Alex Fontana, the undisputed star of the first round of the 2026 International GT Open at the Portimão circuit has got his season off to a fantastic start. The Swiss driver secured pole position and victory in Race 1 at the wheel of the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO (992) entered by ZRS Motorsport and shared with Pietro Armanni, who was making his debut in the series.
Fontana claimed pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session with a time of 1:40.507, before going on to lead Race 1 from start to finish. Starting at the wheel in accordance with the championship format, the Lugano-based driver set a competitive and consistent pace, maintaining the lead through to the pit stop window. Taking over for the second half of the race, Armanni managed his lead efficiently, bringing the car home in first place and securing the team’s first win of the season.
On Sunday, it was Armanni who took part in qualifying, finishing fourth overall and third in the PRO class with a time of 1:40.910. After a solid opening stint, Fontana returned to the wheel for the second half of the race, once again proving to be among the fastest on track and making up positions to finish fourth overall.
Thanks to the results achieved over the weekend in Portugal, Fontana sits third in the drivers’ standings with 23 points, just two points off the lead. The next round of the International GT Open will be the season’s first endurance race, scheduled for 17 May at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Fontana claimed pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session with a time of 1:40.507, before going on to lead Race 1 from start to finish. Starting at the wheel in accordance with the championship format, the Lugano-based driver set a competitive and consistent pace, maintaining the lead through to the pit stop window. Taking over for the second half of the race, Armanni managed his lead efficiently, bringing the car home in first place and securing the team’s first win of the season.
On Sunday, it was Armanni who took part in qualifying, finishing fourth overall and third in the PRO class with a time of 1:40.910. After a solid opening stint, Fontana returned to the wheel for the second half of the race, once again proving to be among the fastest on track and making up positions to finish fourth overall.
Thanks to the results achieved over the weekend in Portugal, Fontana sits third in the drivers’ standings with 23 points, just two points off the lead. The next round of the International GT Open will be the season’s first endurance race, scheduled for 17 May at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Alex Fontana
“We’ve enjoyed an extremely positive start to the season and I’m very pleased with how the weekend went. The team provided us with an incredibly competitive car and it was an excellent debut in the GT Open for them too. Working with the team and with Pietro has been really inspiring: we had the potential to aim for the podium in Race 2 as well, but the penalties imposed by the regulations on the winners meant we just missed out on that result. I’m very happy nonetheless and can’t wait to get back on track.”
“We’ve enjoyed an extremely positive start to the season and I’m very pleased with how the weekend went. The team provided us with an incredibly competitive car and it was an excellent debut in the GT Open for them too. Working with the team and with Pietro has been really inspiring: we had the potential to aim for the podium in Race 2 as well, but the penalties imposed by the regulations on the winners meant we just missed out on that result. I’m very happy nonetheless and can’t wait to get back on track.”