+ Cresswell and Hart claim Silver title after epic final race duel
+ Bouveng and Walde finally get Pro-Am over the line for Schubert
+ Historic Am crown for Kronberg and Blickle
+ Stunning GT World finale watched by millions globally
The GT4 European Series put on a stunning show across the season finale at Portimão this weekend, with the destination of two of its titles hanging in the balance until the very final lap of the season.
Across a pair of tense races, Elite Motorsport McLaren drivers McKenzy Cresswell and Charlie Hart secured the coveted Silver title, but only after a breathtaking head-to-head battle with their biggest rivals over the closing laps of the year. Meanwhile, Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde claimed a hard-earned Pro-Am crown for Schubert Motorsport, despite the best efforts of Team Speedcar to deny them.
It proved a fitting finale for GT4 Europe, with the entire GT World weekend in Portugal producing a world-class show in front of 28,000 fans at the circuit and millions watching online via the GT World YouTube channel.
BATTLE OF THE STARS IN GT3 AND GT4
The opening GT4 European Series race proved a fantastic opener for the GT World Endurance Cup headliner, with a superb show thrilling the large crowd and attracting almost 400,000 views on the GT World YouTube channel.
For the main event, 61 GT3 cars raced into the night in what proved a spellbinding spectacle. With four-time world champion Max Verstappen joining the grid alongside the likes of nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi and Arthur Leclerc, the star-studded field made for an incredible main event. Over 28,000 fans turned out to see the action and take in the attractions such as supercar displays, live music and the bustling GT World Fan Zone.
ELITE KEEPS ITS COOL IN THE HEAT
The fight for the Silver title went right to the wire, and the season finale will live long in the memory for being perhaps one of the most absorbing contests in championship history.
Retirement from Race 1 set McKenzy Cresswell and Charlie Hart’s bid for the crown back, allowing SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG pair Enrico Förderer and Cedric Fuchs to close to within five points heading into the last race. A thrilling fight followed, as Hart and Förderer left nothing on the table in a direct scrap over the closing laps that would decide the champions. Hart eventually made the decisive move after running door-to-door with the Mercedes-AMG multiple times, coming home second to send the Elite team into raptures on the pit wall.
Jay Mo Härtling and Joel Mesch triumphed in Race 1 in the sister Schnitzelalm car, before Paul Petit and Gregory Guilvert ended their season on a high with an impressive victory in Race 2 for Team Speedcar.
SCHUBERT AND W&S CLAIM THE CLASSES
Despite a difficult final four races, Joakim Walde and Victor Bouveng finally got the Pro-Am title over the line in the finale, denying the charging Team Speedcar crew of Sacha Bottemanne and Viny Beltramelli what would have been a remarkable turnaround.
Before Zandvoort, Bottemanne and Beltramelli trailed the Schubert Motorsport BMW by 66pts, but three wins from the final four outings closed that gap dramatically. Just 21pts behind going into Sunday’s finale, Bottemanne and Beltramelli had to win, and they did, beating competition from the Elite McLaren of Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson, which had taken victory in the weekend’s opening race. However, the Audi pair also needed Schubert to endure some bad luck.
There would be no such misfortune, with Walde and Bouveng scoring solid points across both contests to make the title safe for Schubert – just reward for a supremely consistent season for the pair.
Daniel Blickle and Max Kronberg celebrated the Am class title together with a perfect weekend. Blickle opted to drop the points he had scored without Kronberg – who missed the first event of the year – to enable the team to be champions together. Two flawless drives netted a pair of wins and a perfect score, making Kronberg the first driver to win three GT4 Europe titles, following his Pro-Am success in 2024 and Am title last year.
With record numbers of people tuning in to watch the final GT4 European Series action of the season, the signs are only good for a bigger and better 2027 ahead. The 11th season will start at Circuit Paul Ricard over April 15-18.
