A first Endurance Cup victory for Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed and three championship titles gave Mercedes-AMG Motorsport plenty to celebrate as GT World Challenge Europe concluded in Portimão. For Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, the result rounded off a European campaign that formed part of a successful year across international GT racing.
The #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Maximilian Götz, Ralf Aron and Fabian Schiller delivered the manufacturer’s first overall Endurance Cup win of the season. After several podium finishes, GetSpeed finally reached the top step, with Aron and Schiller celebrating their maiden victories in the championship. For Götz, it was a return to Endurance Cup-winning form for the first time since 2013.
“It’s a dream finale of a fantastic season we had, starting with victories in Daytona,” Wendl tells GT REPORT. “Now ending up here with a victory, the first victory for GetSpeed as a performance team. A great, great achievement from them, and they fought so long for it.”
Götz laid the foundations in the opening stint before an overcut at the first round of stops put Aron ahead of the two leading Porsches. Schiller then completed the job, bringing the car home ahead of Lionspeed GP and Boutsen VDS. For Wendl, seeing the three drivers rewarded was one of the evening’s highlights. “It’s not only Fabi, it’s also Ralf,” he says of the first-time winners. “It’s a great comeback from Maxi. He, as an old hand, is leading the car with the young guns, with Fabi and Ralf.”
Three titles reward a consistent European campaign
While GetSpeed supplied the victory, Winward Racing’s season-long consistency delivered the championships. Lucas Auer and Maro Engel secured the combined GT World Challenge Europe drivers’ title, adding to the Endurance Cup drivers’ crown they had already won alongside Luca Stolz at the Nürburgring. Winward also took the Endurance Cup teams’ championship.
The combined drivers’ title was confirmed after Winward’s appeal against its disqualification from the second Sprint Cup race at Misano was upheld. These were three distinct honours: the combined drivers’ championship and both Endurance Cup titles. The final race still gave Wendl loads of reasons to watch closely. Beyond GetSpeed’s fight at the front, the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER and #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entries were involved in a busy evening of racing.
“We’ve seen such a nice race and a nice event with so many spectators here, a nice venue,” he says. “I’m really enjoying it still, and I think every motorsport enthusiast watching on TV and on the streams enjoyed the last 20 minutes, seeing all those battles between the cars.”
Success from Daytona to the Nürburgring
Success from Daytona to the NürburgringPortimão added another result to a year that had already brought Mercedes-AMG victories at several major endurance events. Winward Racing won the GTD class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, before Mercedes-AMG Team GMR took overall honours at the Bathurst 12 Hour in February.
Mercedes-AMG Team RAVENOL then won the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May. Success followed in Japan, where Team TKRI claimed a second consecutive Fuji 24 Hours victory in June. The manufacturer also finished its DTM campaign with both victories at Hockenheim and a third consecutive manufacturers’ championship. Engel ended the season as runner-up in the drivers’ standings, with Winward second in the teams’ classification.
For Schiller, the Portimão breakthrough added another significant achievement to a season that already included victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Wendl believes finishing on that note provides something valuable to carry into the winter. “After winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours this year, ending the season here on a high is a great motivation over the winter to improve even more and come back strong early in January again.”
Verstappen adds to the occasion
Another source of satisfaction was Max Verstappen’s appearance alongside Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3. A drive-through penalty following contact between Lulham and the #48 car compromised their race, but Verstappen recovered from 24th to ninth during the closing stages.
For Wendl, having Verstappen race with his own team made the finale particularly special. The relationship had already taken them to the Nürburgring, and Portugal offered another opportunity to see the four-time Formula 1 world champion compete in Mercedes-AMG machinery. “That he was able to join his own team was even more fantastic after having him at the Nürburgring,” Wendl says. “I’m really happy and glad that he finished the race with us in the points, which was good. Without this small incident, way more would have been possible. It was a fantastic stint. It was something to watch and enjoy for everyone.”
His praise also extended to Barnicoat, who had to adapt quickly to the team’s car and the championship’s tyres: “Ben also did a great job,” Wendl adds. “He comes into the championship, to the tyres, to the car, everything new, and he made a great job of it. He’s a great driver, so I cannot complain about our drivers in general.”
