Max Verstappen is set to make his long-awaited debut in GT World Challenge Europe [GTWCE] this weekend. With two of the regular drivers for his Verstappen Racing team, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon, competing in the rescheduled World Endurance Championship (WEC) round in Barcelona, which replaces the cancelled Qatar race, the Formula 1 superstar will take the wheel himself.
Verstappen will share the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with regular team-mate and sim racing friend Chris Lulham, as well as reserve driver Ben Barnicoat. It will be his first appearance in a GT3 car since the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours, and his debut in the championship.
As far as the championship standings are concerned, the three-hour race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is largely a formality. The title was already decided in favour of Maro Engel, Lucas Auer and Luca Stolz at the Nurburgring three-hour race. The #48 Winward Mercedes-AMG, nicknamed the 'Mamba', has an unassailable points lead in both the Endurance Cup and the combined standings across the Endurance and Sprint cups.
The main focus will therefore be on Verstappen's performance. His presence is expected to bring unprecedented attention to GTWC Europe. The event will also bring together two giants of motorsport for the first time, with Verstappen sharing the grid with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, a regular driver in the #46 WRT BMW M4 Gt3.
GTWC Europe returns to the Portimao for the first time since 2015. Although the Formula 1 circuit has hosted two sprint races in 2014 and 2015, it has never previously staged an endurance race in the series.
As the schedule shows, the race will run into dusk despite the time difference, adding a special atmosphere to the season finale. The support programme features the GT2 European Series, McLaren Trophy Europe and GT4 European Series. Those championships will also race on Sunday, after the main event has concluded.
GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Portimao 2026: TV schedule and livestream
The race will be available to watch for free on YouTube via SRO's official channel, GT World.
GT World challenge Europe Endurance Cup Portimao 2026: Schedule
Friday, 16. October
08:45 - 10:15 local time: FP1
12:45 - 14:15 local time: FP2
17:55 - 19:05 local time: Qualifying
Saturday, 17 October
17:00 - 20:00 local time: Race
As the times indicate, the race will continue into dusk. This gives the finale a special atmosphere. The GT2 European Series, McLaren Trophy Europe, and GT4 European Series will be running as part of the support programme, with their races held on Sunday.
GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Portimao 2026: Entry list
The clash with the WEC has forced several drivers to miss the race. Those affected include Juncadella and Gounon, whose absence has opened the door for Verstappen to compete.
Other drivers prioritising the WEC round include Maxime Martin (#17 GetSpeed Mercedes), Marco Sorensen (#7 Comtoyou Aston Martin), Dan Harper (#46 WRT BMW), Sean Gelael (#50 AF Corse Ferrari), Nicklas Nielsen and Alessio Rovera (#51 AF Corse Ferrari), Marvin Kirchhofer (#59 Garage 59 McLaren), and Augusto Farfus and Raffaele Marciello (#98 Rowe BMW).
Another notable entry is former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin, who will make a guest appearance with the Motopark team.
All Pro Cup cars, which are considered the leading contenders for overall victory, are highlighted in bold in the entry list. However, Gold Cup entries have also won twice this season, most recently in the Sprint Cup round in the rain at Barcelona.
#2 - Boutsen VDS - Morris Schuring/Dorian Boccolacci/Alessio Picariello - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Pro)
#3 - Mercedes - AMG Team Verstappen Racing - Max Verstappen/Ben Barnicoat/Chris Lulham - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Pro)
#4 - Optimum Motorsport - Adam Smalley/Freddie Tomlinson/Harry George - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Gold)
#5 - Optimum Motorsport - Dante Rappange/Guilherme Oliveira/Mikey Porter - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Silver)
#6 - GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros - Anthony Bartone/Cesar Gazeau/Aurelien Panis - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Silver)
#7 - Comtoyou Racing - Mattia Drudi/Nicki Thiim/Ross Gunn - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (Pro)
#8 - Car Collection Motorsport - Reinhold Krahn/Pietro Armanni/Joel Sturm - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Bronze)
#9 - Pure Rxcing - Max Hofer/Mikkel Pedersen/Aliaksandr Malichin - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Silver)
#10 - Boutsen VDS - Alessandro Ghiretti/Robin Knutsson/Gilles Magnus - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Gold)
#11 - Comtoyou Racing - Marcelo Tomasoni/Aaron Muss/TBA - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#12 - GetSpeed Team Dubai - Gabriel Rindone/Mikael Grenier/Tom Kalender - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#17 - Mercedes - AMG Team GetSpeed - Ralf Aron/Maximilian Götz/Fabian Schiller - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Pro)
#19 - Team Motopark - Christian Mansell/Aaron Walker/Rui Andrade - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Silver)
#20 - Team Motopark - Nikita Masepin/Dominik Baumann/Philip Ellis - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Pro)
#21 - Comtoyou Racing - Oliver Söderström/Sebastien Baud/Kobe Pauwels - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (Silver)
#23 - Team RJN - Maxwell Lynn/Horatio Fitz-Simon/Ben Dörr - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Silver)
#24 - Steller Motorsport - Mikkel Mac/Dennis Lind/TBA - Corvette Z06 GT3 R (Gold)
#25 - Sainteloc Racing - Ezequiel Perez Companc/Etienne Cheli/TBA - Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II (Silver)
#30 - Team WRT - Ignacio Montenegro/Matisse Lismont/Amaury Cordeel - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Silver)
#32 - Team WRT - Kelvin van der Linde/Jordan Pepper/Charles Weerts - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Pro)
#34 - natural elements by Walkenhorst Motorsport - Jamie Day/Christian Krognes/Henrique Chaves - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (Pro)
#35 - Walkenhorst Motorsport - Ethan Ischer/Gaspard Simon/Mateo Villagomez - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (Silver)
#41 - Razoon - more than racing - Marcos Gomes/Alan Hellmeister/Sebastiao Malucelli - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Bronze)
#42 - Oman Racing by Century Motorsport - Calan Williams/Javier Sagrera/Ahmad Al Harthy - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#44 - Greystone GT - Jayden Kelly/Josh Rattican/Tommy Pintos - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Silver)
#45 - Rinaldi Racing - Dylan Medler/David Perel/Axcil Jefferies - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Silver)
#46 - Team WRT - Neil Verhagen/Max Hesse/Valentino Rossi - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Pro)
#48 - Mercedes - AMG Team MANN-FILTER - Lucas Auer/Luca Stolz/Maro Engel - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Pro)
#50 - AF Corse - Lilou Wadoux/Arthur Leclerc/Albert Costa - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Pro)
#51 - AF Corse - Tommaso Mosca/Lorenzo Ferrari/Nicola Lacorte - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Pro)
#52 - AF Corse - Matias Zagazeta/Jef Machiels/Gilles Stadsbader - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Silver)
#54 - Dinamic GT - Tanart Sathienthirakul/Francesco Simonazzi/Angus Whiteside - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Silver)
#58 - Garage 59 - Thomas Fleming/Louis Prette/Benjamin Goethe - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Gold)
#59 - Garage 59 - Joseph Loake/Dean Macdonald/Jack Hawksworth - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Pro)
#60 - JMW Motorsport - TBA/TBA/TBA - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Pro)
#63 - TGI Team by GRT - Franck Perera/Maximilian Paul/Mirko Bortolotti - Lamborghini Temerario GT3 (Pro)
#64 - HRT Ford Racing - Arjun Maini/Fabio Scherer/Thomas Drouet - Ford Mustang GT3 Evo (Pro)
#65 - HRT Ford Racing - Maxime Oosten/Nicolas Baert/Eduardo Coseteng - Ford Mustang GT3 Evo (Silver)
#66 - Tresor Attempto Racing - Sebastian Ögaard/Ariel Levi/Rocco Mazzola - Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II (Silver)
#71 - Selected Car Racing - Frederik Schandorff/Malte Ebdrup/Simon Birch - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Gold)
#74 - Kessel Racing - Lorenzo Patrese/Dennis Marschall/Dustin Blattner - Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#77 - KPX Motorsport - Jop Rappange/Nigel Schoonderwoerd/Yelmer Buurman - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#80 - Lionspeed GP - Ricardo Feller/Thomas Preining/Bastian Buus - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Pro)
#84 - Eastalent Racing - Christopher Haase/Simon Reicher/Markus Winkelhock - Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II (Pro)
#87 - Winward Racing - Marvin Dienst/Gabriele Piana/Rinat Salichow - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#88 - Tresor Attempto Racing - Daniele Di Amato/Carrie Schreiner/Gerhard Tweraser - Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II (Bronze)
#89 - Lionspeed GP - Alex Fontana/Bashar Mardini/Patrick Kolb - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Bronze)
#91 - Herberth Motorsport - Ralf Bohn/Huub van Eijndhoven/Robert Renauer - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Bronze)
#93 - Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing - Peter Dempsey/Christopher Froggatt/Eddie Cheever - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Bronze)
#96 - Rutronik Racing - Patric Niederhauser/Marco Mapelli/Luca Engstler - Lamborghini Temerario GT3 (Pro)
#98 - Rowe Racing - Philipp Eng/Jake Dennis/Marco Wittmann - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Pro)
#99 - Tresor Attempto Racing - Dylan Pereira/Andrea Frassineti/Alex Aka - Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II (Gold)
#111 - CSA Racing - Arthur Rougier/Simon Gachet/James Kell - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Gold)
#222 - 2Seas Motorsport - Kiern Jewiss/Charles Dawson/Reece Barr - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#269 - High Class Racing - Max Moritz/Klaus Bachler/Raphael Rennhofer - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo (Bronze)
#555 - CSA Racing - Romain Andriolo/James Higgins/Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (Silver)
#914 - Razoon - more than racing - Clemens Mühlbacher/Leo Pichler/Max Mutschlechner - Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo (Bronze)
#991 - Paradine Competition - Darren Leung/James Kellett/TBA - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Bronze)
#992 - Paradine Competition - Christian Hahn/Josh Rowledge/TBA - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Silver)
#998 - Rowe Racing - Ugo de Wilde/Tim Tramnitz/Jens Klingmann - BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Gold)
#999 - GetSpeed Team PCX Racing - Patrick Charlaix/Jordan Boisson/Marvin Klein - Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (Bronze)
Weather forecast
Even in mid-October, late summer continues to hold sway across the southern Iberian Peninsula, with warm temperatures expected throughout the weekend. While the current forecast high of 28C is unlikely to be reached on race days, temperatures are still expected to exceed 20C.
With the race taking place in the evening, conditions should be favourable, with air temperatures expected to remain around 20C at the finish. Rain is not expected at any point during the week, although cloud cover could occasionally obscure the sun.
Track info - Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
Type: Permanent race track
Length: 4,635km
Curves: 15
Maximum gradient: 6.2/12.0 %
Hosting GTWC Europe since: 2014 (Returning in 2026 after 11-year hiatus)
Lap record in GTWCE: 1m42.589s (Tomas Enge, Lamborghini Gallardo FL2, 2014)
Track opened: 2008
Past winners of GTWCE Portimao
2014 R1: Jeroen Bleekemolen/Hari Proczyk (Lamborghini Gallardo FL2)
2014 R2: Maximilian Götz/Maximilian Buhk (Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3)
2015 R1: Vincent Abril/Maximilian Buhk (Bentley Continental GT3)
2015 R2: Robin Frijns/Laurens Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS Ultra)