Portimão Qualifying Results: Q1 | Q2
Antoine Potty and Louis Prette will start the final GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli races of 2026 from pole position after topping Q1 and Q2 respectively at Portimão.
Potty secured Race 1 pole in his i4Race Maserati after setting a 1m43.932s in the opening session. The Belgian was comfortably clear of Niccoló Pirri (#18 LP Racing Maserati), who produced his best qualifying performance of 2026 to secure P2 on the grid. Both of the front-row starters are competing in the Silver class this weekend.
So too is third-place qualifier Mikkel Njor (#3 CMR Ginetta), who secured the class title last time out at Zandvoort and can add the overall crown in Portugal. Fourth overall went to the Masters pole-winner, Viktor Mráz (#89 RTR Projects KTM), followed by Pro-Am poleman Audunn Gudmundsson (#77 High Class Racing Ligier).
But the Liger's debut qualifying session ended in disaster when Gudmundsson crashed heavily at Turn 1 with just a few minutes left on the clock. The Icelandic driver was able to walk away, but the resulting front-end damage was significant, casting serious doubt on the team's participation on Sunday.
Should the High Class entry be unable to compete, the effective Pro-Am pole sitter for Race 1 will be Laura van den Hengel (#85 Iron Dames by SP Racing Maserati), who qualified eighth overall.
Only 16 of the 17 cars entered set a representative time during Q1. The exception was the #77 CMR Lamborghini, which embarked on an out-lap but could not complete a full tour of the circuit.
The only thing that stopped Potty from sweeping both pole positions was Louis Prette and the small matter of 0.027s. The Monegasque – who is sharing a Pro-Am entry with his father Philippe this weekend – set a 1m43.165s in the #1 LP Racing Maserati to edge Potty for pole. The i4Race driver was still the best of the Silver runners.
Mauro Calamia was third quickest in the #7 Dinamic Motorsport Maserati, followed by Stefan Rosina's #18 LP Racing Maserati. This pair will start second in Pro-Am and Silver respectively. Thereafter the Race 2 grid comprises the #119 MZR KTM, the #111 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelam Mercedes-AMG, the #85 Iron Dames by SP Racing Maserati, and the #110 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelam Mercedes-AMG.
This session saw 15 cars on-track, with the Ligier clearly not able to run and the #77 Lamborghini also missing once again. Both of this weekend's season-closing GT2 Europe races will air live on the GT World YouTube channel. The first gets underway at 09:30*, followed by the last race of 2026 at 14:15*.
* Local time is GMT+1