Iberian Supercars: Nicole Drought sweeps Jerez, clinches GTX-AM class title
Nicole Drought secured the Iberian Supercars GTX-AM championship title in style at Jerez, taking a double class victory alongside Lucas Fothergill in the #75 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS.
Nicole Drought secured the Iberian Supercars GTX-AM championship title in style at Jerez, taking a double class victory alongside Lucas Fothergill in the #75 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. The Irish driver delivered a dominant performance across the two 50-minute races, leading the class in both contests and adding another strong overall result in Sunday's finale, where she crossed the finish line eighth overall to seal the championship crown.
Drought arrived at Jerez on the back of an increasingly competitive season, having continued her progress in the GTX-AM category at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Sharing the #75 Porsche with Fothergill, she had secured a double podium at Valencia, following an impressive weekend at Jarama where she converted her growing pace into two class victories and top-ten overall finishes. After showing encouraging speed at the season opener in Portimão and recovering from adversity to secure a GTX-AM podium, Drought had steadily emerged as one of the leading contenders in the Am division.
The Jerez weekend began with Drought taking the wheel for the first qualifying session. She posted a best time of 1:59.093 to lead the AM class before a red flag interrupted the session with four minutes remaining. The Irish driver ultimately finished 11th overall and secured class pole position, putting the #75 Porsche at the head of the GTX-AM field for Race 1. Fothergill took over for the second qualifying session, recording a 1:59.581 to qualify 13th overall.
Drought started Race 1 and immediately maintained her advantage in the AM class, controlling the gap to Antonio Duarte and building an initial two-second margin. She also made progress in the overall classification, moving up to 11th while putting another car between herself and her closest class rival. The Irish driver then had to avoid Vitor Costa, who went off the track just ahead of her, before Sebastian Villadary's Porsche came to a halt and prompted several competitors to anticipate a possible Safety Car by making early pit stops.
Drought stayed out longer to extend her stint, eventually coming into the pits on lap 14 from the class lead to hand over to Fothergill. Her teammate rejoined at the front of the GTX-AM field and continued to control the class battle through the second half of the race.
The overall order was subsequently affected by penalties for Fawsit and Lancharess, both of whom received time penalties for completing pit stops that were too short. However, the gap to Fothergill was already too large for him to benefit from their penalties, and he later lost an overall position to Benett with eight minutes remaining. Drama at the front then reshuffled the classification once more, as the overall race leader was forced to retire in the pits, promoting Fothergill into the overall top ten.
The #75 Porsche ultimately secured the GTX-AM victory, giving Drought and Fothergill the first of their two class wins in Jerez.
Fothergill took the start of Sunday's second and final race from 13th on the grid, dropping one position in the opening exchanges to settle into 14th overall. He nevertheless retained the GTX-AM lead and remained comfortably ahead in class, although his progress through the overall field was initially limited by two BMW M2s locked in a close battle ahead of him. Running among the BMW M2 Cup entries, Fothergill nevertheless continued to lead the GTX-AM category.
It was not until the pit-stop window opened with 30 minutes remaining that he found a way past the two BMWs, making the move shortly before they headed into the pits themselves. Fothergill then brought the #75 Porsche in to hand over to Drought, maintaining the class lead and placing the Irish driver in a strong position for the closing stint.
The pit-stop phase was interrupted when Jemma Moore's stricken car prompted a Safety Car deployment. The timing of the incident led to the pit window being temporarily closed, with the remaining stops scheduled to be completed once the neutralisation ended. Racing resumed on lap 16, with Drought back behind the wheel and immediately showing strong pace.
The Irish driver began making up positions in the overall classification, moving into 11th while continuing to control the GTX-AM lead. As the race progressed, she maintained her advantage in class and continued her charge through the field, eventually crossing the finish line eighth overall to complete another impressive recovery and secure a second consecutive GTX-AM victory.
The result completed a perfect weekend for Drought and Fothergill, with two class wins from two races at Jerez. More importantly, the double victory confirmed Drought as the 2026 GTX-AM champion.
