Max Verstappen's return to GT racing in the pause between Formula 1 grands prix featured plenty of drama, an eventual top-10 finish, and brought a huge audience (both online and at the track) to the Portimao GT World Challenge event.
A set-up miscue had left the Verstappen team's 2 Seas Motorsport-run Mercedes scraping its way to just 15th on the grid in a shower of sparks during Friday evening's qualifying session.
Verstappen's team-mates Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham made rapid progress forward as they took the first two stints, with Barnicoat soon into the top 10 and Lulham charging towards the top five when he took the wheel.
But Lulham then incurred a drivethrough penalty for assisting Luca Stolz's Mercedes into a spin as he tried to take fifth on a restart lap following a safety car.
Lulham took that penalty just before handing over to Verstappen, who therefore took over down in 24th place with just 45 minutes of after-dark racing to go.
Another long safety car cost Verstappen some racing laps to make up ground but did at least close the pack up.
There were 23 minutes left at the restart, with Verstappen 19th by then. He produced a spectacular charge forward that included a particularly entertaining battle with Charles Leclerc's brother Arthur in an AF Corse Ferrari, and managed to at least salvage a top-1o finish in ninth.
That was enough to prompt a massive grin from Verstappen as he got back to the pits, and a huge cheer from the crowd in the main grandstand.
The GetSpeed Mercedes of Ralf Aron, Fabian Schiller and Maxi Gotz took victory.
from The Race https://ift.tt/jGFETkc
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