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| Report by Nick Shore |
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The Copa Bogotá OnRoad 2026 was held on the weekend of 14-17th of August at the Bima Racing Track in Bogotá, Colombia, bringing together drivers from Colombia, Peru, Curaçao, Aruba, Venezuela and the United States for one of the region's most competitive on-road events.
I competed in both Touring 17.5T Blinky and Touring Modified, running the XRAY X4'26 platform in both categories. It turned out to be a very rewarding weekend, taking TQ and the overall A-Main victory in 17.5T Blinky, while also qualifying P4 in Modified, winning the first A-Main and finishing P5 overall.
Going from Saturday's higher-grip conditions to Monday's washed-out asphalt required much larger setup changes.
For both cars, I moved away from the setup I normally use at Bima and concentrated on generating as much mechanical traction as possible. The goal was not simply to find more speed, but to have a predictable and reliable car that I could confidently push for the entire five-minute race. This paid off.
Even with the very low grip, the X4'26 felt fantastic. I could push the car close to the limit while still trusting its behavior. Corner speed was excellent, the car was very responsive when I needed it, and the rotation was exactly where I wanted it for Bima's technical sections.
Most importantly, the car was consistent. Throughout the weekend I was able to achieve approximately 97–98% consistency, which became especially valuable during the difficult conditions of the finals.
Starting from pole position in 17.5T, A1 did not go exactly according to plan.
I made a small mistake in the first corner, allowing my good friend Roger Andrade to get past. Roger had also adapted his car well to the changing conditions, and we had a clean race to the finish. I eventually crossed the line in P2.
A2 became one of the most memorable races I have had since I started racing touring cars.
I had an incredible fight with Miguel from Venezuela, who qualified fourth. Miguel won this event last year and came into the weekend as one of the favorites for the 17.5T title.
For almost the entire race we fought for the lead, exchanging P1 and P2 several times with clean overtakes. It was extremely close, intense racing but always with great respect between us. I eventually finished P2, but it was one of those races where the experience matters almost as much as the result.
Everything therefore came down to A3.
This time I made a clean start and concentrated on putting together five consistent minutes. The X4'26 gave me the confidence to push despite the difficult track conditions, and I was able to maintain P1 from start to finish and win the final.
With results of P2 – P2 – P1, I secured the overall A-Main victory in Touring 17.5T Blinky, completing the weekend with both TQ and the win.
This result was particularly important to me personally. The Copa Bogotá gave me the opportunity to measure my progress against some of the top drivers from Latin America after another full year of practice and learning. That year of work paid off.
But just as important as improving my driving was improving my understanding of the XRAY X4'26. Throughout the weekend, conditions changed from medium grip, to higher grip, and finally to an extremely low-grip surface after the rain.
Being able to understand what the car needed, make the appropriate setup changes, and then have the confidence to push it to the limit was one of the most satisfying parts of the weekend.
The X4'26 gave me the platform to do exactly that.
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| Results: |
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1. Nick Shore - XRAY X4’26
2. Miguel Hernandez
3. Roger Andrade
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