A new challenge: Bia Martins announced for the 2025 Turismo Nacional Series

After completing her second consecutive season in the HB20 Racing Cup, Brazilian driver Bia Martins will take a new step in her career, announcing her debut in the Turismo Nacional Series in 2025 - which puts her on a direct path to pursuing her dreams of reaching Brazil's top touring car series.

Photo credits: Thinkers Sports / Davi Gomes

Brazilian driver and performance coach Bia Martins completed her second consecutive season competing in touring cars. With her racing career initially starting in karting, where good results kickstarted her rise on the national scene, in 2023 she made her debut in the HRacing Cup - then renamed the HB20 Racing Cup - starting a new stage in her professional career in motorsport.

In addition to establishing the female presence in the then newly-created series based on the Hyundai HB20 machine, Bia had the opportunity to develop in terms of driving and competition in this type of vehicles.

Although she faced mechanical problems on a few occasions, she always demonstrated her persistence and hard work to achieve the best possible results and recover from adversity - highlighted by races where she had to climb the field to reach the point-scoring positions. Martins also enjoyed great moments, reaching the podium three times over the two seasons.

The 2024 season had started in the best possible way for Bia Martins, with a podium in Race 1 at Interlagos. In the following round, she climbed to the podium again, repeating a 4th place in the Super class.

In the third round, Martins participated in the first night race in the history of the series - and which was also her first opportunity to compete in these conditions, under the lights. She achieved good results in both races of the weekend, which was also held at the Interlagos Circuit, but narrowly missed out on the podium.

Photo credits: Jackson de Souza

Episodes of mechanical problems became more frequent in the second half of the year, and hampered Martins' performance in the two final rounds of the HB20 Racing season and also in her debut in an endurance race.

Alongside - her fiance and also racing driver - Murilo Fiore, she took part in her first long-distance race, the Cascavel de Prata - a race that uses prepared touring cars and is held in the city in southern Brazil that gives its name to the event, at the Zlimar Beaux Circuit.

In the last commitment in the HB20 Racing Cup in 2024, Martins faced mechanical problems in the free practice sessions and also had to overcome a feeling of discomfort during the weekend - which prevented her from carrying out her work in ideal physical condition:

“Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned", she commented. "Although we fixed the issues with the car, I wasn't feeling well physically on Sunday and just went through the calendar. Despite that, I evaluate the season positively.” - she spoke about the final round.

Bia Martins will now take a new step in her professional career in motorsport from 2025: she will make her debut in the Turismo Nacional Series and will race for the GS Sports team - competing in class B, behind at wheel of a Chevrolet Onix. The series is part of the support package alongisde four of the main competitions on the Brazilian racing scene - which includes Formula 4, Stock Series and Stock Car Pro - organized by Vicar.

“I’m very excited about this new stage. Furthermore, sharing the pits with Murilo will be special and an extra motivation to achieve good results. I believe we will have a competitive season with a lot of learning.” - said Bia, who will have Murilo Fiore as a teammate.

With the opportunity to debut in Turismo Nacional, Bia Martins will have the chance to further expand her experience in touring car racing and will also be on a direct path towards her goal of reaching the highest and most traditional Brazilian series.

Behind the scenes

Bia Martins also had special moments off the track in the 2024 season. In her work as a performance coach, she worked alongside Bia Figueiredo in her conquest of the Copa Truck title and also followed Rafaela Ferreira's impressive journey in Formula 4 Brazil this year:

"It's a gift to be part of this team and work alongside so many strong women."

"A driver's routine is difficult and requires a lot of commitment, and Rafa is the personification of this. I'm very proud to be able to follow her entire journey from karting to seeing her conquer her space and fulfill her dreams!" - she said in a special message to Rafa Ferreira, who will compete in the F1 Academy from next season.

Photo courtesy: Bia Martins / Edited by: Igor Laerte