The Czech team, which came into this race with the 24H SERIES Europe standings lead after three consecutive race wins, has so far completed 125 laps and now holds just a 42s lead over the pursuing Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#91, Daniel Allemann / Ralf Bohn / Robert Renauer / Alfred Renauer), despite the latter starting towards the back of the GT grid.
Behind the leading duo lies the second of three Herberth Motorsport entries at Portimão this weekend (#93, Edward Lewis Brauner / Stefan Aust / Klaus Rader / Klaus Bachler / Hans Wehrmann), which started the race from pole position and led the opening 38 laps comfortably. Despite slipping back, the #93 Porsche still holds the A6-Am lead ahead of the Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS (#34, Johannes Dr. Kirchhoff / Max Edelhoff / Gustav Edelhoff / Elmar Grimm / Ingo Vogler).
A former A6-Am podium finisher at the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO, the GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (#24, Nicky Pastorelli / Jordan Grogor / Alexandre Cougnaud / Jean-Pierre Valentini) currently lies 5th overall after the opening four hours, and rounds out the A6-Pro top three.
Further back, the Toksport WRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#15, Hendrik Still / Joachim Bölting / Wolfgang Triller / Peter Terting / Nikolaj Rogivue) is currently 8th overall and completes the A6-Am podium for now.
After four hours, and despite receiving a penalty for jumping the start, the brand new 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#500, Hubert Haupt / Maximilian Buhk / Kenneth Heyer / Charles Putman / Rik Breukers) is the highest placed non-A6 runner in the GT field in 10th. Mercedes-AMG Team Driving Academy is taking part in the car’s first development 24-hour race this weekend.
The MRS GT-Racing Porsche 991-II Cup (#980, Alex Autumn / Nicola Michelon / Dorian Mansilla / Hendrik Von Dannwitz) leads the way in the 991 class ahead of the Porsche Lorient Racing Porsche 991-II Cup (#911, Jean-François Demorge / Gilles Blasco / Lionel Amrouche / Gavin Pickering / Frédéric Ancel), which had set the category pole position on Friday. Behind the pair, the DUWO Racing Porsche 991-II Cup (#909, Andrey Mukovoz / Sergey Peregudov / Stanislav Sidoruk) rounds out the 991 podium thus far.
The Leipert Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 (#710, Harald Schlotter / Marcus Påverud / Ilmari Korpivaara / Yury Wagner / Dominik Baumann) holds a comfortable lead in the SPX class after its two nearest rivals hit problems during the opening stages. The QSR Racingschool Mercedes-AMG GT4 (#454, Jimmy de Breucker / Johnny de Breucker/ Lance Bergstein / Dominique Bastien / Thomas Jäger) immediately lost nine laps when a problem emerged with the on-board fire extinguisher during the formation laps. The Cor Euser Racing MARC II V8 meanwhile (#717, Cor Euser / Jim Briody / Einar Thorsen / Ricky Coomber) lost close to 40 minutes in the garage when its right rear wheel sealed itself to the hub.
Reigning 24H TCE SERIES champion Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport (#50, Martin Kroll / Thomas Jäger / Michael Fischer / Michael Schrey / Alexander Prinz) holds a slim advantage over reigning 24H GT SERIES champion PROsport Performance (#1, Rodrigue Gillion / Nico Verdonck / Akhil Rabindra / Mike-David Ortmann) with just over a minute splitting the BMW M4 GT4 and the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. The Parkalgar Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT4 (#412, Paulo Pinheiro / Jose Monroy / Malcolm Sandford / Joaquim Penteado) currently lies 3rd at its home race.
This weekend’s Hankook 24H PORTIMAO is the first time this season that points earned will be eligible for both the 24H SERIES Europe and 24H SERIES Continents standings.
Further information can be found at www.24hseries.com.
