Three colourful Aston Martins due for Portimaos concluding round of the GT4 European Series this weekend

The Swiss based Racing Spirit of Leman team has (until now) been the sole Aston Martin Racing team provider into the SRO sanctioned series with a Pro-Am and Silver class entry apiece for what has become David Kullmann and Florent Grizaud and Pedro Gracia and Clement Seyler respectively.

It appears today that this crew maybe using the Mirage Racing AMR Vantage GT4 chassis from their FFSA commitments which ended last weekend too!

This final round of the season sadly sees both crews racing for the experience as 2027 plans remain unconfirmed by all at the moment.

These two do usually race apart from each other in separate classes but for this weekend only they come togther within the Pro-Am class aboard their #28 car.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
D'Station Racing need to buck the trend of their recent results as Super GT heads for Autopolis for round 7 of 9

Despite their class win at the start of the season, the #777 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered car of Tomonobu Fujii and Charlie Fagg has faced some racing challenges since then with some effective balance of performance and success penalties being applied that have since seen the crew struggle to not only compete but also to finish the races within a points scoring position within their GT300 class.

A P5 qualifying position last time out at Sugo only equated to a P21 in class finishing position for the team, making for their second non-championship points scoring round of the season with just this three-hour race from Autopolis plus a double header round from Motegi still to come as the series also makes up for his aborted destination of Malaysia earlier in the year.
The #777 crew now sit four points behind the #59 crew but with now a further six crews now placed in a position where any number of them could catch and surpass the AMR team should racing events on Sunday go against the D’Station Racing team.

Autopolis will be another tough race for the team.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
One last hoedown for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series this weekend from Portimao (UPDATED)

Much of the media attention will be upon one certain Dutch Formula One driver, there is still important work to be done by the Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered teams as their collective five car entry aim to finish their season upon something of a high with a few smatterings of necessary driver changes to add to the fun too.

That being said, Drudi has apparently elected to do the double – racing first at Portimao before having to dash off to the Circuit de Catalunya in time for race day on Sunday within the FIA WEC where he will again form up as the final driver within his #27 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage LMGT3 entry in that series.

This crews race win last time out at the Nurburgring sadly came too late for them to take the championship battle through to this concluding round of the season.
Their sister #21 silver class entry of Sebastian Baud, Kobe Pauwels and Oliver Soderstrom remains the same this weekend, but we do expect AMR Factory driver Valentin Hasse-Clot to be confirmed within the #11 Comtoyou Racing bronze class entry with just Marcelo Tomasoni and AJ Muss being listed at present upon the provisional entry.

That leaves the two Walkenhorst entries of Christian Krognes, Jamie Day and Henrique Chaves being aboard their #34 Pro class entry for one last time whilst young guns Mateo Villagomez, Ethan Ischer and Gaspard Simon complete the Aston Martin Racing powered roster within their #35 silver class entry.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
An unknown entity as the FIA WEC heads to Barcelona for its improvised penultimate round to the season

Originally rescheduled to be in Qatar next weekend, this seventh and indeed final round to the season from Bahrain both had to hastily rescheduled again, thanks to the ongoing tensions within the Middle East to Barcelona and Monza respectively.

Whilst Japan did see a much deserved P2 finish in class for the #27 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage LMGT3 of Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi to bolster their championship chances going into these final two six hour races, it was an unfortunate early exit to the race for the #23 Vantage LMGT3 of Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello and Jonny Adam after the young American was the victim of inter-car contact along with the resulting spin out into the tyre wall from where the car would not move again.

Championship wise – it’s still just the #27 Vantage LMGT3 crew with any chance of hauling in the TF Sport Corvette crew over these two remaining rounds being twenty-four points behind with time now running out after their own sluggish start to the season.

Free Practice begins on Friday before progressing in class Qualifying and Hyperpole on Saturday before the race itself is waved off at noon local time on Sunday and with the series never actually having raced at the circuit before – there is no form guide to be going by either!
Photo credits – Team / Aston Martin / DPPI
A quick round up of last weekends Aston Martin Racing powered action from around the world

In no particular order, the #7 Mirage Racing AMR Vantage GT4 crew of Grant West and Alex Bachoura secured class podium success on Saturday as the American based racers secured a P2 GT4 Am class podium finish within their penultimate race of the season from the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France.

That class success was mirrored by the #007 CSM Motorsport crew of Ismaeel Ellahi and Ayrton Houk as they secured a P3 silver class podium finish at the end of the final race of the GT4 America Series from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sticking at Indianapolis, the #71 Rebel Rock Racing AMR Vantage GT3 was also in attendance at the joint GT World Challenge America and Intercontinental GT Challenge finale at the circuit.

Back into Europe and the Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie were running their last four-hour race of the season around the infamous Nordschleife “Green Hell” circuit which saw both the Walkenhorst Motorsport and Prosport Racing teams return with their mix of Vantage GT3 cars.

That leaves just the European Le Mans Series running of their final four-hour race of the season from Portimao in Portugal with the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman AMR Vantage LMGT3 of Clement Mateu, Marius Fossard and Valentin Hasse-Clot again all behind the wheel of their silver arrow for one last time.

With no championship possibilities for the team and crew after something of a torrid 2026 season, the drivers delivered their best performance of the season to claim a just off the podium P4 finish at the end.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Little joy for the Comtoyou Racing team to round the year off within DTM and ADAC GT Masters

Within the headlining DTM Series, Nicki Thiim needed something nothing short of a minor miracle if he was to be in any position of lifting that coveted title despite having lead the drivers’ championship at the midway stage to the season after back-to-back race wins were met with serious Balance of performance challenges alongside that of the series own success penalties.

With both hour-long races then done, their best race result was for a P14 finish for Thiim in the final race for him to eventually finish sixth overall within the Drivers Championship with Baert coming in twenty first despite having raced all sixteen races. There was, however, small consolation for the team as they secured the Pit Stop Challenge Award for their efforts again upon their #8 car of Baert.


Photo credits – Team / ADAC
Technical issues denies the Cosy Racing By ESM team their final chance at the ADAC GT4 Germany crown

Competing at the final round of the ADAC GT4 Germany Series from Hockenheim, the #4 AMR Vantage GT4 powered car of Philipp Gogollok and Jan Philipp Springob needed to keep within very close contact of the other two title contending crews if they were to make up the short points difference to the then leaders if they were to have any chance of becoming champions at the end of this triple race finale.

Going into Qualifying for race one on Friday, the #4 was already experiencing technical issues that would eventually see Gogollok qualify their car an uncharacteristic ninth only for the technical issues to return during the race, forcing the team to retire the car after just seven laps. The two other championship contesting crews then went onto to finish that race first and fifth meaning that the championship was already beyond their capabilities.

Photo credits - ADAC
Racing Spirit of Leman claim gold at the Le Mans Cup finale from Portimao

Going into this final round of the ACO rules with just a slender five-point advantage of the chasing #21 Kessell Racing Ferrari, bronze driver Sager would again be leaning heavily upon his co-driver Valentin Hasse-Clot to help him get over that line first having both fallen just short of that achievement last season with their #10 Racing Spirit of Leman prepared Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3.

Whilst the #91 Blackthorn car would suffer from technical issues during Qualifying to start last in class for today-s final two-hour race, the #10 was given a lifeline after the pole setting #21 car was later disqualified from those results for failing the post session ride height check which resulted in both the #10 and #11 cars moving up one to start the race P2 and P3 respectively.

With any series running LMP3 cars these days, that incident again set the tone of the race with multiple incidents stagnating the race at near regular intervals as first Full Course Yellows, local yellows and then Safety Cars were needed to “pick up the pieces’.

Despite the #21 car having now run though the GT3 class pack with their Pro driver to now lead the class and the championship at that moment in time, Sager needed to push as his points buffer to the #21 had already by surpassed on track but his eagerness to go after one such caution period earned him a ten second penalty at their scheduled stop for a FCY procedure infringement.
At the halfway mark and the final pit stop sequence of the season, the #10 car found itself down in sixth and a near lap down to the #21 car thanks to the timing of the last Safety Car intervention and their additional penalty time. It was time for Hasse-Clot to play his part within the car itself rather than just via the headset.

Steadily but surely the #21 was passed on track for position by others as Hasse-Clot did what he could from the second half of the class as the race entered its final quarter. The Blackthorn’s season would unfortunately end with another mishap for them as Canning was seen spinning off at the fast final corner to impact rear on into the tyre wall and into immediate retirement. Was that self-inflicted or not was hard to tell, there were other cars around him at the time, but it changed nothing for them at the end of the day.

Any congratulations to everyone involved.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
A small but perfectly formed entry of just two Aston Martins within Saturdays final NLS round

A small but perfectly formed entry of just two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered teams completes our racing itinerary for the weekend as the German Nurburgring Langstrecken Series also complete their 2026 calendar on Saturday.
Rounding off the year with another standard four-hour affair around the infamous Green Hell circuit (weather permitting off course) will this time see just the Walkenhorst Motorsport and Prosport Racing teams enter one car apiece.

Joining them for the first time this season as well as within the teams Mercedes-AMG GT4 car will be their former ADAC GT4 Germany Champion Hugo Sasse.
Photo credits – Teams / social media
Cosy Racing by ESM going for gold at ADAC GT4 Germanys final triple header round at Hockenheim
With both track damage and the impending rainstorm forcing the cancellation of race two of the weekend last time out at the Sachsenring, that missed race has been bolted onto the more usual two race format and that makes room for a three-way head-to-head battle between three crews for the overall title.
This weekend sees a familiar eighteen car strong entry list which will see each of the three one-hour races raced over each of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the programme.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Comtoyou Racing round off in Germany this weekend in both DTM and ADAC GT Masters
Working from top to bottom, this second year within the DTM Series has been a very frustrating one for the Comtoyou Racing team and their two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s of both Nicki Thiim and Nicolas Baert.
However, and like all within the twenty-one strong grid, that pace has been all too quick in terms of type of balance of performance in operation within the series that quickly saw Thiim (and others around him at the top of the order) somewhat ‘hobbled’ for pace as at the subsequent rounds – something that eventually saw those championship possibilities end of low scoring performances.
Comtoyou Racing will also be fielding another one of their fleet of AMR Vantage GT3’s as Jamie Day and Baudouin Detout round off their debut season within the DTM supporting ADAC GT Masters Series with their #38 entry.
For Luxembourger Detout, this has also been his first full season of racing within the GT3 class having only swapped over to GT4’s just a couple of years ago so their own podium finishes along the way so far have been much deserved.
Although they now cannot win anything outright – two decent finishes this weekend could easily see the pairing rise up the order by the close of play on Sunday.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Last dance for the FFSA GT4 season this weekend from Paul Ricard
Sporting another healthy thirty-two GT4 car entry for these final two races of the year again sees the two American racers Grant West and Alex Bachoura return to the French based Mirage Racing team and their #7 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4.
With almost a three-month hiatus between rounds, this duo are again the sole Aston Martin Racing powered representatives within the series as they again compete within the Pro-Am class.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup ends in Spain with one last class podium for the Walkenhorst team
Down at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona for the final race weekend of the Sprint Cup Series saw the usual three crews from the Comtoyou Racing team as well as the two Walkenhorst Motorsport who had all had one of those seasons where period moments of magnificence and a podium gong along the way just wasn’t enough to put them into any of the four-class championship hunts this time around.
Getting Saturday’s qualifying in just before the monsoon that was to follow as the forty-four cars assembled upon the grid for the first of the two final one hour sprint races but despite the track conditions, everyone enjoyed a miraculously clean opening few laps.
Whilst the race did get back going again, a later off for the #35 Walkenhorst car just before the completion of the obligatory driver change at the halfway point – together with the intensifying rainfall saw the race red flagged for safety before getting back going again after something like a twenty-minute delay.
Sunday’s much delayed race would be effected of the remainder of Saturday’s race programme being carried over until Sunday morning instead, so their grid was set by the fastest time of each nominated driver from Free Practice 2 – such was the rush to get through the actual racing rather than running qualifying sessions.
With light already fading, Thiim was running within the top ten again overall with Villagomez again running just off the silver podium in fourth as the cars made for pit lane for their final stops of the season. Just as the pit window closed, a brief FCY was shown to allow marshals to recover a stranded car off track at Turn 13 before leaving a twenty-minute dash to the flag.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media



