Tatiana Calderón charges to podium in Puebla
Tatiana Calderón recovered from a challenging start to the weekend to secure second overall place in the GT Challenge de las Americas round at Puebla, producing a strong comeback with the #4 McLaren during the championship’s first visit to the Mexican circuit.
Tatiana Calderón and Juan Diego Hernández recovered from a challenging start to the weekend to secure second overall place in the GT Challenge de las Americas at Puebla, producing a strong comeback with the #4 McLaren 720S GT3X during the championship’s first visit to the Mexican circuit.
The result continued Calderón’s podium run in the GT Challenge de las Americas after she had finished second at the previous round at Bushy Park Circuit in Barbados, where a mechanical issue had prevented them from fighting for victory. Since then, Calderón had also made history in NASCAR Brasil, becoming the first woman to win a race in the series, before returning to Mexico for the fifth round of the GT Challenge de las Americas season.
The Puebla weekend initially looked set to become a major setback for the McLaren pairing, after the team encountered a mechanical issue on Friday that prevented Calderón and Hernández from running at all. The problem forced the crew to miss Saturday’s track activity as they waited for the necessary parts, meaning the #4 McLaren would also have to miss qualifying and start the opening race from the back of the field.
What followed was an outstanding effort from the entire team to keep the weekend alive. With parts being flown into Mexico and the crew beginning work on the car at around 3 am, the team worked through the night and into Sunday morning to repair the McLaren and prepare it for the two races. The effort ultimately allowed the car to make it to the grid, transforming what had looked like a potentially lost weekend into an opportunity to fight for another strong result.
Hernández took the start of Race 1 from 12th place. The opening corner immediately produced a difficult situation in the middle of the pack, with some cars involved in contact. Hernández meanwhile produced a remarkable first lap, moving all the way up to fourth place overall by the time he completed the opening tour.
Hernández continued his charge immediately and on the second lap took the overall lead, completing an extraordinary recovery from his 12th-place starting position. He then faced pressure from Ortega and Boodram over the following laps, with the three drivers engaging in a close battle at the front. Hernández briefly dropped to third before recovering the lead, maintaining the McLaren at the sharp end.
The first safety car period was triggered when a Hyundai TCR went off into the infield, neutralising the race and closing the gaps throughout the field. Racing resumed 18 minutes into the race, and Hernández immediately returned to competitive pace, circulating in the 1:24s and beginning to gain ground on Ortega as the first round of pit stops approached.
When Hernández made his own stop, the team took on fuel and fitted a new set of tyres, but a small issue during the service resulted in a longer stop. The lost time was enough to cost Hernández the lead, with Carballeda emerging ahead as the pit cycle unfolded. The #4 McLaren nevertheless remained in contention, and Hernández quickly caught the race leader and began looking for an opportunity to regain the position.
Another safety car was then required after a Cupra TCR ended up in the barriers, once again compressing the field. Hernández had already closed onto the leader before the neutralisation, but while running behind the safety car he made a mistake and spun, dropping down the order and undoing much of the recovery he had achieved during the opening part of the race.
The situation became even more complicated as spots of rain began appearing around the circuit, with conditions deteriorating rapidly as the race returned to green. Hernández found himself down in tenth but immediately began charging back through the field. Further incidents ahead created additional opportunities, including a Lamborghini running deep into Turn 1 and contact between another Lamborghini and a TCR car.
Hernández took full advantage of the chaos: he rapidly climbed back to third and entered the final lap once again in contention for the victory. He first made his move on the Lynk&Co before overtaking the #51 Lamborghini of Ortega, completing an extraordinary comeback to retake the lead and win Race 1 in spectacular fashion.
The second race placed Calderón herself behind the wheel of the #4 McLaren. After the drama of the first race, the skies were very cloudy and grey for the second contest, with the rain appearing to have eased. That changed dramatically as the cars began their formation lap, however, with heavy rain suddenly pouring down around the circuit.
Calderón was due to start from pole position, but the worsening conditions forced the race to be initially red-flagged before the start. After some minutes, the starting procedure resumed, with Calderón leading the field behind the safety car. The cars completed a few laps under caution before the rolling start was finally given.
Once the race went green, Calderón produced an excellent launch and retained the lead through Turn 1. Ortega remained immediately behind, however, and the Lamborghini made contact with the McLaren in the opening lap, almost pushing Calderón wide. The Colombian kept control of the car and remained ahead, switching back at the following corner to protect her position.
Calderón therefore completed the opening lap still in the lead, with Ortega and Boodram forming a three-car group at the front. The trio immediately began to pull away from the rest of the field, although the conditions were becoming increasingly difficult as the rain grew heavier. A TCR car spun, but the race remained green, leaving Calderón to manage both the pressure from behind and the increasingly treacherous track.
Boodram began applying pressure to Ortega, which gave Calderón a little breathing room, although the leading three remained closely matched. Ortega continued to stay within approximately one second of the McLaren, but Calderón drove a controlled and highly effective stint, managing the gap while also beginning to encounter slower traffic from the touring-car classes.
Traffic management became an important part of the race, and Calderón was particularly effective when working her way through the lapped cars. She was able to gain some additional ground while clearing the slower traffic, maintaining the lead as the pit window opened after approximately 16 minutes.
Ortega and Boodram came into the pits, but Calderón remained on track and extended her first stint. She set the fastest lap of the race during this phase. Her progress was briefly interrupted by traffic when she caught Paul Tracy, but Calderón was eventually able to clear him on lap 12 and continued to extend her stint until lap 14.
When she finally came into the pits, the team refuelled the McLaren but kept the same set of tyres. Once again, however, a slightly slower stop cost Calderón the lead. She rejoined in third place behind Ortega and Boodram with approximately 20 minutes remaining.
The deficit was now significant, with Calderón around 15 seconds behind the leaders after the round of pit stops, meaning she needed to find roughly one second per lap to bring herself back into contention for the win. She responded immediately, gaining almost two seconds on lap 19, but the gap subsequently stabilised as traffic once again became a factor.
With only five minutes remaining, the race was neutralised when Chocron’s Corvette went off, producing a safety car that appeared to give Calderón another opportunity to fight at the top. The restart, however, did not develop entirely in her favour. Two lapped cars were positioned between the McLaren and the leading duo, and the traffic prevented Calderón from immediately closing the gap.
The situation also cost her third place temporarily, with Perez finding a way past the McLaren. Calderón responded immediately and retook the position, but she was once again caught behind traffic, with Tracy proving particularly difficult to clear. With so little racing time remaining, the Colombian was unable to recover the remaining deficit to Ortega and Boodram and crossed the finish line third.
The combined result nevertheless gave Calderón and Hernández second place for the Puebla round of the GT Challenge de las Americas, a particularly impressive outcome considering that the #4 McLaren had been unable to complete any running before the two races.
The Puebla result therefore adds another podium to an already eventful stretch of the 2026 season for Tatiana Calderón, who now leaves the first Puebla visit by the GT Challenge de las Americas with another runner-up finish, while the team can take considerable satisfaction from having turned a potentially disappointing weekend into a successful outing.
