Into the Night, Through the Field: Verstappen Charges to Ninth as GetSpeed Wins in Portimão

Three hours of racing, 61 cars on track, four classes fighting for victory – and a Formula One world champion starting his final stint in 24th place. The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup finale at Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve delivered drama right through to the finish under a sea of headlights.

As daylight faded, Max Verstappen charged through the field to finish ninth overall, while Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed secured its first Endurance Cup victory with the #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. Porsche crews Lionspeed GP and Boutsen VDS completed the overall podium, while Valentino Rossi’s BMW retired late and former Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin’s Mercedes-AMG failed to reach the finish.

GetSpeed’s winning car was shared by Estonian Ralf Aron and Germans Fabian Schiller and Maximilian Götz. The trio took the lead during the middle-race pit-stop sequence and held on to victory. For Götz, it was his first overall win since 2013, while Aron and Schiller celebrated their maiden overall victories in the series.

Portimão hosted the season finale for the first time since 2015. With 61 cars, it was the championship’s largest grid outside the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, and four classes provided plenty of action beyond the overall battle.

The race takes shape

Pole-sitters Boutsen VDS, running a Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO, and GetSpeed’s Mercedes-AMG were regular fixtures near the front during the opening stint. Pit-stop cycles gradually reshuffled the order, while yellow flags and several Safety Car periods made it difficult to build an advantage. A collision involving Porsches from Dynamic GT and Pure Racing was among the incidents that brought out the Safety Car.

Verstappen’s #3 Mercedes-AMG started 14th. Sharing the car with British drivers Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham, the four-time Formula One world champion had reason to hope for a strong result. 

Barnicoat, an experienced GT racer with international endurance experience, took the opening stint and brought the car into the leading group. Lulham maintained that progress, with the Mercedes running as high as sixth. A competitive finish looked entirely possible – until an incident changed the team’s afternoon.

Against the clock

Lulham received a drive-through penalty after contact with another competitor left the rival car spinning. The sanction dropped the #3 Mercedes out of contention for the result it had been building towards.

By the time Verstappen climbed aboard for the final stint, the team had fallen to 24th, leaving the Dutchman around 45 minutes to recover the lost positions. Further yellow flags and Safety Car interruptions limited the available green-flag running, making the task even harder.

Once racing resumed, Verstappen began working his way through the field. One of the most spectacular moments came when three cars entered the first corner side by side. Max found a way through before making another move on a BMW at the hairpin, demonstrating that top-level racing instincts remain valuable whatever the machinery or championship.

Verstappen climbed from 24th to ninth, gaining 15 positions during his stint. The #3 Mercedes finished fifth in the Pro Cup, turning a potentially frustrating result into a respectable recovery. The penalty had cost the team a chance at a stronger finish, but Verstappen salvaged a top-ten result overall.

A familiar name in the rear-view mirror

There was another small subplot to follow during the closing stages: Arthur Leclerc, the Monégasque driver competing for AF Corse in a Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. Arthur is the younger brother of Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari Formula One driver whose battles with Verstappen have provided plenty of entertainment over the years. After the Formula One action in Singapore the previous weekend, seeing another Leclerc name in the picture made for a peculiar connection.

As Verstappen worked his way through the field, I remember thinking that it would be rather funny if he managed to catch Arthur as well, and Max ultimately finished ahead of him, with the Ferrari taking tenth overall. It was a small detail in the final classification, but a satisfying one to follow during Verstappen’s charge.

Mistakes are part of the race

Lulham’s penalty naturally became a talking point after the race, and the incident attracted criticism online, but there is a difference between discussing a mistake and directing abuse at the person who made it.

Lulham is still developing as an endurance racer, and mistakes are part of that process. The penalty had a real impact on the team’s result, but that does not mean the driver should become a target for personal attacks. The team has the data and onboard footage to review the incident properly; social media outrage is unlikely to offer a more useful assessment.

Verstappen later spoke out in defence of his teammate, condemning the hate and aggression directed at him. He acknowledged that people can have their own opinions about what happens on track, but stressed that personal attacks are unacceptable. He also pointed out that Lulham had driven a strong stint and, like any driver, could make mistakes – a welcome reminder that competition does not have to come at the expense of basic respect.

Four classes, one finish line

While GetSpeed took the overall victory and the Pro Cup honours, the other classes had their own battles to settle. The #17 Mercedes-AMG crew of Aron, Schiller, and Götz won the Pro Cup alongside the overall race. Selected Car Racing’s #71 Ferrari, shared by Frederik Schandorff, Malte Ebdrup, and Simon Birch, claimed the Gold Cup. Team WRT took the Silver Cup with its #30 BMW, driven by Amaury Cordeel, Matisse Lismont, and Ignacio Montenegro. The Bronze Cup went to 2 Seas Motorsport’s #222 Mercedes-AMG, with Kiern Jewiss, Charles Dawson, and Reece Barr behind the wheel.

The showdown that never was

Valentino Rossi’s #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, entered by Team WRT, had a much tougher race. The Italian is best known as a nine-time motorcycle Grand Prix world champion, including seven premier-class titles, but he has continued his racing career on four wheels since retiring from MotoGP. Sharing the BMW with German driver Max Hesse and American racer Neil Verhagen, Rossi started near the back after a difficult second qualifying session. He nevertheless put together an impressive opening stint, working his way up to 36th before handing the car over to his teammates. The recovery continued, and the BMW climbed as high as 15th with Hesse behind the wheel.

Then, with around half an hour remaining, it all went wrong. Hesse spun, and the incident forced the #46 BMW to retire, ending what had been a promising recovery – particularly frustrating given how much ground the crew had made up. Sadly, we never got the Verstappen-Rossi on-track showdown that the weekend’s headlines might have led us to hope for. All that anticipation, only for the two to miss each other in the race.

Mixed fortunes

Nikita Mazepin’s #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO did not reach the finish. The Russian driver, who previously competed in Formula One with Haas, returned to racing after several years away from the competitive scene. He took the opening stint, running around 33rd before handing the car over to British racer Philip Ellis. The team later brought the Mercedes into the pit lane again, but it did not return to the circuit, bringing an early end to their season finale.

Rinat Salikhov, meanwhile, brought a different background to the Russian contingent. A more established figure in endurance racing, he shared Winward Racing’s Bronze Cup Mercedes-AMG with German teammate Marvin Dienst. The pairing finished second in the class standings for the season, capping their campaign with a strong championship result. 

The many sides of Portimão’s finale

There was plenty to see away from the racing line, too. The event attracted a sizable crowd, with the paddock and pit walk giving fans the chance to get closer to the cars and drivers. For spectators used to the tightly controlled atmosphere of some major international sporting events, the open paddock offered a different kind of access.

Visitors could also explore the machinery and projects on display, including the Portuguese-built Adamastor Furia supercar and the KTM X-BOW GT2 EVO, which is set to compete on track in 2027. Support races from McLaren Trophy Europe, the GT2 European Series, and the GT4 European Series added even more action to the programme, with several championships settling their title fights in Portugal.

Yet the most memorable part of the weekend may have been the transition into darkness. As the sun disappeared, the circuit took on a completely different character. Headlights cut through the night, cars flashed past under the floodlights, and aerial drone shots captured the field sweeping through Portimão’s dramatic elevation changes. There is something special about watching a race move from daylight into darkness. The event seems to acquire a different atmosphere, and the final stint becomes a visual spectacle in its own right.

Verstappen’s appearance undoubtedly brought extra attention to the weekend. The four-time Formula One world champion became one of its main attractions, drawing interest well beyond the usual GT racing audience. His final-stint recovery also provided exactly the kind of storyline that was going to dominate the headlines.

Still, the weekend’s appeal went beyond the headline names. Four classes produced their own winners, the support programme kept the circuit busy, and the fading light transformed the Algarve track into a spectacular night-racing scene. Verstappen may have attracted much of the attention, but Portimão gave us a reminder of what makes endurance racing so compelling: several stories unfolding at once, with no guarantee of how any of them will end.