Up2Race Porsche Completes 24-Hour Triumph as Championship Battles Reach Their Conclusion

The 2026 "Michelin" 24H Series Barcelona – Trofeu Fermí Vélez brought the European endurance season to a dramatic conclusion at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with a new distance record, a maiden Michelin 24H SERIES victory for Up2Race and championship battles decided right through the final hours.

The #88 Up2Race Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO emerged victorious after a demanding 24-hour endurance battle, securing overall honours after completing 741 laps and finishing more than one lap clear of the opposition.

For the first-year GT3 squad, the result represented a major achievement. Sharing the Porsche were Tim Heinemann, Oleksiy Kikireshko, Fabio Grosse and Alfred Renauer, who combined pace, consistency and endurance throughout the event to bring the #88 machine home at the head of the field.

While the final result showed a clear advantage for Up2Race, the race was far from a straightforward procession. Behind the leading Porsche, battles continued throughout the field, with the overall podium, class victories and championship titles all carrying significant importance as the 24H Series European championship reached its conclusion.

For HOFOR Racing, meanwhile, Barcelona marked the end of its current Michelin 24H SERIES programme — and the team signed off with another overall podium at the same circuit where it had celebrated victory twelve months earlier.

Up2Race Controls the Endurance Battle

From the opening stages, the #88 Porsche established itself as a serious contender for the overall victory. Over the course of 24 hours, the Up2Race crew successfully managed the demands of endurance racing, maintaining a competitive pace while avoiding the major setbacks that can quickly derail a long-distance campaign.

The combination of the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO and the four-driver line-up ultimately proved decisive.

After 24 hours, the #88 had completed 741 laps, putting it one lap ahead of the #21 HAAS RT BMW M4 GT3 EVO. That margin may appear small in an endurance race, but over a full day of competition it represented a significant advantage.

For Heinemann, Kikireshko, Grosse and Renauer, the chequered flag marked the culmination of a disciplined performance from a squad competing in its first year at GT3 level.

HAAS RT Takes Second and GT3-AM Honours

he #21 HAAS RT BMW M4 GT3 EVO completed the overall podium in second place, finishing just one lap behind the winning Porsche.

Peter Guelinckx, Nicolas Guelinckx, Manel Lao Cornago and Storm Gjerdrum shared the BMW, which remained firmly involved in the fight for the overall victory throughout the race.

HAAS RT even moved ahead of Up2Race on laps 508 and 509, but the Porsche quickly regained control and ultimately pulled away during the final phase.

For Spanish fans, the result also provided one of the weekend's strongest local storylines, with Manel Lao Cornago taking an overall podium finish in his GT3 debut.

The BMW's second place was complemented by victory in the GT3-AM class, giving HAAS RT a particularly strong conclusion to the event.

Another notable Spanish result came from E2P Racing. The team's Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO #90, driven by Pablo Burguera, Antonio Sainero, Oliver Campos and Henrique Chaves, completed 725 laps to finish ninth overall.

The battle for the final step of the overall podium was considerably closer:

HOFOR Racing: one final chapter

Alexander Prinz, Maximilian Partl, Torsten Kratz, Chantal Prinz and Michael Kroll completed 740 laps to finish third overall just 34.358 seconds behind HAAS RT highlighting how intense this race was after 24 Hours.

During HOFOR Racing's interview, Alexander Prinz referred to the event as "the last race" — a brief comment that captured the atmosphere surrounding the team's final appearance in its current 24H SERIES programme.

After years of competing at the front of the championship, including its Barcelona victory in 2025, HOFOR Racing therefore closed this chapter with another podium at the same circuit.

There was also a championship reward behind the overall result: HOFOR secured the GT3-AM championship title, while HAAS RT took the class victory in the Barcelona race itself.

Saintéloc Converts Fourth Place Into Championship Glory

The #18 Saintéloc Junior Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II completed the overall top four with 739 laps.

Although the Audi did not finish on the overall podium, its result carried enormous championship significance.

Saintéloc secured the GT3 PRO-AM class victory and, more importantly, officially clinched the Overall European Championship along with the GT3 PRO-AM title.

The achievement was the result of consistency across the championship rather than simply the performance of a single race. At the end of a season, every completed lap and every strong finish can prove decisive, and Saintéloc's performance allowed the French squad to convert its championship campaign into two major titles.

The Audi finished ahead of the #93 Ajith RedAnt Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, which completed 738 laps to finish fifth overall and third among the GT3-AM contenders.

Drama Decides the 992 Championship

One of the most dramatic moments of the race came in the 992 class, where the championship battle remained alive deep into the final stages.

Mühlner Motorsport eventually took the 992 class victory and, in the process, secured the 992 Class Championship.

However, the result was only decided during the final 40 minutes of the 24-hour race.

The leading #907 RPM Racing Porsche suffered a driveshaft failure, turning what had appeared to be a potentially decisive run into a dramatic late-race reversal.

Mechanical failures are an unavoidable part of endurance racing, and the timing of the problem could hardly have been more consequential. With less than an hour remaining, RPM Racing's setback opened the door for Mühlner Motorsport.

The team took advantage of the opportunity and carried its Porsche through to the chequered flag, securing both the race victory and the championship title.

In the 992-AM category, HRT secured the season championship, while the race victory went to the #888 Seblajoux Racing entry.

CP Motorsport Celebrates Historic Double

Away from the GT3 and Porsche battles, CP Motorsport produced one of the weekend's standout achievements by securing a double class victory.

The team took the chequered flag at the head of both the GT4 and TCE-TCX categories, creating a memorable result across two different classes.

Despite CP Motorsport's race success Not Only Motorsport successfully held onto the TCE-TCX Season Title, demonstrating once again that race victory and championship success can tell two very different stories.

Meanwhile, Vortex secured the GTX championship, adding another title to the list of championship decisions made during the event.

A Fitting End to the European Championship

By the time the chequered flag fell, the event had produced an overall winner, multiple class victories and a series of championship-deciding moments.

Up2Race claimed its first Michelin 24H SERIES victory and rewrote the Barcelona distance record with 741 laps.

HAAS RT finished second overall and won the GT3-AM race, with Manel Lao Cornago adding a significant Spanish presence to the podium.

Saintéloc turned fourth place into the Overall European Championship and GT3 PRO-AM title, while Mühlner Motorsport and HRT emerged victorious from their respective Porsche championship battles.

CP Motorsport completed a memorable double in GT4 and TCE-TCX, while Not Only Motorsport and Vortex secured their season-long titles.

For a championship built around endurance, consistency and the ability to keep going through the night, Barcelona proved to be an appropriately dramatic way to bring the 2026 European season to a close.