The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season drew to a close with the final three-hour race held at the Portimão circuit. Alex Fontana was back behind the wheel of the Lionspeed GP team’s #89 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, alongside Bashar Mardini and Patrick Kolb, competing in the Bronze Cup category. The Portimão 3-Hour race also featured Max Verstappen, giving the drivers the chance to go head-to-head with a four-time Formula 1 world champion still currently driving in the blue ribbon category. As usual, the starting grid was determined by combining the times of all three drivers in the crew: Fontana took to the track for the third and final qualifying session, clocking a time of 1:42.236, good for 20th place overall (out of over 60 entered teams) and 4th in the Bronze class, coming close to the time set by Verstappen, who finished the session in 16th place with a lead of just under a tenth of a second. When the teammates’ times were combined, the Lionspeed outfit secured 10th place in the Bronze class.
Mardini took the start, but found himself stuck in traffic on the first lap, dropping to 12th place. After his one-hour stint, Mardini handed over to Alex Fontana for the middle section of the race. The Swiss driver managed to capitalise on his excellent race pace to climb up the order to 7th place, despite the Porsche being penalised by the Balance of Performance (BoP) adopted for Portimão. During his stint, Alex also set his team’s fastest lap, clocking 1:44.610. Patrick Kolb then took over, but unfortunately, a collision just a few laps from the chequered flag, prevented the team from finishing the race due to steering damage. The crew finished 14th in the Bronze class, bringing the 2026 season to a close with a total haul of 31 points for the trio of Kolb, Fontana and Mardini.
Alex Fontana
“It was a good weekend, especially when you consider the technical difficulties linked to a Balance of Performance that worked against us and the collision we suffered in the closing stages. We were in an excellent position and the race was going quite well, so it’s disappointing. I’m also pleased to have gone head-to-head in qualifying with a Formula 1 world champion of the calibre of Verstappen and to have been very close to him in terms of lap times. His presence has certainly enhanced a thrilling championship that has been full of twists and turns throughout the year, whilst also drawing global attention to our work. As always, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Patrick and Bashar, and the Lionspeed teamas a whole, for the intense season we’ve tackled together”.
“It was a good weekend, especially when you consider the technical difficulties linked to a Balance of Performance that worked against us and the collision we suffered in the closing stages. We were in an excellent position and the race was going quite well, so it’s disappointing. I’m also pleased to have gone head-to-head in qualifying with a Formula 1 world champion of the calibre of Verstappen and to have been very close to him in terms of lap times. His presence has certainly enhanced a thrilling championship that has been full of twists and turns throughout the year, whilst also drawing global attention to our work. As always, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Patrick and Bashar, and the Lionspeed teamas a whole, for the intense season we’ve tackled together”.