Razoon – more than racing will expand to a two-car GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe powered by AWS programme for the first time when the championship concludes its 2026 Endurance Cup season at Portimão on 17 October.
The Austrian squad will field two Porsche 911 GT3 R Evos in the Bronze Cup for the three-hour finale, stepping up from the sporadic single-car appearances it has made throughout the campaign. One car will feature an all-Brazilian combination of Seba Malucelli, Alan Hellmeister and Marcos Gomes, while Leo Pichler, Max Mutschlechner and Richard Wolf will share the sister entry.
The expansion gives Razoon its largest GTWC Europe presence to date and places both cars into a competitive Bronze Cup field for the final endurance round of the season. The team has already appeared across selected events during 2026, including the Sprint Cup, where its Porsche showed front-running pace during the Zandvoort weekend.
All-Brazilian line-up joins Razoon at Portimão
Malucelli and Hellmeister will bring their experience from Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil into Razoon’s first Portimão entry. Both have established themselves within the Brazilian Porsche one-make championship and will now step into the GTWC Europe environment for the Endurance Cup finale.
Gomes adds significant international GT experience to the combination. The Brazilian won the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series GT class championship and has competed extensively across GT racing, providing the crew with experience of both endurance competition and multi-driver events.
The trio will face a different challenge at Portimão, with GTWC Europe’s three-hour format placing additional emphasis on traffic management, driver changes and consistency across longer stints. Their Bronze Cup classification also places them against several established combinations that have competed throughout the Endurance Cup campaign.
For Razoon, however, the addition of a second car offers an opportunity to broaden its programme at one of the highest levels of international GT3 competition while giving the Brazilian trio a chance to measure themselves against the established GTWC Europe field.
Pichler set for GTWC Europe debut
The sister Porsche brings together Pichler, Mutschlechner and Wolf, with the three drivers arriving at Portimão with different levels of GT3 experience.
Pichler will make his GTWC Europe debut after previously winning in ADAC GT Masters competition. The Austrian already has experience in high-level GT racing but approaches the Portimão weekend with realistic expectations given the depth of the Bronze Cup field.
“I’m naturally very excited to finally be making my debut in the GT World Challenge Europe,” Pichler said. “Thanks to the team for their trust, and I’m really looking forward to the weekend. We’ll be competing in the Bronze Cup, where the competition is, of course, very strong, so I’m heading there without setting my expectations too high; my main aim is to gain plenty of experience and, of course, to enjoy racing.”
His experience should provide an important reference for Mutschlechner, who will make his GT3 racing debut during the Portimão weekend. Wolf completes the line-up and brings considerably greater familiarity with Razoon, having regularly competed in Porsche machinery with the team.
The combination therefore mixes established GT racing experience with a driver making his first competitive step into GT3 machinery, making the finale as much an opportunity to build experience as it is to pursue an immediate result.
Two-car entry marks another step for Razoon
Razoon has maintained a presence in GTWC Europe during 2026 but has previously entered only one car at a time. Its expansion to two Porsches at Portimão represents another step for a team that has gradually increased its involvement in the championship.
The squad has already demonstrated flashes of competitiveness during its limited appearances. Klaus Bachler placed its #914 Porsche fifth during Free Practice 2 at Zandvoort, while the team has also collected points during its appearances in the championship’s Bronze and Silver Cup classifications.
Team owner Dominik Olbert views the Portimão entry as an important milestone, particularly given the strength of the championship and the unusual presence of one of motorsport’s biggest names on the grid.
“We’re delighted to be competing with two cars for the first time in the world’s biggest and most important GT3 series,” Olbert said. “The fact that we’ll be up against four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen makes it even more special for us – we’re already looking forward to the weekend in Portimao.”
Verstappen adds further attention to Portimão finale
The Endurance Cup finale will attract additional attention as Max Verstappen makes his GTWC Europe debut aboard the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry. He will share the car with Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat after the clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Barcelona round ruled regular drivers Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon out of the event.
Verstappen’s Portimão GTWC Europe debut adds another dimension to an already significant season finale, although the Razoon entries will compete separately in the Bronze Cup rather than directly against the Pro-class Mercedes-AMG for class honours.
For Razoon, the more important objective will be maximising its first two-car programme and using the weekend to build experience against a deep international field. The expansion also provides the team with twice the data across practice and qualifying as it works to understand the Porsche around the demanding Algarve International Circuit.
Portimão closes Endurance Cup season
The three-hour Portimão race will bring the 2026 GTWC Europe Endurance Cup campaign to a close on Saturday, 17 October. The Drivers’ title has already been decided, with Lucas Auer, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz wrapping up the championship at the Nürburgring, but several class battles remain open entering the final round.
Razoon enters that finale without championship expectations comparable to the full-season Bronze Cup contenders, having only made selected appearances during the year. Instead, the Portuguese weekend represents an opportunity to expand the programme, introduce several new drivers to the championship and evaluate what the team can achieve with two Porsche 911 GT3 R Evos on the grid.
With six drivers across two cars, including an all-Brazilian line-up and a GT3 debutant, Portimão will mark Razoon’s most ambitious GTWC Europe appearance yet and give the team a significant platform from which to assess its future involvement in the championship.
