The Iberian Historic Endurance had its first race of the season in Spain on the mythical Jarama circuit. In the great party that was the return of the Jarama Classic, Jordi Puig and Fernando Navarrete won both races in an event that gathered over 20,000 spectators in the Madrid circuit.
RACE 1 - VICTORY FOR A FORD GT40
With the public already coming in large numbers to the historic Jarama Circuit, the first day of the Jarama Classic was brightened up with the first race of the Iberian Historic Endurance. The picturesque platoon of four dozen cars evoking other times provided a first class show, with more than 40 classics on the track and teams from 5 different countries.
After a week of rain in the Madrid region, the sun shone in the Spanish capital for the qualifying session that defined the starting grid for this first meeting. Knowing this track like few others, Jordi Puig/Fernando Navarrete 'imposed the law' in their beautiful Ford, which allowed them to start from pole-position, having at their side Pedro Bastos Rezende, the winner of the two Historic Endurance races held in the Algarve, who this time brought his Porsche 911 3.0 RS.
The second row of the grid was formed by the Porsche of Frederico Brion Sanches/Jorge López and the Porsche of Mário Meireles/Vasco Nina, while the third row was shared by the impressive Shelby Cobra Daytona of the Frenchmen Brice Pineau/Olivier Muytjens and the no less appealing Ford GT40 of Paulo Lima.
Jordi Puig and Fernando Navarrete asserted their status as favourites, and not even a Safety-Car period at the end of the race, which reduced to zero any advantage built up to that point, prevented the home duo from celebrating a well-deserved race triumph in the GTP & Sportscar class.
Without arguments to face the Ford GT40 winner car, Pedro Rezende was the third to see the checkered flag after a lively fight with Paulo Lima's GT40, this second one already revealing a greater ease with the powerful American machine born to race in Le Mans.
However, Pedro Rezende had something to celebrate at the end of the 50-minute race as he triumphed in the highly competitive H-1976 class, surpassing the Meireles/Nina duo, who had won the "3 Heures de Pau" just a fortnight ago.
The returning Jesus Fuster, also driving a powerful Porsche 911 3.0, had a great race but received a penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. Consequently, he secured the third position in the H-1976 class, ahead of the muscular BMW 3.0 CSL driven by Miguel Ferreira and Francisco Carvalho, who managed an impressive seventh place overall despite competing as "Invitational" due to BMW's tire issues.
In the H-1965 category, Carlos Oliveira (Lotus Elan 26R) emerged as an excellent surprise, defeating the 'French' Shelby Cobra Daytona (Brice Pineau/Olivier Muytiens). Swedish driver P-A Forsvall, also driving a nimble coupe designed by Colin Chapman, secured the final spot on the class podium.
Among the H-1971 class, the sleek Alfa Romeo GTAm driven by Jorge Santos and Alcides Petiz soared through Jarama, claiming an undisputed triumph, which translated into a ninth place in the overall standings. François Guerin's BMW 1600 ti finished second, while the GTAm driven by Roberto Dias Rincon and Francisco Sottomayor secured third place despite facing some mechanical problems.
In the GDS category, Piero dal Maso and Guillerme dal Maso, inspired by their victory on the streets of Pau, drove the Porsche 911 SWB prepared by Garagem João Gomes to victory. Continuing his impressive performance, João Neves (Datsun 1200) secured the second position in the class for smaller cars. Meanwhile, Frenchman Vincent Tourneur returned to the podium in the Porsche 911 SWB.
RACE 2 - PUIG & NAVARRETE DOUBLE IT
With plenty of spectators in the stands and paddock, Sunday's second Historic Endurance race was again won by the Ford GT40 of Puig and Navarrete. The imposing car of the blue oval took the lead in the first metres of the race and never left it, "bis" in an event that has always been special for its drivers.
More and more adapted to driving his Ford GT40, a car that only arrived in Portugal this year, Paulo Lima made an immaculate race, receiving the checkered flag in second place. The three GT40 drivers climbed onto the podium in the GTP & Sportscar class and were accompanied by Nuno Afoito/João Mira Gomes in a Lotus 7.
Behind the two Ford cars, there was a fight between two Porsche 911 3.0 RS (H-1976) that kept the public glued to the stands. Pedro Bastos Rezende got the better of Jesus Fuster, in a duel in which the two German cars fought taco-to- taco-to- taco- all the corners of the old Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix track. The fight for third place in the H-1976 class was no less animated, with the 911 3.0 RS of Francisco Brion/Jorge López and the 911 2.8 RS of Mário Meireles/Vasco Nina crossing the finish line less than half a second apart.
At the wheel of a Lotus Elan 26R, Carlos Alberto Oliveira concluded his near-perfect weekend with an outright victory in the H-1965 class. P-A Forsvall, also driving a Lotus Elan, and the Iberian duo Guillermo Velasco/Francisco Freitas, in a Porsche 365 SC, climbed to the podium on a very hot and demanding afternoon for drivers and machines.
In the H-1971 class, where, at the beginning of the season, Alfa Romeo cars have been in a privileged position, the GTAm of Jorge Santos and Alcides Petiz took the victory, finishing ahead of Roberto Díaz-Rincon and Francisco Sottomayor. This time, Manuel de la Torre's Porsche 914 made it to the podium, a deserved prize for all the EFICAR team for having worked all night in order to solve a suspension problem in the German car.
Finally, in the GDS class, the Dal Maso family, at the wheel of its Porsche 911 SWB, extended its preponderance, with a solid victory over the Datsun of João Neves and the Porsche 911 SWB of Carlos Beltán and Pablo Terreno.
FORSVALL WINS INDEX OF PERFORMANCE
As is part of the tradition, the first race of the weekend also revealed the winner of the Performance Index classification. By winning this classification, which usually rewards the oldest or smallest cars, P-A Forsvall took home an exclusive copy of the Swiss watch brand Cuervo y Sobrinos, with a Latin soul. In second place were Jorge Santos and the former Portuguese national circuit champion Alcides Petiz, in their Alfa Romeo GTAm, and in third place was João Neves.
At the end of Saturday's race, Race Ready did not miss the opportunity to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Historic Endurance with a ceremony honouring the participants of the first race in the history of southern Europe's biggest classics competition, which took place on this very circuit on exactly the second weekend in June 2013.
The next race of the 2023 season will be held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium. The 3 Hours of Spa is always one of the most charismatic races of the season.
