Oman Racing on the Bronze Cup podium as GetSpeed wins GTWC Europe finale at Portimão
Cup racing
Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed took its first GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup victory in the three-hour season finale at Portimão on Saturday. For fans in the Gulf, the result to note came in the Bronze Cup, where Oman's Ahmad Al Harthy finished on the class podium.
The #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Maximilian Götz, Fabian Schiller and Ralf Aron led home the Lionspeed GP and Boutsen VDS Porsches in a race that ran from daylight into darkness at the Algarve circuit. SRO noted that it was Götz's first overall win since 2013 and a maiden victory for Schiller and Aron.
Al Harthy shared the #42 Oman Racing by Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Javier Sagrera and Calan Williams and came home third in Bronze Cup, the team's second class podium of the year. The class win went to 2 Seas Motorsport's #222 Mercedes-AMG. Speaking to Muscat Daily, Al Harthy said it was "an amazing feeling to be back on the podium".
The weekend also marked Max Verstappen's debut in the championship. The #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry he shared with Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham started 24th after a penalty and recovered to ninth overall, with Verstappen making up ground during his stint in the dark. The organiser has published the results as provisional.