CBRX by SPS #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, driven by Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler, set the pace during the opening International GT Open practice session in Portimão.
A fastest lap time of 1:41.732 earned them first place by the end of the first practice of the 2026 season.
Dinamic GT’s Philipp Sager and Christian Engelhart took a close second place overall in the 60-minute session, and in the Pro-Am category behind the #54 Mercedes-AMG.
Sager/Engelhart’s #18 Porsche 992 GT3.R Evo drove a 1:41.886, as third overall and first in the Pro category was Tom Emson and Tom Lebbon of Elite Motorsport.
The two Toms drove the #17 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo to a 1:42.024 lap time, just 0.024 seconds ahead of ZRS Motorsport’s #911 Porsche (992 Evo) of André Fernandes and Angelo Fontana, whose quickest time was 1:42.048.
Finishing fifth overall and third in the Pro category, the #71 Motopark Mercedes-AMG team, consisting of 2021 DTM champion Maximilian Götz and his teammate Christian Mansell, achieved a pace of 1:42.142 during the later part of the session.
The quickest of AF Corse’s five cars finished sixth overall, and fourth in Pro, owing to the effort of Rafael Durán and reigning vice-champion Tommaso Mosca in the #51 Ferrari (1:42.201).
Team ISR’s #75 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 took seventh, third in the Pro-Am classification, after the Czech duo Filip Salaquarda and Libor Milota completed a 1:42.206 time early on.
AF Corse’s #55 Ferrari pairing, Laurent De Meeus and Vincent Abril’s 1:42.244, was best for fourth in Pro-Am.
Polish squad Olimp Racing and their #777 Ferrari followed in ninth overall, fifth in Pro-Am, with Marcin Jedliński and Karol Basz’s 1:42.361 lap time.
Rounding out the overall top-10 was the #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi duo of Michaël Blanchemain and Jim Pla, with a 1:42.383.
In the Am category, two previous specification Ferrari 296 GT3s were situated together 14th and 15th overall.
Olimp Racing’s other entrant, the #5 Ferrari, set a 1:42.774 by Stanislaw Jedliński and Krystian Korzeniowski to finish ahead of the #16 AF Corse Ferrari of Marcelo Hahn and Galid Osman (1:42.792).
Third in Am were the #6 Baron Motorsport Audi father-son duo of Andrzej and Adrian Lewandowski, in 20th overall, thanks to a time of 1:43.819.
Only three cars failed to set a lap time, being the #29 Motopark Mercedes, the Pro class-entered #63 Scuderia Villorba Corse Lamborghini Hurácan GT3 EVO2 and the Am-entered #917 AF Motorsport Porsche 991.2 GT3.R.
The second free practice session continues the action at 15:10 local time.
Image courtesy of GT Sport
