Iberian Supercars: Francisca Queiroz wins in Jerez, claims TC title
Francisca Queiroz secured the Iberian Supercars TC class title at Jerez after another strong weekend in the BMW M2 Cup, taking a hard-fought class victory in Saturday's opening race before adding a second-place finish in Sunday's finale.
Francisca “Kika” Queiroz secured the Iberian Supercars TC touring car class title at Jerez after another strong weekend in the BMW M2 Cup, taking a hard-fought class victory in Saturday's opening race before adding a second-place finish in Sunday's finale. Racing solo in the #95 BMW M2, the Portuguese driver continued her consistent run of results to cap off a successful campaign with another championship crown.
Queiroz arrived at Jerez as one the leading contender in the BMW M2 Cup class, having established herself as one of the strongest drivers in the category throughout the season. She swept both races at the opening round in Portimão before adding another victory at Jarama, where a more difficult qualifying session left her third for Race 1. She bounced back in the second contest to return to the top step of the podium. At Valencia, she maintained her podium streak with third place in the opening race and fourth in Sunday's second contest, remaining in contention for the title.
The Portuguese driver was also coming off another successful outing in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica, where she had secured her second consecutive Female Trophy title just a week earlier.
At Jerez, Queiroz began the weekend with two consistent qualifying performances. She posted a 2:01.2 in the first session to sit third in the BMW M2 Cup class, with a red flag interrupting the session four minutes before its conclusion. She ended qualifying 17th overall and third in class. Returning to the track for Q2, she improved to 2:00.980, retaining third place in the class and again qualifying 17th overall.
Race 1 got underway on Saturday with Queiroz dropping to 19th overall in the opening exchanges, while maintaining third place in the BMW M2 Cup. As the pit-stop phase approached, she opted to stay out longer in an attempt to gain track position through the pit cycle, a strategy that ultimately paid off as she moved into the class lead.
Queiroz then found herself under increasing pressure from Sirgado, with the gap between the two narrowing in the closing stages. With just four minutes remaining, the Portuguese driver was still leading but had to defend her position as the battle for the BMW M2 Cup victory intensified. The fight went down to the final lap, with the leading three cars closely matched, but Queiroz held on to take a hard-fought class win.
Sunday's second race brought another close contest in the BMW M2 Cup. Starting 15th overall, Queiroz was involved in a chaotic opening phase and settled into third place in class, with the three leading M2 Cup competitors running closely together. She remained right behind Passanha and Moura as the pair battled for the lead, keeping herself within striking distance.
The pit window opened with 30 minutes remaining, but the strategy phase was interrupted when Jemma Moore's stricken Ginetta prompted a Safety Car deployment. The pit window was temporarily closed and scheduled to be extended after the neutralisation. Racing resumed on lap 16, with Queiroz continuing behind the wheel as the sole driver of the #95 BMW.
She maintained third place in class through the restart but began closing the gap to Greven ahead, showing strong pace as she fought for another podium. Her opportunity came on lap 21 when Greven spun, allowing Queiroz to move up to second place in the BMW M2 Cup. She held the position to the chequered flag, completing a second consecutive podium finish in Jerez.
With a class victory and a runner-up finish from the two races, Queiroz secured the TC touring car class championship title after a season marked by consistent performances and multiple victories in the BMW M2 Cup.
