Alex Fontana claimed pole position for the first race of the 2026 International GT Open season after a strong effort from the Italian late in the 25-minute qualifying session.
The ZRS Motorsport driver set a fastest lap time of 1:40.507 in his #911 Porsche 911 GT3.R Evo, beating reigning vice-champion Tommasco Mosca to the honour.
Mosca held the top spot for most of the session, demonstrating a positive start since recently becoming a Ferrari-contracted driver, before Fontana secured pole on his penultimate flying lap as Mosca resided closely behind in second place.
The session was interrupted by a red flag period after the halfway point when AF Corse driver Norikazu Shibata lost control of his #81 Ferrari 296 GT3 for a second time at Turn 4, the latter instance resulting in contact with the barrier and the need to clear away bodywork debris.
“Very happy with the result,” Fontana told the broadcast after qualifying. “I was on pole here last year (for Race 2) with a different team, same car. For sure, the Porsche here is fast.
“We know that last year, we were quick in some tracks, a bit less in others, but it is, in general, a car that suits different driving styles, especially the slow corners going up and down here in Portimão.
“I actually need to push hard at high speed, because that’s where I struggle. But in the slow corners, the Porsche is like a spider, so it’s really strong.”
Mosca was the first driver to enter the 1:40 margin with his 1:40.627 lap time.
This was before McLaren GT3 junior driver Zac Meakin joined him in the #33 Greystone GT McLaren GT3 Evo with an identical lap time, qualifying third.
After the top-three positions overall, and in the Pro category, Olimp Racing’s Karol Basz took Pro-Am pole in the #777 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (1:40.649), starting fourth overall for the opener.
Jim Pla put the #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 in fifth overall and second in the Pro-Am rankings, with his time of 1:40.822.
Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maximilian Götz drove the #71 Team Motopark Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to sixth place, fourth in Pro, from his 1:40.979 time.
Former Lamborghini factory driver Christian Engelhart followed in seventh, third in Pro-Am, after setting a best time of 1:41.105 in Dinamic GT’s #18 Porsche.
Briton Tom Lebbon put the #17 Elite Motorsport Ferrari in eighth overall, fifth in Pro, from his 1:41.257 time.
Home hero and 2020 GT Open champion Henrique Chaves qualified ninth for Blackthorn Racing’s #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo (1:41.264) and fourth in Pro-Am, as AF Corse’s Yaroslav Veselaho rounded out the top-10 in his Pro-entered #96 Ferrari (1:42.120).
Seweryn Mazur was the Am-class pole-sitter, in 11th overall, with a 1:42.329 lap time in his #79 Sendom Racing Lamborghini Hurácan GT3 EVO2.
Second in Am was Joel Monegro’s #12 Fach Auto Tech Porsche (1:42.855), 14th overall, as Baron Motorsport’s Andrzej Lewandowski put together a 1:42.908 in his #6 Ferrari 296 GT3 to round out the Am top-three.
The opening race of the Portimão race meeting gets underway with a 70-minute affair at 14:15 local time this afternoon.
Image courtesy of GT Sport
