+ SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm pair win as Elite retires
+ Robertson and Ramyead claim Pro-Am
+ Blickle crowned Am champion with win
+ Result: Race 1, Portimão
Jay Mo Härtling scored victory alongside Joel Mesch on his GT4 Europe debut, the pair fighting through from 14th on the grid to win what became a crazy opening race at Portimão.
Drama right at the start eliminated the Silver points-leading Elite McLaren, opening the door for Schnitzelalm to close the points gap. However, Enrico Förderer and Cedric Fuchs could not keep pace with the sister car as Härtling charged his way through to win ahead of the #77 McLaren. Schnitzelalm’s #111 crew eventually came home fourth in class to dramatically close the gap to McKenzy Cresswell and Charlie Hart with one race to go.
Elite did salvage some joy from Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead winning Pro-Am, while second place for Sacha Bottemanne and Viny Beltramelli keeps their title hopes alive.
Daniel Blickle made it back-to-back Am class titles by securing yet another win alongside Max Kronberg in the #30 W&S Motorsport Porsche.
Schnitzelalm wins, but not the title challenger
Alon Gabbay lined up on pole aboard his W&S Motorsport Porsche and got a good launch when the lights went out to lead ahead of Robertson, but a pinch behind scattered the pack through Turn 2.
Contact spun the CRT-Sport Supra in the middle of the field, sparking chaos as cars tried to pick their way through. The highest-profile casualty was Hart, who avoided the incident ahead but was hit hard from behind during the concertina effect and had to retire the points-leading #78 with heavy rear damage.
The first of the race’s three full course yellow periods was needed for the clear up, and when racing resumed Gabbay was caught napping as Robertson got on the power earlier and swept past for the lead into Turn 1, with the other remaining Elite Artura of Yani Stevenheydens following him through.
Förderer and Mesch did well to avoid the start incident and kept the leaders in sight while running together in seventh and eighth to the pit window before switching for Fuchs and Härtling respectively.
Robertson handed the lead McLaren over to Ramyead, but Stevenheydens had stayed close behind and his team-mate Henry Joslyn wasted little time in passing Ramyead’s Pro-Am car and attempting to pull clear. He did a good job on what was only his third race start in a McLaren, but Härtling ultimately proved too strong. After breezing past Fuchs early in the stint, he then worked his way past the remaining Pro-Am runners before homing in on Joslyn, eventually diving for the lead into Turn 1 just before the race’s final full course yellow sealed the result.
With his biggest title rival out, Fuchs needed to take advantage but slipped to fourth late on after Sam Paley found a way past in the Team Floral Mustang to record a fourth podium of the season. Fourth for Fuchs and Förderer means they now trail Hart and Cresswell by just five points, with the McLaren starting on pole tomorrow.
Elite wins Pro-Am, but title fight rages on
For Ramyead it didn’t matter that Joslyn and Härtling passed him, his objective would always simply be the class win, and he achieved that with the bonus of being third overall.
Viny Beltramelli and Sacha Bottemanne piled the pressure on late in the race after the title-chasing #3 Team Speedcar Audi had jumped Gabbay and Tim Horrell’s Porsche in the pits, but they had to settle for second – a result that at least keeps their title hopes alive as Schubert Motorsport’s Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde could only manage seventh in class after a tough qualifying that meant the car started 11th.
The guesting GR Racing Portugal Supra shared by Jose Carlos Pires and Francisco Mora was fourth in class ahead of Nathan Vanspringel and series newcomer Michael Tosi in the #62 Academy Ford Mustang.
Daniel Blickle’s path to becoming a two-time Am champion was made far easier when the rival GR Racing Sweden Supra became a casualty of the early chaos, leaving he and Max Kronberg well clear of the sister W&S Porsche of Joachim Bölting. The win was Blickle and Kronberg’s sixth of the year and sealed the title in style.
The GT4 European Series season finale is set for 11:45 on Sunday.
