Irish racer Nicole Drought travels to Jerez with an 11‑point advantage, hoping to clinch the Spanish GTX AM championship in her debut GT season.
From 6 to 8 November, the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain will host the season-closing showdown of the 2026 Spanish GTX AM Championship. Irish driver Nicole Drought, accompanied by British co-driver Lucas Fothergill, will line up the #75 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS for what could be the defining weekend of her first international GT campaign.
Entering the final round, Drought and Fothergill sit atop the standings with an 11-point lead over their nearest challengers. With only two races remaining—one on Saturday and another on Sunday—the championship will be sealed before the weekend concludes.
How the lead was built: Jarama and Valencia highlights
The turning point of the season arrived in June at the historic Jarama circuit. Drought and Fothergill captured a clean double victory in the GTX AM class, demonstrating not only raw speed but also the ability to manage race pace and tyre wear under pressure.
Those wins provided the bulk of the points gap that now separates them from the pack.
Momentum continued at Valencia later in the year, where the duo secured a second-place finish in one race and a third-place finish in the other. The back-to-back podiums reinforced their consistency and kept the championship lead intact heading into the Jerez finale.
Jerez challenge: technical hurdles and preparation
The Andalusian track is renowned for its fast, technical sectors and tight hairpins, conditions that will test the handling balance of the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS. Drought has openly acknowledged that the season’s Balance of Performance (BOP) settings have not favoured the Porsche, citing an especially high front ride height that hampers the car in the circuit’s slower sections.
“The BOP has definitely not been in favour of the Porsche this year, with the massive front ride height in particular, really hurting us through the tight stuff,” Drought said ahead of the event. To mitigate these disadvantages, she has spent the past few weeks intensively on a racing simulator, aiming to fine-tune brake points and corner entry speeds before the Friday testing session.
During the Friday test, the team will focus on extracting maximum grip while preserving tyre life—a crucial factor at Jerez where tyre degradation can quickly reshape the order. Executing flawless pit stops and avoiding on-track incidents will also be pivotal, given that a single mistake could erase the slim 11-point cushion.
Beyond Spain: the Iberian Supercars finale at Estoril
While the Spanish title hangs in the balance at Jerez, Drought’s broader campaign continues in the Iberian Supercars series. The series reserves a final round for early December at Estoril, Portugal. Currently sitting third in that championship, Drought and Fothergill will aim to improve their standing after the Spanish showdown.
Success at Jerez would not only award Drought her first Spanish championship but also cement her status as one of Ireland’s most versatile female racers. A six-time national champion across circuit racing, endurance trials, rallycross and even historic Group C cars, she already boasts a historic 2024 UK MSVR Trackday Trophy win. Adding a Spanish GTX AM crown would further diversify an already impressive résumé.
In Drought’s own words, “It’s the last race weekend of the season, and the aim is to put together a strong performance, reward the hard work of everyone at Protech Motorsport and finish the year as well as we possibly can.” With the clock ticking and the championship within reach, all eyes will be on Jerez to see whether the Irish rookie can convert an 11-point advantage into a victorious finale.
