January 9, 2026 | News | GT Winter Series | GT4 Winter Series
The former and recently-confirmed future home of the Portuguese Grand Prix is a true modern classic, earning comparisons to rollercoasters and a place in many drivers’ shortlists of favourite circuits.
The season-opener for 2026 is looking set to produce intense battles in both GT-based Winter Series grids, with entries from across Europe, driving talent from across the world, and a great variety of manufacturers.
GT Winter Series: Over 30 cars on the grid, 15 GT3s fighting at the front
A deluxe 32-car GT Winter Series entry will kick-off the 2026 season, featuring one of the largest GT3 class grids in series history.
Defending GT3 champions SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Racing will field a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos. Kenneth Heyer will once again be looking to fight for the title in a full-season effort, joined by the rapid Jay Mo Härtling in the #11 entry. The second car – the #111 – will be campaigned by two more familiar names to the GEDLICH Paddock; 2021/2022 GT Winter Series champion Michael Sander, and Moritz Wiskirchen.
Elsewhere among the Mercedes GT3 fleet, another full-season entry can be found at PTT Racing. Przemyslaw Bienkowski hopes to fight for the 2026 GT Winter Series honours, having clinched Poland’s domestic GT title in 2025. Additional Mercedes participation at Portimão comes courtesy of CBRX by SPS (Dexter Muller), Grupo Prom Racing Team (Alfredo Hernandez) and the GT2-spec machine from NM Racing Team (Alberto De Martin, Branden Oxley).
Another team looking to fight for the overall championship is Orange Racing by JMH, following a race-winning cameo in the 2025 season. The British team’s McLaren 720S GT3 Evo will be piloted by Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton. While this entry is the British marque’s only representation in the class, Ferrari has a quartet of entires; AF Corse and Olimp Racing will each bring a pair of 296 GT3s.
Additional GT3 participation comes courtesy of Haupt Racing Team (x2 Ford Mustangs), AF Motorsport (Porsche 991.2) and Juta Racing (Audi R8). Meanwhile, LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler will also be a regular presence throughout the 2026 GT Winter Series in the GT3 class, running a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 for several driver combinations. For the first round, Jonas Karklys and Tim Hütter will be at the helm.
The Engstler team will also be present in the Cup 1 class for Ferrari 296 Challenge cars, with Friedrich Müller at the wheel. Competition in the class will come from a pair of AF Corse entries, as well as single-car efforts for Araújo Competição’s Alvaro Ramos, and Kessel Racing’s Lukas Azzato and Alberto Cola.
Cup 2 is reserved for Porsche 992 Cup cars, and will feature a strong six-car fight featuring entries from PTT Racing, MS Racing, Nacente Racing, Team Steiner Racing, LMR Racing and Up2Race. Meanwhile, the Cup 4 class for Lamborghini Super Trofeo machinery will be populated by a battle among Auto Sport Racing’s Alessio Ruffini and Miloš Pavlović, and the sister car of Petar Matić.
Finally, in the GTX class for cars outside of the regular class structure, a BMW Z4 GT3 will be entered by Classic & Speed for Marcus Oeyenhausen.
GT4 Winter Series: The battles resume for 2026
The GT4 Winter Series will once again be a thrilling duel among Europe’s top GT4 teams, with a healthy grid of over 15 cars expected for the first round.
SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm will once again be one of the leading forces, in both the PRO and PRO-AM classes. The PRO class entry will be piloted by Joel Mesch and ADAC GT4 champion Enrico Förderer, while the PRO-AM car’s line-up consists of Cedric Fuchs and Willi Kühne.
The PRO class is also anticipated to feature last year’s Drivers’ and Teams’ Champions, Elite Motorsport, in a McLaren Artura GT4. Another leading PRO class McLaren entry from 2025, Rafa Racing by RaceLab, will return with Irish brothers Robert and Colin Cronin at the controls. Portuguese squad Speedy Motorsport will also add depth to the Portimão PRO field, entering a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 for Hudson Schwartz and Lucas Cartelle.
After running as an invitational entry last year, Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson will be eager to fight for the 2026 GT4 Winter Series PRO-AM title. This time, the UK-based pairing joins French squad L’Espace Bienvenue in a BMW M4 GT4 Evo. In addition to the SR Motorsport By Schnitzelalm PRO-AM entry of Fuchs and Kühne, the class will also feature the Blue Garage Racing Lotus Emira GT4. The father-son pairing of Pavel and Troy Sovička will be looking to fly the Czech flag high, along with the team from Prague.
The AM class includes a pair of familiar faces, in the form of Tim Horrell and Joachim Bölting, who will both drive solo in W&S Motorsport Porsche 718 Caymans. Another Cayman – entered by Sunder Motorworks – will also be in the AM class, driven by husband-and-wife pairing Jose Garcia and Oana Gratiela. Meanwhile, the sonorous Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 of BWT Mücke Motorsport’s Thilo Goos will be among the entries in the Club class for out-of-homologation GT4 cars. Goos will be joined by co-driver Mattis Pluschkell for the season-opener.
Further entries include Greystone GT (McLaren), GT Corse (BMW) and Team VRT (Mercedes).
Stream live or watch trackside!
For the third consecutive season, every race of the 2025 GEDLICH Racing Winter Series will be streamed in partnership with broadcast specialists Alpha Live. An enhanced broadcast package will bring even more insight and action to the coverage, which will air on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
For fans in the Algarve, weekend tickets are still available for just €10! Fan access and affordable tickets will be a part of every Winter Series event in 2026, and is a prioritised element of the GEDLICH Racing experience.
Drivers, teams and fans: the Winter Series starts here!
15 JAN – 18 JAN PORTIMAO /P
22 JAN – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
12 FEB – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 MAR – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 MAR – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
