Iberian Supercars: Stephanie Hobeika recovers from setbacks to score top-six in Valencia
Lebanese young talent Stephanie Hobeika continued her promising rookie Iberian Supercars campaign at Valencia, recovering from a difficult Saturday in which she was unable to take part in her stint, to finish sixth in the GTX class in Sunday’s second race.
Lebanese young talent Stephanie Hobeika continued her promising rookie Iberian Supercars campaign at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo, recovering from a difficult Saturday in which she was unable to take part in the race after her #47 TRS McLaren 570S GT4 suffered damage, to finish sixth in the GTX class in Sunday’s second race.
Hobeika had arrived in Valencia with considerable momentum after enjoying her strongest GT racing weekend to date at Vila Real, where she secured back-to-back second-place finishes in GTX to claim her first two Iberian Supercars podiums. Contesting her first season in both the championship and GT racing, Hobeika had already demonstrated promising pace at Portimão before taking a significant step forward at Jarama, where she finished fourth in GTX and spent much of the weekend fighting for a podium, followed by her double runner-up result at Vila Real.
Back behind the wheel of the McLaren at Valencia, Hobeika shared the #47 with Tiago Loureiro, with the pair immediately showing competitive pace during the collective tests. The car placed third overall in the opening session with a 1:45.269 lap before going fourth fastest in the second session, providing further encouragement.
Loureiro took the wheel for Q1 and posted a 1:44.586 to qualify the McLaren 10th overall and ninth in GTX, while Hobeika was entrusted with Q2 and delivered a solid 1:46.601, placing the #47 13th overall and eighth in class.
Race 1, however, brought an abrupt end to the team's hopes of completing a competitive Saturday. Loureiro started from ninth in GTX and initially retained his position, before beginning to make progress through the field. On the second lap he passed several cars and overtook Scott Marsh to move into fourth in GTX, although Marsh soon fought back and reclaimed the position.
The battle was subsequently interrupted when Loureiro was caught in an incident at Turn 2 and the #47 McLaren sustained front suspension damage, bringing his race to an early end. The incident was particularly unfortunate for Hobeika, who consequently did not get the opportunity to take over the car and contest her own stint in Race 1.
With the team facing the challenge of repairing the damaged McLaren overnight, the focus immediately shifted towards ensuring the car would be ready for Sunday morning's second race.
Hobeika returned to the grid for Race 2, starting 13th overall and eighth in GTX. A technical problem forced Jemma Moore's Tockwith Ginetta to start from the pit lane, promoting Hobeika to seventh in class before the race, although she slipped back to eighth after Varela moved ahead on the opening lap.
Hobeika remained composed and began making progress. On the second lap she cleared the GT4-class Am entry of Gachiteguy for an overall position, although Moore's impressive recovery from the pit lane continued and the Ginetta passed Hobeika on lap three to reclaim eighth in GTX. The McLaren driver responded with solid pace, setting a 1:48.5 and beginning to pull away from the cars behind while closing on Salazar Mendoza.
The race was neutralized on lap five when overall leader Teixeira became stranded, bringing out the Safety Car and leaving Hobeika ninth in GTX. Once racing resumed, she continued to apply pressure to the cars ahead and made another position gain on lap 10, passing the Porsche Cup car of Pumarino to move forward.
The pit window was now open, and Hobeika brought the #47 into the pits on lap 11 from ninth in GTX, handing the McLaren over to Loureiro for the second stint. The team was again forced to contend with a Safety Car shortly afterwards when the #125 Ginetta of Antonio Almeida spun and came to a stop in the middle of the track.
Loureiro resumed racing in sixth as the field was released for the final ten minutes, but another incident soon triggered a further neutralization. Iribas and Huber made contact while battling for second, with Huber ending up in the gravel and the Safety Car returning to the circuit.
The final restart came with only two minutes remaining, setting up a short but intense sprint to the chequered flag. Loureiro immediately continued his fight through the field, clearing Benett to move into sixth overall and fifth in GTX, with the McLaren now involved in the battle for the top five.
The #47 remained in contention through the final laps, but Artur Ferreira managed to pass the McLaren on the final lap, dropping Loureiro and Hobeika to sixth in GTX at the finish. Nevertheless, after the disappointment of Saturday and the considerable effort from the crew, the result represented a strong recovery for the team.
Valencia therefore ended with a solid sixth-place GTX finish for Hobeika and Loureiro, adding another competitive result to the Lebanese driver's rapidly developing first season in GT racing. Hobeika will now head into the final rounds of the season with further experience, as the championship moves to Jerez on November 6-8.
