Iberian Supercars: Chloe Grant ends rookie season with GTX victory
- RACERS
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The final round of the 2025 Iberian Supercars season at Circuito Estoril marked another breakthough in Chloe Grant’s first year of GT racing, as the former F1 Academy and GB4 driver wrapped up her rookie campaign with a brilliantly fought GTX class victory.
The final round of the 2025 Iberian Supercars season at Circuito Estoril marked another breakthough in Chloe Grant’s first year of GT racing, as the former F1 Academy and GB4 driver wrapped up her rookie campaign with a brilliantly fought GTX class victory alongside teammate Henrique Oliveira in the #47 Monteiros Competicoes BMW M4 GT4.
Grant entered the weekend on strong form, having raced at Estoril just one week earlier in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica finale, where she scored victory in the sprint race and was second in the endurance contest with Alexia Danielsson. She arrived in the Iberian Supercars finale aiming to convert her growing confidence in GT machinery into a breakthrough result, and achieved that.
After a first race in GT-CER in Valencia in the BMW M4 GT4, Grant then had great runs in the two races at Jerez last time out, and returned to Iberian Supercars in Estoril to continue her development in GT4 machinery.
After Oliveira placed the BMW fifth overall and third in GTX in Q1 with a 1:43.244, Grant took over for Q2 and delivered a superb lap of 1:42.769, securing second in GTX and fourth overall in an extremely tight session. It was a strong qualifying performance for Grant, confirming she would be fighting at the top end of the GTX field.
Oliveira started Race 1 on Sunday from third in GTX and fifth overall in damp but drying conditions. Grant’s teammate had a combative opening stint, trading positions with rivals in the tightly bunched class before pitting as soon as the pit window opened on lap 12, after a Safety Car neutralization on lap 8 when Costa’s #73 Porsche stopped on track.
When Grant took over, she rejoined in P4 and quickly climbing to second in class and third overall as the leaders completed their stops. She then closed down the leading Porsche Cayman at a rapid pace, gaining over two seconds on lap 17 alone and was soon locked onto the rear of Simoes for the GTX lead.
Grant was the fastest driver in class on track at that stage, applying heavy pressure and searching for a way past when the race turned against her: the #47 BMW received a stop-and-go penalty for a pit stop infringement. Grant served the penalty on lap 22, dropping her to sixth in class.
Despite the setback, she salvaged solid points, taking the chequered flag in P6 in class.
Starting from the front row of the GTX class in the Sunday afternoon race, Grant produced a magnificent getaway. From the second row overall, she swept around the outside at Turn 1 to seize the GTX lead and run third overall, before gaining another place when Fothergill spun and stopped on track. The safety car neutralized the race at the end of lap 1, with Grant leading the GTX class.
At the restart on lap 3, she managed the lead under significant pressure from Cacoilo, while Mitchell and Trieux closed in behind, the top four covered by just over a second. After several laps of intense defence, Cacoilo eventually got ahead on lap 5, but Grant remained firmly in the fight before pitting from second in class on lap 11.
With Oliveira now in the car, the #47 BMW rejoined second in GTX, around nine seconds behind Santos in the #133 Ligier. Oliveira began to charge, taking chunks of time out of the lead: he soon gained seven tenths, then two seconds, before catching Santos with nine minutes remaining. A fierce wheel-to-wheel battle followed, with the two swapping positions multiple times at Turn 1.
The decisive moment came in the final minutes: Oliveira swept around the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead. With Santos slowing shortly afterwards, Staccini also got by, as Grant and Oliveira remained unchallenged at the front.
The Monteiro Competicoes duo took GTX victory, securing Grant’s first win in Iberian Supercars and the perfect conclusion to her debut GT racing season.
With a win, multiple podium performances and consistently strong pace since moving from formulas to GT machinery, Chloe Grant closes her rookie season as one of the most promising talents in the paddock, with her transition to sportscars a proof that competitive opportunities for young female drivers can be found also outside the single seater environment.