The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season concluded with a thrilling three-hour race at Portim\u00e3o, featuring bold strategies, two crucial Safety Car periods and a spectacular late charge from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend, fighting his way through the field to entertain the Algarve crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Team GetSpeed produced a flawless strategic performance to claim victory in the season finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After an opening hour dominated by Porsche, the decisive moment came during the first round of pit stops. GetSpeed extended its stint while the #80 Lionspeed GP and #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche entries lost valuable time following contact as they rejoined the race from the pit lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The perfectly executed overcut allowed the Mercedes-AMG to take the lead, putting Ralf Aron, Maximilian G\u00f6tz and Fabian Schiller in control of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From that point onwards, GetSpeed managed its advantage with precision, maintaining the lead despite two Safety Car periods that repeatedly brought the field back together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-hour contest was shaped by two major interruptions that significantly influenced the teams’ strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first Safety Car was deployed following a collision involving two Silver Cup Porsches, both of which ended up stranded in the gravel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A second neutralisation occurred with approximately 25 minutes remaining, when another car went off the circuit, setting up a dramatic final sprint to the chequered flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several crews also received penalties for infringements committed under Full Course Yellow conditions, adding another layer of complexity to an already demanding race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the biggest attractions of the weekend was Max Verstappen’s appearance in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Team Verstappen Racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing the car with Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat, the four-time Formula 1 World Champion experienced a challenging race that ultimately showcased his exceptional ability behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a promising opening stint, contact during the middle phase resulted in a drive-through penalty, dropping the Mercedes to 24th position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Verstappen took over for the final stint, a strong result appeared unlikely. However, the Dutchman immediately began an impressive recovery, combining aggressive but controlled overtaking with outstanding race pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking advantage of the final Safety Car restart, Verstappen carved his way through the field, climbing to ninth place in less than half an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarkable comeback became one of the defining moments of the event, underlining his versatility and competitiveness beyond Formula 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The battle for class honours provided further excitement throughout the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Gold Cup, the #71 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO of Selected Car Racing delivered a consistent and error-free performance to secure victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Team WRT enjoyed another successful outing in the Silver Cup, with its #30 BMW completing an outstanding season by taking another class win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the #222 Mercedes-AMG of 2Seas Motorsport produced a solid performance in the Bronze Cup, rounding off a competitive weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| Pos.<\/th> | Team<\/th> | Car<\/th><\/tr> |
|---|---|---|
| 1<\/td> | GetSpeed<\/td> | Mercedes-AMG #17<\/td><\/tr> |
| 2<\/td> | Lionspeed GP<\/td> | Porsche #80<\/td><\/tr> |
| 3<\/td> | Boutsen VDS<\/td> | Porsche #2<\/td><\/tr> |
| 4<\/td> | Selected Car Racing<\/td> | Ferrari #71<\/td><\/tr> |
| 5<\/td> | Team WRT<\/td> | BMW #30<\/td><\/tr> |
| 6<\/td> | Garage 59<\/td> | McLaren #59<\/td><\/tr> |
| 7<\/td> | ROWE Racing<\/td> | BMW #998<\/td><\/tr> |
| 8<\/td> | GetSpeed Bartone Bros<\/td> | Mercedes-AMG #6<\/td><\/tr> |
| 9<\/td> | Verstappen Racing<\/td> | Mercedes-AMG #3<\/td><\/tr> |
| 10<\/td> | AF Corse<\/td> | Ferrari #50<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nA Memorable Conclusion to the 2026 Season<\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe Portim\u00e3o finale highlighted GetSpeed’s strategic excellence, Porsche’s competitiveness and Mercedes-AMG’s strength in GT World Challenge Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verstappen’s extraordinary recovery added another memorable chapter to a race already packed with tactical battles, incidents and dramatic moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2026 season ended with a clear message: GT3 racing continues to deliver some of the most competitive and unpredictable action in international motorsport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season concluded with a thrilling three-hour race at Portim\u00e3o, featuring bold strategies, two crucial Safety Car periods and a spectacular late charge from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend, fighting his way through the field to entertain the Algarve crowd. GetSpeed Masters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gt-world-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2213"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2214,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions\/2214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |