Not only was the MP Motorsport racer fastest in both wet and dry conditions over the two days of race weekend preparation at the Spanish track on Thursday and Friday, but mixed weather is expected over the weekend.
The 15-year-old also has a year’s experience in Formula 4 machinery, having raced in various championships across Europe in 2023. And he’s up against numerous karting graduates this weekend.
The test’s second-quickest driver, Andres Cardenas of Campos Racing, was also no Formula 4 rookie. The Spaniard was a tenth shy of Peebles’ best time, with both of their laps registered during the course of Thursday’s dry running.
“I’m feeling very confident that Campos and I can do great things this weekend,” said Cardenas. “This is a track where we’ve already raced with great results. Qualifying is going to be very important, and the starts are going to be tricky because I’ve never had a start with so many drivers.”
Heavy rain on Friday morning ensured that the Andalucian circuit was never in a dry state on the second day. But Peebles went almost half a second quicker than his nearest rival in the merely damp final session, laying down a firm statement ahead of the three races on the weekend.
Some familiar names jump out on the 38-car entry list for the first round. Lia Block, daughter of rally and rallycross star Ken, turns out for GRS. The 17-year-old is making her European circuit racing debut ahead of an F1 Academy campaign this season. And Rene Lammers, the 15-year-old son of former F1 racer Jan, is set to make his first car racing start.
The third round of the GT Winter Series sets up well for the SR Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 of Jay Mo Hartling and Kenneth Heyer. Part of the reason for that is that the Haupt Racing Team, for whom Finn Wiebelhaus was so successful at Portimao last time out, is giving this race a miss.
SR also showed good speed on Friday, setting the day’s quickest time on its last full lap. But given that the Circuito Angel Nieto was still damp at that stage, it wasn’t the quickest time of the two-day test. That honour went to the Biermacher Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 car of Uwe Lauer and Francisco Lopez.
It would be unwise to read too much into these times, however. For a start, SR did not get its car out for two of the three sessions on Thursday. And while the Mercedes was lapping fast on Friday, Biermacher was content with a few laps to bed in brakes.
Also absent from the GTWS grid will be Rinaldi Racing’s Christian Hook and Pierre Ehret, meaning there will be no Ferrari 296 GT3 on display this time around. But SR will still have Mercedes competition in the shape of PTT Racing, which completes the three-car GT3 entry list with Martin Kaczmarski at the wheel.
In the GT4 Winter Series, which is also heading into its third round this weekend, it has been an encouraging test for British squad Elite Motorsport, which is now fielding a second McLaren Artura. Tom Emson and Alex Denning will pilot that car, sister to the familiar Tom Lebbon/Zac Meakin entry.
Emson set the quickest time of the test in the final session on Thursday. But after running a “rollout programme” on Thursday, the Schnitzelalm Mercedes AMG of Marcel Marchewicz showed ominous pace in Friday’s wet running, when it led the way by four-tenths of a second. Marchewicz will once again share that car with Joel Mesch.
“We had a very unfortunate weekend at Jerez last year,” commented Mesch on Friday. “But this time I’m feeling very confident around here. Although this track is really difficult – and sometimes a bit scary too when you’re on the limit in the fast corners. But I like the adrenaline!”
Front-running teams giving this weekend a miss are Wimmer Werk Motorsport, Racar Motorsport and Razoon.
