24H Series Portimao 24hr 2022

24H Series - Portimao - 2022

Yet another new circuit for us this year, the circuit of Portimao on the south coast of Portugal. I’d been told it was an exciting track, not only for the drivers but also for the fans and photographers. Wow, it certainly was that, and more. I have to thank Shane Lewis from CP Racing for taking us for a few laps around the circuit (in our hire care….) during the “Rent-a-Car Ride” session early on in the weekend. That was a great experience, not just to see the circuit from a different perspective but from that of a driver who went on to do rather well in the race.

Qualifying saw an incredibly closest battle between the Audi R8 from Phoenix and the Ferrari 488 from WTM, with Elia Erhart in the Audi and Daniel Keilwitz gradually brought their respective lap times down as the session got near the end. At the chequered flag though, it was Phoenix Racing that had a combined time of just 0.024s quicker than WTM Racing. The second line of the grid was made up of the Porsche from Herberth in 3rd and CP Racing’s AMG in 4th.

During the 24hrs of the race, the lead swapped an incredible 26 times between the Audi from Phoenix and the AMG from CP Racing. Unfortunately for Phoenix Racing, trouble during a late night pit-stop left Elia Erhart with an injured hand, leaving the team with a disrupted driver schedule. Both teams completed their final pit-stops with 50 minutes of the race left and amazingly, after 24hrs, just 30 seconds between them but with the AMG in the lead. Come the end of the race, it was a great first overall victory for CP Racing.

“Finally! I’ve got tears coming down! It’s just fantastic, and I’m so proud of all our guys! Proud of our AMG for being able to run in these conditions, because honestly, this was a real test in these temperatures. I’m just so happy!” - CP Racing team owner and driver Charles Putman.

WTM Racing crossed the line in 3rd at race end but during post-race scrutineering, an issue was found with their exhaust system and they were disqualified from the event. This then promoted the Red Ant Racing Porsche 911 into the 3rd place overall, as well as wining their 992 class.

Results -