Jemma Moore makes history with Iberian Supercar overall victory in Valencia
Jemma Moore made history at Valencia Ricardo Tormo by becoming the first woman to win an Iberian Supercars race outright during the fourth round of the championship, before producing another extraordinary recovery drive in Race 2.
Jemma Moore made history at Valencia Ricardo Tormo by becoming the first woman to win an Iberian Supercars race outright, producing a remarkable performance with the #127 Tockwith Racing Ginetta G55 during the fourth round of the championship.
Returning to the series after the season opener at Portimão, where she had already secured a GTX class podium, Moore converted limited preparation into a dominant overall victory in Race 1 before producing another extraordinary recovery drive in Race 2, recovering from a pit-lane start to finish fourth.
Moore completed only a handful of laps during the second collective test, setting a 1:46.426 to finish seventh in class before heading directly into qualifying. Racing as a solo driver for the weekend, Moore would also have to manage the additional pit-stop handicap.
She nevertheless delivered two highly competitive qualifying performances. Moore took the #127 Ginetta into Q1 and set a 1:43.852 to qualify fifth overall and among the GTX runners. She was even stronger in Q2, improving to a 1:43.430 and securing fourth overall.
Starting third in GTX, Moore made an excellent launch and immediately gained one position, moving into second in class and third overall after the opening corner. She quickly settled into the fight for the lead, with Cacoilo ahead and Scott Marsh following closely behind in the GTX battle.
Moore did not have to wait long to make her first decisive move. On lap two, she passed Cacoilo to take the GTX lead, producing a superb opening phase to the race and putting the Tockwith Ginetta at the front of the class.
Moore's advantage at the front was not secure, however, as Cacoilo fought back on lap four and regained the GTX lead. The pair immediately became locked in a close battle, with Moore keeping the Ginetta within striking distance while Alejandro Iribas also began to close on the fight.
As the race progressed, Moore was increasingly forced to defend her position. She maintained a strong pace in the 1:44 range while Cacoilo remained just ahead and Iribas joined the battle, creating a three-way fight at the front of GTX.
The first interruption came when Loureiro went off at Turn 2 in the #47 McLaren and bringing out the Safety Car. Racing resumed on lap eight, with Moore immediately back into the fight with Cacoilo and Iribas. The Ginetta remained close to the GTX leader, as the pit window soon opened. Moore extended her first stint, gaining further track position as other cars stopped.
Moore finally brought the Ginetta into the pits on lap 13 from second in class. The additional pit handicap dropped her behind Guillaume Huber's #9 Ligier. She rejoined third in GTX but immediately went back on the attack, passing Elsworth to regain second.
Moore was soon applying serious pressure to Huber, with both cars circulating in the low 1:45s. She patiently waited for an opportunity and then took advantage of traffic on lap 18, making her move stick and taking the GTX lead once again.
This time, Moore immediately began to pull away. She extended her advantage at the front of the overall classification to four seconds, while Huber was subsequently handed an 11-second penalty for a short pit stop, further strengthening Moore's position.
When the chequered flag fell, Moore crossed the line to take a spectacular overall victory, winning both the race and the GTX class in the process. The result was historic: Moore became in fact the first woman to win an Iberian Supercars race outright.
Moore returned on Sunday morning with another strong starting position, qualifying fourth overall and second in GTX for the second race. However, the promising grid position was immediately compromised when a technical issue forced the #127 Ginetta to start from the pit lane. Moore immediately went on the attack.
She cleared Bruno Salgado for ninth in GTX on the opening lap and continued carving through the field at an extraordinary rate. By the second lap, she had gained six positions in a single lap and was already up to 16th overall, having moved past cars from the Cup and GTX-Am categories.
Moore continued her charge on lap three, passing Hobeika to move into eighth in GTX before closing rapidly on the cars ahead. She then passed Salazar Mendoza and was already threatening the overall top 10 when the Safety Car was deployed on lap five after race leader Teixeira became stranded.
At the neutralisation, Moore had climbed to seventh in GTX, just behind the Ligier driven by Alba Vazquez, despite having started from the pit lane. The race returned to green on lap seven and Moore immediately continued her recovery. She passed Vazquez for sixth in GTX before overtaking Elsworth only a few corners later. By the end of the lap she had also cleared Santiago Ribeiro to move into fourth in class.
She was not finished yet: Moore produced another aggressive sequence of overtaking moves into Turn 1, passing both Huber and Santos to climb into second in GTX. She then cleared the Porsche of Lanchares, putting herself directly into contention at the front of the overall race.
With the pit window approaching, Moore elected to remain on track and use the clear air to maximise her pace. She clocked a 1:46.258, before improving further to a 1:46.009. Moore eventually made her mandatory pit stop on lap 14 from third overall and second in GTX, completing another remarkable stint. However, the pit handicap again affected her position, and she rejoined in sixth in class.
This time, the Safety Car worked in her favour. The #125 Ginetta of Antonio Almeida spun and stopped in the middle of the circuit, neutralising the race and allowing Moore to close the gap to the cars ahead.
Racing resumed with 10 minutes remaining, but another incident soon changed the order again. Iribas and Huber made contact while fighting for second, with Huber ending up in the gravel and triggering another Safety Car period. The interruption brought Moore back up to fifth in class.
The race resumed with only two minutes remaining, setting up an extraordinary sprint to the chequered flag. Moore had to negotiate the lapped sister Ginetta of Almeida, losing some momentum in the process. She nevertheless kept pushing and recovered to fifth before eventually moving into fourth, completing an extraordinary comeback from the pit lane.
Moore ultimately crossed the line fourth in GTX, narrowly missing another podium after the final Safety Car period compressed the field and limited the time available for a further recovery. Nevertheless, the result was an outstanding achievement given the circumstances, with Moore having effectively fought her way from the back of the field into the podium fight twice during the race.
The next round of the Iberian Supercars championship is scheduled at Jerez, on November 6-8.
