Dempsey, Andrade Opt Against Double Duty at Portimao

Photo: SRO/JEP

Several GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS teams have confirmed changes to their lineups for this weekend’s Portimao season finale, including FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Peter Dempsey and Rui Andrade no longer contesting both categories.

The initial 61-car entry list published last week had Dempsey sharing the Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo in which he won the Sprint Cup Bronze class title, but he will now prioritize the clashing Barcelona WEC contest.

That list also included Rui Andrade in one of two new Motopark Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo entries but he is another to now solely focus on Barcelona.

This means that now only four drivers are due to contest both events: Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo pair Tom Fleming and Benji Goethe, Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo racer Mattia Drudi and Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 EVO pilot Darren Leung.

Dempsey’s place in the Porsche has been taken by Lucas Wolf, who last raced in the series back in 2014 but made a return to competition in the International GT Open earlier this year.

Andrade’s seat, meanwhile, has been filled by Marcos Siebert, who drove for AF Corse in the series last season.

Several other crews have revealed revisions to their lineups including British Touring Car Championship race winner Daryl De Leon making his GTWC Europe debut alongside Josh Rowledge and Christian Hahn in the second of the Paradine BMWs.

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup runner-up Robert de Haan will also return to the sister car to reunite with Leung and James Kellett.

Elsewhere, Alexey Nesov — who began the season in a Pure Rxcing Porsche — will move across to partner Carrie Schreiner and Daniele Di Amato in the No. 88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

Valentin Hasse-Clot is the latest driver to join the revolving cast at the wheel of the No. 11 Comtoyou Aston Martin, while Axcil Jefferies has joined the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo lineup.

JMW Motorsport has also revealed that Konsta Lappalainen will now be partnered by Giacomo Altoe and Casper Stevenson at the wheel of its Ferrari, while Kasper Jensen has been added to Steller Motorsport’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R lineup.

Although the overall Endurance Cup title has already been won by Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG trio Luca Stolz, Maro Engel and Lucas Auer, the latter pair are not yet assure of the combined Sprint and Endurance crown amid the final result for the second Misano race yet to be determined following a hearing into a potential wheel bearing illegality on their car.

Only Sprint Cup champions Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus in their Lionspeed Porsche or the WRT BMW of reigning title winners Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weets can potentially deny Engel and Auer the glory.

However, the Gold Cup endurance title is very much still up for grabs at Portimao with ROWE BMW crew Ugo de Wilde, Jens Klingmann and Tim Tramnitz only three points ahead of Fleming, Goethe and Louis Prette, while the Selected Car Racing-entered Ferrari of Simon Birch, Malte Ebdrup and Frederik Schandorff is also still in contention.

WRT BMW drivers Ignacio Montenegro and Matisse Lismont are already assured of a Silver Cup clean sweep but the Bronze Cup Endurance title is still up for grabs with Kessel Ferrari driver Dustin Blattner leading Leung and Kellett by 16 points.

Dennis Marschall heads the points table but as Blattner did not contest the most recent Nürburgring round, Marschall cannot win the title on his own because he is an FIA Platinum-rated driver.

Marschall also heads the combined Sprint and Endurance standings but similarly Winward Mercedes-AMG drivers Rinat Salikhov and Marvin Dienst are the true leaders, five points ahead of Leung and six clear of Ziggo Tempesta’s Eddie Cheever III.

Further back, 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG pair Kiern Jewiss and Charles Dawson, and Marschall retain an outside chance of the spoils.

Source: Sports Car 365