No.2 Boutsen VDS Porsche storms to pole for the GTWC EU Portimao finale as Verstappen's Mercedes struggles to 15th
The No.2 Boutsen VDS Porsche proved unbeatable in Portimao, taking the final pole position in the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe (GTWC EU) season. Meanwhile it was a tough day behind the wheel for Verstappen Racing and Team WRT.
As it happened
For the last time in 2026, Q1 started, with the 20-minute session more than enough for the first batch of drivers to try and do their absolute best round Portimao.
Quickly the 1:43 mark was reached, courtesy of Maxime Oosten's effort of 1:43.042 in the No.65 HRT Ford, which proved the benchmark for the combined Group A (Bronze-Silver) field, with the fastest Bronze coming right behind him, in the form of the No.222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes of Kiern Jewiss.
Once their half of the session ended, Group B (Pro and Gold cars) started their own efforts. Quickly times started dipping below the previous benchmark, with Frederik Schandorff doing a 1:42.567 in his No.71 Selected Car Racing Ferrari which competes in the Gold Cup.
This was good enough for the provisional Gold pole, but not for the overall fastest Q1 time, with it going to the No.2 Boutsen VDS Porsche of Morris Schuring, as second fastest came Mattia Drudi in the No.7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin, with a late effort by Arjun Maini in the No.64 HRT Ford enough for third.
Meanwhile it was not a good Q1 for Verstappen Racing's No.3 Mercedes, with Ben Barnicoat managing only the 21st fastest Q1 time, nearly seven tenths off provisional pole.
After a few minutes of reset, Q2 time had arrived, with the next set of drivers out to try and improve on their team's fortunes, or retain them.
With the backbround of a setting sun, Tom Kalender set the fastest time of all in Group A, his Bronze No.17 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes stopping the clock at 1:42.353, but in the combined qualifying table, it was a different tale.
It was the Silver No.30 Team WRT BMW of Matisse Lismont on provisional pole, having set the third fastest time, with provisional Bronze class pole in the hands of the No.93 Ziggo Tempesta Porsche, after Eddie Cheever III's efforts.
With the second group of cars again on track, Kalender's time was the target for the Pro/Gold cars. It was a Porsche 1-2 come the end of Q2, with the No.2 Boutsen VDS again on top both in the session itself and in the combined qualifying, with Dorian Boccolacci going fastest of all, one of only two drivers to dip below the 1:42 mark.
The 1:41.856 was a spectacular effort, with DTM champion Thomas Preining second in the No.80 Lionspeed GP, again in both tables.
As for the Verstappen Mercedes, Chris Lulham managed to put the No.3 in 16th in Q2, with other team's misfortunes improving the car's placement, going from 21st to 15th in the overall ranking.
It was an utter disappointment for Valentino Rossi meanwhile, as track violations meant he did not set a representative time, leaving him and his No.46 crew in 60th place.
After two thirds had gone by, it was the time for the last qualifying session of the 2026 GTWC EU season, with audiences excited to find out what Max Verstappen would do in his very first appearance.
Before that however Group A was as always first in order, as the scenery in Portugal turned even more beautiful.
With the track evolving even more, times were even faster, with the fight for Silver and Bronze pole positions tough as always. The No.65 HRT Ford was the victor in the former, as Eduardo Coseteng's Q3 Group A benchmark of 1:41.802 enough for the class pole, followed in second by the double Silver champions No.30 Team WRT, as Bronze pole honours went to the No.991 Paradine Competition BMW.
The former would end up in 13th overall with the latter in 23rd.
As Group B left their garages for the last time in 2026, it was Boutsen VDS's pole to lose, with Alessio Picariello now behind the wheel. The Belgian however delivered, with a lap time of 1:41.912 enough to secure Overall pole position, with an average lap time of 1:42.071 for the No.2 Porsche.
Second came the No.17 GetSpeed Mercedes, with the No.80 Lionspeed GP Porsche in third, with the Q3 fastest overall lap being a 1:41.652, courtesy of Simon Birch in the No.71 Ferrari, that ultimately ended qualifying with the Gold class pole and an eighth overall grid place.
Max Verstappen's efforts meanwhile in the No.3 Mercedes were only enough for the 14th fastest Q3 lap and a 15th place grid start, with the team having gone wrong somewhere with their setup work, as we saw the Mercedes aggresively bottoming out and sparking in a good amount of corners.
Things also did not go quite right for Team WRT, with Rossi's frustrating Q2 leaving the No.46 car in 60th, as the No.32 sister car ended qualifying one place ahead of Verstappen's Mercedes in 14th, with the team's No.30 Silver entry in 16th.
Qualifying Results - Top 10 Overall
1st No.2 Boutsen VDS, Porsche
2nd No.17 Team GetSpeed, Mercedes
3rd No.80 Lionspeed GP, Porsche
4th No.64 HRT Racing, Ford
5th No.50 AF Corse, Ferrari
6th No.48 Winward Racing, Mercedes
7th No.59 Garage 59, McLaren
8th No.71 Selected Car Racing, Ferrari (Gold Cup Pole)
9th No.7 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin
10th No.51 AF Corse, Ferrari
Hello everyone. I was recently reading about how quickly online entertainment is growing in India, especially as more platforms become accessible through mobile devices. While going through a few discussions about digital gaming, I came across and decided to look through the website more carefully. I was mainly interested in how the platform presents its account requirements, payment options, game categories, and mobile access. Spending some time on these details also reminded me that it is important to look beyond the first impression and check the terms, security information, age restrictions, and responsible gaming policies before using any real-money service.