Gracie Mitchell claimed her maiden racecar victory after taking the GTX class win at Estoril, delivering a brilliant performance in the Tockwith Motorsports Ginetta G55 during the Iberian Supercars Endurance season finale, in her first international race.
Gracie Mitchell claimed her maiden victory in race cars over the weekend during her first appearance in the Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade, in the season finale at Autódromo do Estoril.
Part of the Estoril Endurance Festival, the event featured 25 cars from the SuperCars Endurance GT4 South, a platform popular across the Iberian Peninsula for GT4 and TCR machinery. Mitchell joined British team Tockwith Motorsports, driving the #25 Ginetta G55 alongside teammate Henrique Cruz.
Mitchell made her circuit racing debut in the final round of the 2023 Fun Cup Championship and has since had a positive season of development. She competed in five of the seven events in the Fun Cup Championship, consistently finishing most races inside the top 15 overall, while also gaining valuable track time in the Silverlake C1 Endurance Series and the Ginetta GT Championship. At the Donington rounds, she earned AM-class podiums in her first outings in the powerful Ginetta G56.
The trip to Portugal and the Estoril circuit presented an entirely new challenge for Mitchell, who needed to quickly adapt to both a new track and the Ginetta G55— a car with performance capabilities close to GT4 machinery.
After a last-minute deal with Tockwith Motorsports, Gracie took on the challenge just a week before leaving for Portugal. "It was a nice surprise as I thought the season was over after the final round of Fun Cup," she told us.
The weekend however immediately began with promise: Gracie set the third-fastest time in class during practice, clocking a 1:43.379—less than a second off the class leader. This result immediately showcased her potential, highlighting her progress this year.
On Saturday, Gracie took the wheel for Q1 and recorded a 1:45.969, placing her fourth in class and seventh among all the TC/GTC categories sharing the session.
Her teammate, Henrique Cruz, took over for Q2 and delivered a stellar lap of 1:43.311, narrowly beating Speedy Motorsport’s Andrius Zemaitis in a Porsche Cayman GT4 by one-tenth of a second to secure class pole for Race 2.
Sunday morning began with Mitchell starting the first stint of Race 1 from fourth in the GTX class. Gracie kept it clean at lights out, dropping behind a couple of cars from other classes but retaining fourth in GTX.
She drove a smart opening phase, steadily improving her times. On the second lap, she regained some overall positions, overtaking the #707 Mercedes AMG GT4 and settling into a consistent rhythm.
By Lap 4, Mitchell was a few tenths quicker than the GTX class’ third-placed car driven by Abreu, though several seconds separated them on track due to traffic. Throughout the stint, she maintained a gap of around 15 seconds to the cars ahead but faced no immediate pressure from rivals behind. Mitchell passed the #66 Porsche 911 Cup and gained another position on the #52 Cupra TCR of Correia.
Pitting on Lap 13 as the driver change window opened, Gracie handed the car over to Cruz while holding fourth in class.
Cruz quickly found pace, setting a 1:44.821 on his opening lap and breaking into the 1:43 range as he pushed to close the 20-second gap to Zemaitis in the #90 Porsche Cayman GT4.
Despite a strong charge, with consistently fast laps, Cruz ultimately ran out of time and finished fourth in class after a race uninterrupted by safety cars or incidents.
"Started P4 in Race 1—finished P4. I started the race, and my teammate closed the gap to P3 but ran out of time", Gracie summarized. "It was a pretty calm race."
Race 2 offered another opportunity, with Cruz starting on GTX class pole and 15th overall.
At the start, Cruz lost the class lead to Zemaitis in the #90 Porsche and also fell behind the #10 Porsche Cayman but quickly reclaimed second place one lap later. Trading fastest laps with the class leader, Cruz set a 1:44.8 and gradually reduced the gap. By Lap 5, he was within a second of the leader, Simoes, who then hit trouble and pitted on Lap 7.
Taking over the lead, Cruz pulled away, extending his advantage to nearly 10 seconds over Zemaitis. He continued to improve his pace, recording a 1:43.906 as he climbed the overall standings. Remaining out longer during the pit window, Cruz reached eighth overall before pitting on Lap 15 to hand over to Mitchell.
Gracie rejoined the race with a 10-second lead over Zemaitis, needing to maintain her pace to secure the win. Her initial laps were solid, holding P15 overall, but the #90 Porsche began closing the gap.
With just eight minutes remaining, a safety car was deployed following an incident involving the #28 Araujo Competição Aston Martin and the #8 Racecar Motorsport Aston Martin.
This neutralization erased Mitchell’s advantage, leaving her to fend off two fast competitors in a sprint to the finish.
At the restart, Mitchell executed brilliantly, immediately building a small buffer as Zemaitis and Abreu battled behind her for second place. With a flawless final lap, she held on to take the checkered flag, securing her maiden victory and contributing to a Tockwith 1-2 finish in the GTX class.
"After the safety car, I had a great restart and created a gap big enough to not have to defend" Mitchell said after crossing the finish line as the class leader.
Gracie expressed her gratitude to the whole Tockwith Motorsports crew, her sponsors—NRG Karting, NRG Home and Leisure, ECO Trailer, Optimum Motorsport, ONEVSP, and MAXPLANT—and her family and friends for their support.
This victory marks a significant milestone in Gracie Mitchell’s career, with her first win coming in her first international race and right at the end of her first full season of circuit racing.
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