In the five previous editions of the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO, one team, and one brand, won the first three back-to-back! But did you know…?

 

Words – James Gent

Images – Petr Frýba / Nico Mombaerts

Things you may have forgotten about the 24H PORTIMAO

Scuderia Praha is the most successful team to-date at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO with three outright wins to its name (2017, 2018 and 2019). Interestingly, those wins mean the Czech team also holds the record for most overall podiums (three), one more than WTM Racing and Herberth Motorsport.

Unsurprisingly, Jiří Písařík, Josef Král, and Matteo Malucelli also the record for most outright wins at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO, having done so with Scuderia Praha in 2017, 2018 and 2019. With no former winners set to compete at this year’s race, the trio’s record looks safe for at least another year.

Ralf Bohn and/or Robert Renauer however could draw level with Písařík, Král, and Mallucelli for the highest number of overall podiums at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO this weekend. The 2017 Overall GT Drivers’ ‘Continents’ champions have twice finished 2nd overall at the event in 2018 (with Manthey Racing) and in 2020 (Herberth Motorsport).

·      Bohn, by the way, is also part of three, father-and-child sets competing at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO. Interestingly though, only two of them are racing in the same category! Ralf and his son Dennis will compete with Herberth Motorsport (GT3) and Lionspeed GP (GT4) respectively, while Lionel Amrouche and his daughter Solenn – back for only her second 24H SERIES start since Barcelona ’23 – will line-up with Vortex V8 (GTX) and SebLajoux Racing by DUWO Racing (992). 

 

Michael Kroll and his daughter Chantal Prinz break the trend as they will share driving duties aboard the #1 Hofor-Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Interestingly, although Ferrari has the most outright wins to-date at Portimão, more Porsches (six) have finished on the overall podium over the years since 2017 than the Scuderia has managed (three). Porsche is also the only brand, to-date, to have locked out the overall podium. That happened in 2020, when 991 class winner Mühlner Motorsport followed a Herberth Motorsport 1-2 home to finish 3rd overall.

The prancing horse claws back pride though when it comes to overall laps led at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO. From 2017 to 2019, Scuderia Praha headed the field for an astounding 1,350 laps, and Ferrari’s figure goes up to 1,723 laps when you include the 373 Wochenspiegel Team Monschau totted up in 2017!

 

Simply put, between 2017 and 2019, Ferrari led 85 per cent of the laps completed at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO! And, ironically, hasn’t led a single one in the two editions since then.

You’d think it a safe bet that the event’s multi-record holder Scuderia Praha also holds the distance record at Portimão? Actually no. That accolade instead goes to Herberth Motorsport, which completed 731 laps of the 4.652km Autódromo Internacional do Algarve en-route to victory in 2020, nine more than Scuderia Praha managed in 2017.

 

That’s just over 3,400.6km, by the way. The equivalent of driving from mainland Portugal’s northernmost point (Cevide) to its southernmost point (Cabo de Santa Maria) four and a half times. In one day!

Saintéloc Racing, back for the 2024 event, secured the event’s overall fastest race lap in 2022 with Lucas Legeret (a 1m 43.087s). Such is the march of progress in motorsport, that’s 2.7 seconds quicker than the race’s inaugural fastest lap – a 1m 45.732s – set in 2017 by Scuderia Praha’s Matteo Mallucelli.

Speaking of Saintéloc Racing, a successful qualifying session could see Michael Doppelmayr, Pierre Kaffer, Elia Erhart and Swen Herberger become the first drivers, in six editions, to secure overall pole position more than once for the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO. That’s just one of 10 things you may not remember about the event, all of which you can read HERE.

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