Francisca Queiroz secures class podium in Iberian Supercar's Valencia round
Francisca “Kika” Queiroz maintained her run of podium finishes in the new BMW M2 Cup class of the Iberian Supercars championship, during a more challenging Valencia round where she secured third place in Race 1 before finishing fourth in Sunday morning’s second race.
Francisca “Kika” Queiroz maintained her run of podium finishes in the new BMW M2 Cup class of the Iberian Supercars championship, during a more challenging Valencia round where she secured third place in Race 1 before finishing fourth in Sunday morning’s second race.
The Portuguese driver entered the weekend as the class leader after a dominant start to the season, having swept both races at Portimão before adding another victory at Jarama, where a more difficult qualifying session resulted in third place for the opening race before she bounced back to win Race 2. At Valencia, Queiroz remained competitive throughout the weekend but was unable to extend her run of class victories, although ultimately securing another podium result.
Queiroz is also balancing her Iberian Supercars programme with a second campaign in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica, where she drives a Porsche 992 Cup and is the reigning female-class champion.
The #95 BMW M2 Cup entry showed encouraging pace from the outset at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Queiroz placed second in class during the second collective test with a 1:51.304, just four tenths away from the class benchmark, before ending the final session third in the M2 Cup standings, again with only small margins separating the leading cars.
Queiroz was behind the wheel for both qualifying sessions, competing as a solo driver, and placed third in the BMW M2 Cup in Q1 with a 1:50.071 lap. She repeated the result in Q2, posting a 1:50.411 to secure another third-place starting position within the class.
Race 1 proved more difficult from the opening lap, with Queiroz dropping to fourth in M2 Cup at the start. She quickly settled into the race and made progress in the overall order, passing Costa to gain an overall position while improving her lap times, although she remained fourth in class.
The race was neutralized when Tiago Loureiro went off in the #47 McLaren at Turn 2, with Queiroz holding fourth in M2 Cup when the field returned to green on lap eight. A second Safety Car was subsequently deployed after the #21 Porsche went off at Turn 1, further compressing the field before racing resumed ahead of the pit window.
Queiroz brought her car into the pits on lap 13 from fourth in class and remained in the same position after the pit cycle. She continued to circulate in the 1:52.2 range during the closing stages, maintaining fourth in the M2 Cup and crossing the finish line in that position.
However, the final classification brought Queiroz another podium. The #101 BMW shared by Sirgado and Corbet was handed a five-second penalty, promoting Queiroz to third in the final M2 Cup classification and allowing her to maintain her streak of class podium finishes in the championship.
Race 2 began on Sunday morning with Queiroz starting second in the BMW M2 Cup, but she endured another difficult opening lap and dropped to fourth in class. When overall leader Teixeira became stranded on lap five, the Safety Car neutralized the race and gave Queiroz the opportunity to close back up to the cars ahead.
Racing resumed on lap seven with the pit window opening shortly afterwards. Rather than stopping immediately, Queiroz extended her first stint in an attempt to gain track position, moving as high as third in class while the pit cycle developed. She waited until near the end of the window before bringing the car into the pits on lap 14, a strategy that allowed her to cycle up to second in the M2 Cup class.
Another Safety Car was soon required when the #125 Ginetta of Antonio Almeida spun and came to a stop in the middle of the circuit. Queiroz had emerged fourth in class after the pit sequence and now had the opportunity to move forward with her class rivals directly ahead.
The race returned to green for the final ten minutes, but another incident interrupted the action when Iribas and Huber made contact while battling for second overall, sending Huber into the gravel and prompting another Safety Car. The final restart came with only two minutes remaining, leaving little time for Queiroz to recover; she ultimately finished fourth in the BMW M2 Cup.
Valencia therefore represented a more challenging weekend for Queiroz compared with the winning form she had displayed earlier in the season, but she nevertheless left the round with another class podium and maintained her run of finishing on the M2 Cup podium in each round so far.
The Portuguese driver will now turn her attention back to the Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica, with the next round taking place at Navarra on October 16-18, before the Iberian Supercars season resumes at Jerez on November 6-8.
