Rain greeted the field in the long-awaited return of the Clio Cup to Jarama during the collective test sessions, with Alex Royo (Team VRT) and Anthony Jurado leading the way. The sun was out for qualifying, and Anthony Jurado continued his excellent form, taking pole position ahead of his teammate Marc Guillot and Alex Royo. Challengers Jerzy Spinkiewicz, Alex Lahoz (Cotauto Motorsport) and Jordi Palomeras (Team VRT) occupied fourth through sixth place.

Despite heavy showers before the start of the race, the majority of the drivers opted for Michelin slick tyres. Marc Guillot jumped into the lead ahead of poleman Anthony Jurado, while Alex Royo got off to a sluggish start, allowing Jerzy Spinkiewicz to move up to third place. At the same time, David Pouget jumped from seventh on the grid to fourth place before passing Jerzy Spinkiewicz to move into the top three.

The safety car then made its first appearance to remove the cars of Joaquin Rodrigo (Vearsa Sport) and William Mezzetti (Progetto E20 Motorsport), trapped in the gravel bed. At the restart, Anthony Jurado went on the offensive to take the lead away from Marc Guillot in a high-flying duel from which David Pouget tried to benefit, but to no avail. The battle for fifth was just as intense. Alex Royo had the position, but Adrian Schimpf (Cotauto Motorsport) managed to close up after his spin behind the safety car to overtake his countryman. At the same time, his twin brother Alejandro Schimpf (Cotauto Motorsport) passed Nicolas Milan (Milan Competition) in front of Jordi Palomeras in their race-long battle.

Anthony Jurado controlled the proceedings until the safety car came out a second time on lap ten after Lorenzo Nicoli (Progetto E20 Motorsport) made contact with Luciano Gioia (Essecorse) and Emre Can Ünal (Team VRT) went off track. The skies opened again, and the race ended with a settled order.

Anthony Jurado won ahead of Marc Guillot and David Pouget. Behind this French trio, Jerzy Spinkewicz won the Challengers Cup and finished fourth overall ahead of Spain’s Royo and Adrian Schimpf. Nicolas Milan ended up seventh ahead of Jordi Palomeras, Alejandro Schimpf and Quinto Stefana, victorious in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup in front of René Steenmetz (Chefo Sport) and Michel Faye (GM Sport).

Collective tests 1 - Collective tests 2 - Qualifying 1 - Starting grid - Race 1 - Clio Cup Europe - Clio Cup Spain

CLIO CUP EUROPE

The podium finishers are all entered in Clio Cup Europe, so Anthony Jurado becomes the first leader of the season ahead of Marc Guillot and David Pouget. In the Challengers Cup, Poland’s Jerzy Spinkiewicz also scored points ahead of Mathieu Lannepoudenx (Milan Compétition) and Guillaume Maio (GM Sport). Meanwhile, Quinto Stefana takes the lead in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup, followed by René Steenmetz and Michel Faye.

CLIO CUP SPAIN

Race one from Jarama also marked the start of the Clio Cup Spain. At the end of an intense battle, fifth place overall Alex Royo took top honours ahead of Adrian Schimpf and Jordi Palomeras. Fourth, Alejandro Schimpf completed the Challengers Cup podium. Meanwhile, Fabien Julia (LR Performance) took a comfortable victory ahead of Joaquin Rodrigo in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup.

The competitors will be back in action this Sunday for qualifying at 12.05 pm before the second and final race at the Circuito de Jarama at 3.45 pm. All the action will be streamed and commented live on the Renault Clio Series Facebook page and YouTube channel.