Fabian Schiller, Ralf Aron and Maxi Götz won the final race of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance season in Portimao. The trio in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 started the race from P2 and worked their way past the Boutsen VDS Porsche, after which they never relinquished the lead. Verstappen Racing fought its way through the field to finish ninth.
At the start of the three-hour race, Alessio Picariello held on to the lead in the #2 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, but came under immediate pressure from Thomas Preining in the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche. The Austrian managed to get past Maxi Götz in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3. Barnicoat also gained a place and was running 12th after a few minutes. He was right behind Benjamin Goethe in the #58 McLaren, hot on his heels.
After around eight minutes, the field settled down, although the opening stint had already claimed a few victims, including the #96 Lamborghini Temerario GT3 of Rutronik Racing. Preining was still chasing Picariello, but the Belgian kept him at bay. Meanwhile, Preining had to keep an eye on his mirrors, as Götz seemed to have found some pace and was closing in on him. Barnicoat moved up to P11.
The first minor incident occurred after about twenty minutes, when the #45 Ferrari was squeezed between two other cars as the #87 Mercedes and #991 BMW battled for the Bronze lead. The Ferrari was forced into the gravel as a result. A Full Course Yellow was called to recover the car, bunching up the field once again. The FCY lasted only a few minutes.
More than sixty cars on the grid in Portimão this Saturday - Photo: SRO/JEP
Verstappen Racing spins Winward Racing
The restart gave Barnicoat the opportunity to pass Nicki Thiim in the #7 Aston Martin, after which the #50 Ferrari spun and the Brit moved up to P9. The first hour then passed without much excitement and was fairly straightforward, until two incidents happened in quick succession. The #84 Audi was hit by the #21 Aston Martin, with the Corvette also getting caught up in the incident. It meant another early end to the race for Eastalent Racing.
Not long afterwards, the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche crashed, prompting an FCY. The first pit stops also took place, with Lulham taking over from Barnicoat. At the front, Feller took over from Preining, while Boccolacci climbed into the #2 Porsche. It was a bad day for Porsche further down the field, as the #54 and #8 Porsches collided and ended up in the gravel.
Another FCY was called, eventually turning into a full safety car period. The recovery vehicle had to remove the stranded Porsches from the track. The race resumed with one hour and ten minutes remaining, and Joseph Loake in the #59 McLaren struck immediately at the restart. He passed Feller to move up to P3, then nearly got past Boccolacci, but couldn’t quite make it stick.
Lulham saw an opportunity to get past Luca Stolz in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3, but tagged the Mercedes driver and sent him into a spin. The race stewards immediately announced that the incident was under investigation. The Brit had to be patient, as he then found himself stuck behind the #64 Mustang GT3.
Chris Lulham took over the car from Ben Barnicoat after an hour - Photo: SRO/JEP
Verstappen takes the wheel; penalty follows Lulham incident
There was an exciting battle at the front before the #2 and #80 Porsches came in for their pit stops. Feller took advantage of the duel between the #59 McLaren and Boccolacci, allowing him to pass his fellow Porsche driver. It was especially disappointing for Boutsen VDS Racing, as the team had started from pole position. The two Porsche teams switched to the drivers who would take on the final stints: Morris Schuring and Bastian Buus.
Verstappen took over from Lulham, but the team was immediately handed a drive-through penalty for the incident in which the Brit had spun Stolz. Verstappen rejoined the track in 24th overall to drive the final 45 minutes of the race. His stint was slightly shorter than an hour because Barnicoat and Lulham’s stints had been extended by the pit stops, FCYs and safety car periods.
With half an hour remaining, there was still plenty of action. The #96 Lamborghini Temerario GT3 came to a halt at the side of the track at Turn 8, without lights. The #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo, with Max Hesse at the wheel, also went into the gravel. The race stewards neutralised the race with a Full Course Yellow so the cars could be recovered.
After Chris Lulham, Max Verstappen drove the car to the finish in Portimao - Photo: SRO/JEP
Verstappen takes it to the finish
The FCY was once again followed by a safety car, bunching up the field completely and giving Buus in the #80 Porsche a good opportunity to put pressure on Fabian Schiller in the #17 Mercedes. Schiller, however, made an excellent getaway, and the Dane seemed to have no chance of passing the German driver. Verstappen was behind fellow Dutchman Maxime Oosten and moved up to 18th.
The Dutchman was pushing hard, and before long he had passed more cars and was back behind the #48 Mercedes. Lucas Auer was at the wheel of the Winward Mercedes at the time, but he passed Jamie Day in the #34 Aston Martin, leaving a buffer between Auer and Verstappen. The Aston Martin became the next victim within a lap, however.
Verstappen was on a charge: he made light work of his battles with the #51 Ferrari and the #32 WRT BMW. He moved up to P10, having gained fourteen places by then. Things were going well for Verstappen Racing, and Arthur Leclerc in the #50 Ferrari also lost a place to the Dutchman. After an exciting finale, Verstappen Racing finished in P9.