WEC and GT World Challenge clash forces Portimao schedule change

Portimao race moved to Saturday evening

The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup will share its October weekend with the FIA World Endurance Championship, creating a major logistical challenge for drivers and teams competing in both series.

The revised timetable is designed to give dual-programme drivers a chance to contest both events. However, the plan remains extremely demanding: the two circuits are more than 10 hours apart by road, leaving air travel as the only realistic option. Drivers would need to fly from Barcelona to Faro, travel for approximately one hour to Portimao and manage the one-hour time difference between Spain and Portugal.

Manufacturers face difficult choices

The key decisions will centre on contractual commitments, championship positions and the availability of replacement drivers.

Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon are among those affected, racing a Mercedes for Verstappen Racing in GT World Challenge Europe while holding full-season WEC drives with Genesis and Alpine respectively. Mercedes also faces a decision over Maxime Martin, who combines an Iron Lynx LMGT3 programme with a GetSpeed Performance PRO campaign.

Aston Martin must resolve the overlapping commitments of Mattia Drudi and Marco Sorensen, team-mates in Comtoyou Racing’s #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Sorensen could potentially be replaced by one of The Heart of Racing’s IMSA drivers, with Roman De Angelis or Ross Gunn identified as possible options.

Ferrari’s situation is similarly complex. Alessio Rovera remains in the LMGT3 title fight, while Nicklas Nielsen is part of the #50 499P Hypercar line-up. Both are also central to the #51 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. Ferrari’s wider 2027 development activity is already under scrutiny, adding to the significance of its programme planning.

McLaren, Garage 59 and Team WRT also have multiple drivers and cars spread across both championships. Tom Fleming, Benjamin Goethe, Marvin Kirchhofer, Raffaele Marciello, Augusto Farfus and Dan Harper are among those whose commitments could require reshuffling, while Sean Gelael faces a choice between WRT’s BMW and AF Corse’s Ferrari.

Championship standings could decide priorities

There is still time to finalise the line-ups. The Nurburgring Endurance Cup round, plus WEC races at Austin and Fuji, will shape the title battles before October—and may ultimately determine which programmes receive priority in Barcelona and Portimao.