The Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia experienced a sensational weekend of races with the four races contested by the GT-CER. The Spanish GT Championship and the Spanish Endurance Championship visited the Levantine track for the fourth round of the season, where the overall GT victories were achieved for Lionel Amrouche and Solenn Amrouche in the first and Leandro Martins in the second; while JM Smörg and Javier Macías did the same in the first of the CER and Miguel Romero in the second.
The weekend of exciting races began on Friday afternoon with free practice, at which time drivers and teams took data and prepared the planned races, two for the GTs and two more for the CER touring cars. After that, Saturday began with qualifying, which laid the foundations to configure the starting grids based on the fastest times.
Pablo Yeregui and Daniel Carretero took full advantage of their Audi R8 GT2 to take the Pole Position among the GTs for Race 1. Likewise, Pablo Bras and Fernando González achieved the Pole Position for Race 2. For their part, Miguel Gómez and Marcos Botana demonstrated their skills to conquer the CER Pole Position in Race 1; while for Race 2, it was Miguel Romero who won the pole position for the start.
The Amrouche and Martins take the victories at stake among the GTs
Saturday noon hosted the first race of the weekend, with the GTs as the protagonists. From Pole Position, the Audi R8 GT2 of Pablo Yeregui and Daniel Carretero sought to command the peloton, but a problem forced it to give in to the peloton that was fighting from behind, taking advantage of José Manuel de los Milagros to place the official BMW M4 GT4 in the lead. BMW Spain Motorsport.
However, the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup of Pablo Bras and Fernando González took the lead next, putting a few meters ahead before the stops and the application of the handicaps. It was then that the race situation took a turn, with the Vortex rising as the smartest, with Lionel Amrouche and Solenn Amrouche moving to the front, a position they would not give up until the checkered flag.
The Vortex V8 of the French couple took the overall victory and in the GPX category, ahead of Pablo Bras and Fernando González (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup), winners of the Porsche Cup. For their part, Patrick Bay and Guillermo Aso (Mercedes AMG GT4) managed to triumph in GPR, being the best GT4 of this first round in Valencia.
The second took place on Sunday, again under an imposing sun. The Ferrari 488 Challenge of Jesús Díez Villaroel and Ángel Santos took the lead at the start, followed by the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup of Leandro Martins. The Portuguese, who started from the back of the grid and staged a comeback to remember, pushed even harder and managed to take the lead before the pit stop window opened.
Martins maintained the lead after the stoppages, making good use of his handicap time to stand up to his pursuers and escape in the lead. Likewise, the GT4s continued their fierce battle, with the Mercedes AMG GT4 of NM Racing Team and the BMW M4 GT4 of BMW España Motorsport engaged in a new chapter of the fight for the title that they have been leading all season.
A late Safety Car caused a heart-stopping finale, with some high-voltage final stages of the race. Leandro Martins (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup) withstood the pressure from his rivals and emerged as the winner of this second race of the Spanish GT Championship in Valencia and as the winner in the Porsche Cup. For his part, José Manuel de los Milagros and Nerea Martí (BMW M4 GT4) made up for Saturday’s race and managed to win in GPR as the best GT4 and with the Valencian savoring the honeys of glory at home. Philippe Gruau (Vortex V8) completed the podium of honor with his victory in GPX, completing a splendid weekend for the French manufacturer.
JM Smörg and Javier Macías triumph in the first race and Miguel Romero takes revenge in the second of the CER
The touring cars of the Spanish Endurance Championship had their first race on Sunday morning. Under an imposing sun that gradually warmed the asphalt of the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, the start took place. Miguel Romero put his Cupra TCR in the lead, escaping in the opening laps to gain the necessary space with an eye on the handicaps. Meanwhile, the Renault Clio Cup of the National Endurance Trophy developed their own battles, hand-to-hand and from a distance, which offered the different strategies proposed.
After the stops, the positions on the track varied and it was JM Smörg and Javier Macías (BMW M2 CS Racing) who found the most appropriate tactic, crossing the finish line in first position to take the victory. For his part, the very young Mauro Polderman (Renault Clio Cup V), barely 15 years old, had a splendid performance in which he managed to win the race, within the National Endurance Trophy and in turn win the D4 ; while José Luis López and Álvaro Rodríguez (Renault Clio Cup IV) triumphed in D3.
The second race took place later, during the last hours of the afternoon and with the same protagonists who in the first dueled for glory. Miguel Romero held the lead after the start, with the BMW M2 CS Racing of JM Smörg – Javier Macías and Miguel Gómez – Marcos Botana fighting a nice battle for second place; every time that the numerous Renault Clio Cups kept their fights on the track for honor in the National Endurance Trophy.
Once again, strategies played a fundamental role and finished cooking the race during the pit stops in which the handicaps were applied. Miguel Romero (Cupra TCR) managed to set the pace and escape to victory, achieving new success in this sensational season for the young Andalusian driver. Regarding the National Endurance Trophy, Josep Borrell won at the wheel of the Renault Clio Cup IV and also in D3. Likewise, Mauro Polderman (Renault Clio Cup V) managed to round off his impressive weekend with victory in D4.
With the sun lowering its intensity, a spectacular weekend full of competition and intense races concluded, a fourth round of the GT-CER that leaves both championships more open than ever before facing the final stretch of the season. Jerez de la Frontera is already waiting for the Spanish Endurance Championship and the Spanish GT Championship for the fifth event on November 11 and 12 for a new explosion of automobile spectacle.
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