- Full House" for the Jarama Classic
- 60's and 70's generations promise spectacle and variety
- An influx of home drivers in the first race in Spain
The Iberian Historic Endurance makes its first foray of the 2023 season in Spain this weekend, as part of the line-up for the Jarama Classic, the largest festival of racing classics at the historic Madrid circuit.
Celebrating the golden era of motorsport and reliving the glorious decades gone by, the Jarama event promises to be one of the highlights of the season, with a stellar list of participants and a festive atmosphere typical of the great motorsport events on the Iberian Peninsula.
With four dozen cars divided into five categories, Historic Endurance promises to offer the many thousands of spectators who will come to the Circuit de Jarama unforgettable sensations and a unique opportunity to appreciate the passion and skill of skilled drivers behind the wheel of machines that have written memorable motor sport fascicles.
The starting grid of the Historic Endurance features two exuberant Ford GT40s, one to be driven by Paulo Lima and the other by fast locals Jordi Puig/Fernando Navarrete, who dominated events the last time Historic Endurance visited the Madrid track, and two lightweight prototypes that stand out, the Elva MK7 of Javier Macias/Carlos de Miguel and the Merlyn MK4 of Carlos Barbot, another former winner on this 3.4 kilometer track.
But not only in the GTP & SportsCar class there are exciting cars, because in the H-1965 class there will be again the imposing Shelby Cobra Daytona of the French Brice Pineau/Olivier Muytjens, which ran so well in Portimão, as well as two "guests" very appreciated by the public, the colossal Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé of Miguel Lobo and the magnificent BMW 3.0 CSL of Miguel Ferreira/Francisco Carvalho.
Besides the traditional favorites in the fight for the top spots, such as the Porsche 911 3.0 RS, prepared by Garagem Aurora, masterfully driven by Pedro Bastos Rezendes and the duos Cláudio Vieira/Bruno Santos and Mário Meireles/Vasco Nina (911 2.8 RS in this case), the first race in Spain of the year will obviously have an influx of local drivers, who don't want to miss the opportunity to participate in an event of this dimension.
In the GDS category, regular Carlos Beltran teams up with his friend Pablo Tarrero in a Porsche 911 SWB, while Antonio Castro Ortega lines up with a Ford Anglia in the company of Swedish Stig Nas. In the H-1965 category, where Pedro Moriyon's Porsche 356 B (shared with José Carvalhosa) is always a favorite, Guillermo Velasco hopes to finally get back behind the wheel of his elegant Porsche 356, always accompanied by Portuguese Francisco Freitas, while António Noguera will race solo in his Lotus Elan.
In H-1971, the Spanish contingent is reinforced by Roberto Diaz-Rincon's Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAm, but also by Manuel la Torre's Porsche 914, the 911 2.5 ST of António Castro Ortega/Stig Nas, and the 911 ST of Alfonso García/Ildefonso García. Also entered is the Datsun SSS, with which Marc Mayoral will share the driving effort with German Ralf Schniztler. Among the battalion of Porsche cars in the H-1976 class are the 911 3.0 RS of Jesus Fuster, Juan Alonso/Jose Antonio Zorilla, and Rafael Sanchez/Eduardo Sanchez.
Cuervo y Sobrinos, the Swiss brand with a Latin soul, will again offer an exclusive watch to the winner of the Performance Index, the ranking built on the results of the first race, which usually rewards the oldest or smallest cars.
The Jarama Classic is not only about racing, but also about celebrating the automotive heritage and culture of each era. In a pleasant environment for the whole family to enjoy, fans and enthusiasts will have access to the paddock and thus the occasion to admire up close these automotive racing relics, in addition to having the opportunity to enjoy interactive activities such as simulators, scaletrix tracks, karting or mini-bikes.
At the end of Saturday's race, Race Ready will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Historic Endurance, with a ceremony honoring the participants of the first race in the history of the largest classics competition in southern Europe, which took place on this very circuit exactly on the second weekend of June 2013.
For Diogo Ferrão, the CEO of Race Ready, this trip to Jarama "is always a great moment of the season and the Jarama Circuit has prepared an excellent party, also focusing on the oaddock in order to be an event for the whole family. An important effort by everyone that has resulted in a level of ticket sales that we have never registered before. Surely we will have a full house in Jarama."
The Historic Endurance program at Jarama is spread over the two days of the weekend, with qualifying and the first race to be held on Saturday at 1:50pm and 5:55pm (local time). The second 50-minute race is scheduled for 1 p.m. (local time) and will be televised live on Race Ready's social networks Facebook and Youtube.