The Shelby Cobra 427 of Max Huber delivers a dream debut at Jarama

Huber made the best possible debut with his Cobra 427, dominating the race from start to finish despite strong competition. The Jarama circuit and the intense heat put drivers and teams to the test, with many interesting battles over fifty minutes.

As expected, Saturday at Jarama dawned sunny, with 22°C in the air (and nearly 40°C on track!). A total of 35 cars took to the timed practice sessions of the Iberian Historic Endurance championship.

Diversity is one of the great strengths of this Race Ready series, and the Jarama Classic crowd was able to enjoy some of the most exciting racing cars of the 1960s and 1970s, from the Lotus Elite to the Ford GT40, as well as the Alfa Romeo GT Junior, Jaguar E-Type and Porsche 911.

In qualifying, the Shelby Cobra of Max Huber (H-1971 category) set the pace from the outset, consolidating its speed with a lap time of 1:47.560 that was never beaten. It put the GTP & SC category contenders under pressure, especially the pairing of Jordi Puig and Paulo Lima (Ford GT40) and Carlos Barbot and Filipe Vieira de Campos (Merlyn Mk4), who were also very quick.

In the H-1965 category, Laurent Jaspers and the Jaguar E-Type quickly set a strong time, under 1:52. The same can be said of Pedro Bastos Rezende, in the Porsche 911 3.0 RS — the fastest in H-1976 — securing a place on the second row with a lap in the 49-second range.

In the GDS category, Luís Sousa Ribeiro/Filipe Campos and the Ford Cortina Lotus were the fastest, but the gap to Nuno Nunes (Porsche 911 2.0) was minimal, pointing to a healthy rivalry throughout the weekend.

Meanwhile, Olivier Muytjens/Brice Pineau (Porsche 911 3.0 RS, also in H-1976) and Manuel Moura Teixeira and Fernando Laranjo (with a similar car, but in the INV* category) delivered strong performances, setting the fourth and seventh fastest overall times respectively.

The race, which started at 17:10, featured a spectacular start and an unusual mix of cars for an Iberian Peninsula event. The golden Shelby Cobra of Max Huber quickly pulled clear of the rest of the field — a grid as diverse as possible, led by the Ford GT40 of Puig/Lima, the Porsche 911 3.0 RS of Pedro Bastos Rezende, the Jaguar E-Type of Laurent Jaspers, and the Lotus Seven of João Mira Gomes/Nuno Afoito.

The Porsche 911s were the most represented cars, although from very different eras and specifications — from 3.0 RS versions to SWB models from the mid-1960s. Carlos de Miguel, competing in his Elva Mk7, started from the back of the grid but steadily gained positions and, by lap four, was already up to 15th.

On the following lap, the Cobra began lapping backmarkers while maintaining the GT40 at around five seconds. Moura Teixeira/Laranjo and Eduardo Reis, both in Porsche 911s (but of different specifications — a 3.0 RS for the former and a 2.7 RS for the latter), engaged in a very close battle until almost the end. The same could be said of António Torres da Silva/Álvaro Rodríguez — in an SWB 911 with a livery inspired by Carlos Santos’ Carrera 6 —, Nuno Nunes (in a similar Porsche), and Lucas González-Anleo/Jorge López Atienza (Porsche 914/6). Puig/Lima began to close the gap to the leader, and by lap 12 the difference was under two seconds. De Miguel had meanwhile climbed to 9th, with the small Elva fully showcasing its lightweight performance.

The leading drivers began their pit stops from lap 14, with around 23/22 minutes remaining in the race.

When everyone returned to the track, the Shelby Cobra led by almost 50 seconds over the GT40. The Porsche 911 3.0 RS of Aurora Motorsport was a little further back — each leading their respective categories. In fourth place was the aforementioned E-Type, also leading the H-1965 category.

In the closing stages, Bastos Rezende overtook the Skualo Competición Ford GT40, which was forced to pit after receiving a penalty for an unsafe release. In fact, in the final moments of this 50-minute race, almost everything happened: Sousa Ribeiro/Campos lost their brakes in the Cortina Lotus, going off into the gravel on two occasions; the Merlyn of Barbot/Vieira de Campos spun at the end of the main straight; the Lotus Elan of Swedish driver P-A Forsvall came to a stop five minutes from the end; and the Datsun 240Z of Ralf Schnitzler also spun at Turn 1.

The heat at Jarama increased the strain on both drivers and machines. Untroubled throughout was the Shelby Cobra 427 of Max Huber, entered by Calvin Motors, which confirmed its favourite status and took a brilliant victory. Bastos Rezende finished second and won the H-1976 category.

The Ford GT40 of Puig/Lima was third and winner of the GTP & SC category. Jaspers finished fourth and took victory in H-1965. The HY Racing Porsche finished fifth and second in H-1976. The Lotus Seven of Mira Gomes/Afoito took sixth place and second in the GTP & SC category.

The Merlyn of Barbot/Vieira de Campos was classified next, both overall and in its category. Nuno Nunes finished 21st and took the GDS category win with the Porsche 911 SWB.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the second Historic Endurance race will take place at the Spanish circuit, scheduled for 11:50 local time (10:50 in Lisbon) and will be broadcast live on the Race Ready YouTube channel.