxembourgish driver defended the position. Dylan Pereira crossed the finish line just over a second ahead of Borja Garcia, while Manuel Alves, in one of LOB Motorsport’s Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cups, secured 3rd place overall. The three also filled the PROAM Class podium. Dylan Pereira did the full thing, also winning Group 991.2, being supported here by Manuel Alves and Gonçalo Fernandes, who took his car to 4th place overall and victory in Class AM.
As for the title discussion in Group 992, Jorge Ramirez managed to hold off all of Juan Vega’s attacks throughout the race and become champion, having also seen Yuri Protasov abandon the race early, just after the 6th lap. Ramirez also gave RGB Racing Team 2nd place in Group 992 and in the AM Class, while Vega also secured a double 3rd place for Hadeca Racing.
As for Group 991.1, Rui Miritta is once again in control, with Filipe Nascimento once again securing 2nd place. Miritta and Nascimento took their Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup to another podium in the GD Class, supporting Oleksandr Dobik. The Ukrainian from Hadeca Racing closed the accounts of the final overall victory in this class in Barcelona.
A final word for Francisca Queiroz who crowned a very positive season with another error-free weekend and a Top 10, this time in Race 1, being the best female driver in the competition.