Al Zubair-Schiller (Al Manar GetSpeed Mercedes) open the 2023 dance with great win in Portimão Race 1

Al Faisal Al Zubair won the International GT Open season-opener at Portimão after a very entertaining and clean race that saw 33 cars in action. The pair of the Al Manar Racing by GetSpeed Mercedes proved the most consistent, beating the Optimum Motorsport McLaren of Sam De Haan-Charlie Fagg and the Motopark Mercedes of Marcos Siebert-Diego Menchaca.

The Pro-Am laurels went to Dexter Müller-Yannick Mettler (CBXR by SPS Mercedes) ahead of the other Mercedes of Axel Blom-Steve Jans (GetSpeed) and the AF Corse Ferrari of Marco Pulcini-Eddie Cheever.

Motopark climbed up to the podium in Am, on the first step thanks to Heiko Neumann-Timo Rumpfkeil, after a close battle with the Barone Rampante Lambo of Giuseppe Cipriani, with Alessandro Cozzi-Giorgio Sernagiotto (AF Corse Ferrari) third.

THE RACE – David Fumanelli started 2023 with a pole, like he often did last year. The driver of the Kessel Racing Ferrari kept the advantage at the start, followed by Mettler, Basz, Al Zubair, then Engstler who passed Siebert in lap 1, Barr, Agostini, and Rumpfkeil (first among Am cars), with positions remaining stable in the first ten laps. Fight was fierce in all compartments of the group, with a contact in lap 14 between Stanley and Aust, who spins.

The gaps remained extremely tight, with the first three, joined by Agostini, covered by only 5 seconds by lap 18, when the pit stop window had already opened and first cars had stopped. After all changes, Schiller takes the lead quite quickly ahead of Menchaca, Müller, Fagg, Marinangeli, Yip, Pitamber, Jedlinski, Haase and Blom, with Cipriani leading in Am ahead of Sernagiotto and Nana.

The man putting the show in the closing laps is Charlie Fagg, who would climb to take second under the flag, ahead of Menchaca, Haase, Marinangeli and Lietz. Neumann wins in Am ahead of Cipriani and Cozzi, after a transponder glitch is corrected.