GT driver and Porsche star Huub van Eijndhoven had a dream start to 2026. It was a true veni, vidi, vici for the Dutchman in the UAE — not just once, but twice. He’s returning to Dubai for more this weekend.

Van Eijndhoven completed another consistent campaign in the Porsche Supercup and finished third in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland last season. To hit the ground running, he was already back behind the wheel just a week after the start of the new year.

The 26-year-old won the 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi and followed that up with a flawless victory in the 24 Hours of Dubai. Let’s just say his suitcase was a bit heavier on the flight home, thanks to all the trophies.

“Yes, it could have been worse!” Van Eijndhoven laughs right away in an interview with GT REPORT. In Abu Dhabi, he shared the #10 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R with Antares Au and Loek Hartog. He had no prior experience at Yas Marina. “That was definitely a challenge, especially with so many cars on track,” he explains.

The field consisted of more than 50 cars. “You have to deal with the slower traffic. At the same time, you want to do a good job and be quick. Finding the right balance took some work, but I prepared well with Atze Kerkhof on the simulator at Verstappen.com Racing Pro Simulation,” he reveals, noting that he trained in the sim facility of four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

The team also received some support from Manthey engineers. “They are the guys who are very close to the Porsche factory,” Van Eijndhoven says, praising their work. “Mercedes seemed a bit too fast for us at first, but once we got going, our pace was very strong.”

During testing and on the Friday of the race weekend, Van Eijndhoven already had a good feeling about the car, so he started the race with confidence. Conditions only improved as the race went on. “Once it got dark, the [lower] temperatures really started to work in our favor. On race pace, we were the fastest car.”

Winning your very first GT3 race is no small achievement, right? “I think it was a deserved win,” says Van Eijndhoven with a smile.

Finishing unfinished business in Dubai

A week later, he repeated the feat in Dubai in the #962 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Fach Auto Tech, alongside three other Dutch powerhouses.

Together with Ralph Poppelaars, Wouter Boerekamps and Robert de Haan, he took on the endurance race. “With Ralph, there was some unfinished business: we won in 2023, but finished finished third in 2024 and second in 2025. Two times we missed out on the victory because of technical issues.”

So, Van Eijndhoven and Poppelaars still had a score to settle with the desert classic. “Ralph made a lot of progression throughout the years. We managed to bring Robert and Wouter on board and ran a flawless race. Everything finally fell into place,” the Dutchman says. Sunday was for recovering, Monday for celebrating.

From left to right: Robert de Haan, Wouter Boerekamps, Ralph Poppelaars and Huub van Eijndhoven winning in Dubai. © 24H Series

New chapter coming up

On the Tuesday after the race, it was announced that Van Eijndhoven will be leaving his Porsche team, GP Elite. His journey in the Porsche Supercup and the Carrera Cup Deutschland also comes to an end. He looks back on a series of fantastic achievements, such as his win from poleposition in Hockenheim, his Supercup podiums in Belgium and Zandvoort, and exceptional pole at the Red Bull Ring last september.

Onto new things soon. “It felt like a natural moment to switch to endurance racing,” says Van Eijndhoven. His FIA license has been under review for progression to Gold during the last two seasons, which is likely to happen in 2027. “I’ll remain Silver this year, and that’s very attractive in GT3 at the moment.” 

As a very quick FIA Silver, Van Eijndhoven has certainly let the endurance world know that he can deliver good work. It’s no surprise, then, that he’ll be back in the car soon for the last two rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series. For both weekends he’s joining the line-up on the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Proton Competition with Harry King and Bancky.

“This time we will be fighting against Manthey, without help from their engineers. That will definitely be a challenge,” he concludes, but as always he’s in good fighting spirit. Meanwhile he’s sorting things out for his 2026 programme. 

It’s no secret that Van Eijndhoven is interested in the classics, such as the 24 hours of Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring. It likely won’t be long before we see his name on those entry lists.