Following Manuel Alves’ victory in Saturday’s Race 1, the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica had a true feast of competition in store for Sunday: three Sprint Races, virtually the entire day devoted to on-track battles, and temperatures that started at around 25 degrees and climbed to 34.
And Jerez delivered. Three races produced three different winners, with several battles for the lead, Safety Car periods, intense action throughout the field and an outcome that was difficult to predict.
Álvaro Bajo opens Sunday with victory
Race 2 began with Álvaro Bajo on pole position and the GT Corse driver made full use of his advantage. He took the lead from the start and remained out front throughout the 12 laps, although he never enjoyed a truly comfortable morning. Behind him, his teammate Alejandro Barambio Perea faced a particularly demanding race. The Spaniard simultaneously had to defend second place from rookie Jordi Fuset’s attacks while trying to close the gap to Bajo and challenge for victory. He resisted the pressure and secured second place.
But the major highlight of the race was undoubtedly Jordi Fuset. On his PSCI debut, the Real Peña Motorista Vizcaya driver immediately put his Porsche 992 GT3 Cup among the leading contenders, claiming an outstanding third place overall and victory in the Bronze Class. The intensity continued throughout the positions behind them. Duarte Camelo (LOB Motorsport) recovered to fourth place, while Tomas Slootweg (AF Motorsport) also produced an excellent debut performance by completing the Top 5. Diego Carrascal Vega saw his race compromised by a puncture.
Flame Airikkala also continued to confirm the excellent form she is enjoying. Following her victory on Saturday, the young AF Motorsport Finnish driver once again prevailed in the Ladies Cup, continuing her excellent adaptation to the new reality of racing solo.
Borja García responds in an intense Race 3
In the afternoon, with temperatures approaching 34 degrees, Race 3 once again delivered action from the opening metres. Borja García started from the front and was quickest into the first corner. Behind him, Manuel Alves immediately had to respond to pressure from Chloe Grant and Miguel Lobo, with the British driver even briefly moving ahead of the Portuguese two-time champion before Alves regained second place. Chloe and Miguel Lobo became involved in a battle for position and eventually made contact. Lobo went off the track and the incident brought out the Safety Car, the only neutralisation of the race. At the restart, Borja García was faultless.
The GT Corse driver reacted quickly, retained the lead and began building his victory, although Manuel Alves never allowed him to escape completely, with his car’s radiator being affected by slight contact with García’s Porsche. In the closing stages, the Portuguese driver launched a strong attack, to which Borja responded emphatically. After Saturday’s victory, Manuel Alves therefore added a second place overall to his PSCI return.
His Porsche, however, suffered radiator damage as a result of the contact, a situation that would ultimately have consequences for Duarte Camelo in the final race of the programme, as repairs proved impossible and the young Portuguese driver was unable to start. Behind the leading pair came one of the standout performances of the weekend. Chloe Grant (AF Motorsport) claimed a brilliant third place overall and victory in the Ladies Cup, bouncing back from Saturday’s retirement in the best possible way.
Flame Airikkala was once again in excellent form immediately behind Chloe, while Francisca “Kika” Queiroz collected important points for her Ladies Cup campaign.
Jordi Fuset turns his debut into an overall victory
If the overall third place and Bronze victory achieved in the morning had already made Jordi Fuset’s debut memorable, Race 4 transformed it into one of the major stories of the Jerez round. The Real Peña Motorista Vizcaya driver made a simply sensational start. Fuset attacked through the opening corners, first overtaking Álvaro Bajo and then pole-sitter Alejandro Barambio Perea, putting his Porsche 992 GT3 Cup into the lead almost immediately. And he never relinquished it. Barambio remained close throughout, running little more than a second behind for much of the race, but Fuset showed remarkable composure for a driver contesting his first weekend in the championship. Not even the Safety Car intervention late in the race, triggered when Tomas Slootweg went into the gravel, changed the outcome. Jordi Fuset won.
An outright PSCI debut transformed, in the space of a single Sunday, into two Bronze Class victories and an overall win. A highly significant result given that it also came in Real Peña Motorista Vizcaya’s first appearance in the championship. By finishing second, Alejandro Barambio Perea completed another important points- scoring operation for the championship standings, while Diego Carrascal Vega claimed third place after a solid race, also benefiting from incidents that removed several rivals from the battle at the front. Filipe Carvalho brought the Veloso Motorsport Porsche home in fourth place, while Francisca “Kika” Queiroz ended the weekend with the Ladies Cup victory that had so far eluded her.
The Portuguese LOB Motorsport driver finished an excellent fifth overall. For José Monroy, Series Manager of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica, the Jerez weekend once again highlighted the championship’s competitiveness: “It was a fantastic round and this Sunday is probably the best example of what we want for the PSCI: four races, four different winners, plenty of fighting on track and a driver claiming his first victory on his debut weekend. We leave Jerez very satisfied and certain that we have all the ingredients for an extraordinary final phase of the season.”
With the fourth round completed, the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica now heads to Circuito de Navarra, which will host the fifth and penultimate round of the season.