BMW factory drivers Raffaele Marciello, Augusto Farfus and Dan Harper will miss the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup finale at Portimão as they prioritise the clashing FIA World Endurance Championship round at Barcelona.
The two events both take place across the 16–18 October weekend, creating complications for 18 GTWC Europe regulars who also compete in WEC. SRO Motorsports Group had explored altering the Portimão timetable to reduce the direct clash, but several teams still faced the prospect of moving drivers between Portugal and Spain during the weekend.
BMW has now become the first manufacturer to confirm significant line-up changes because of the overlap. Marciello and Farfus will both vacate their places in the No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, while Harper will step away from the No. 46 Team WRT entry.
Wittmann and Eng replace Marciello and Farfus at ROWE Racing
Marciello and Farfus were due to share the No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW with Jake Dennis at Portimão, but Marco Wittmann and Philipp Eng will instead join the Briton for the season-ending three-hour race.
Both replacements bring extensive experience with ROWE Racing and BMW machinery, limiting the disruption created by the absence of two factory drivers.
Marciello will remain with BMW M Team WRT for the inaugural FIA WEC 6 Hours of Barcelona, where he shares the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 with Kevin Magnussen and Dries Vanthoor. The trio has emerged as one of BMW’s leading Hypercar crews in 2026, including victory at São Paulo.
Farfus will also remain with WRT in Spain, but in LMGT3. He shares the No. 32 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO with Sean Gelael and Darren Leung and heads to Barcelona immediately after the trio claimed victory at Fuji. Their late charge to the LMGT3 win in Japan marked their first victory of the season.
Their GTWC Europe absence will not significantly alter the Endurance Cup title fight. The No. 98 ROWE Racing entry sits sixth in the overall standings and remains the higher placed of the two BMWs affected by the changes.
Verhagen takes Harper’s place alongside Rossi and Hesse
Harper will also prioritise Barcelona and vacate his usual place in Team WRT’s No. 46 BMW at Portimão. Neil Verhagen will replace him alongside Valentino Rossi and Max Hesse.
The Northern Irishman races in WEC with Team WRT’s No. 69 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO alongside Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson. The trio won at Imola earlier in the season and remains part of BMW’s two-car LMGT3 programme heading into the final two rounds.
Harper’s absence therefore creates another change for a BMW GTWC Europe crew, although the No. 46 also sits outside the main championship fight entering the finale.
The replacements underline the difficult choices created by the calendar overlap. Although Portimão and Barcelona sit relatively close compared with many international race venues, the demands of practice, Qualifying and race schedules make repeatedly transferring drivers between the circuits impractical.
Garage 59 also heavily affected by clash
BMW will not be the only manufacturer dealing with the conflict. Garage 59 faces an even more complicated situation, with four of its six WEC drivers also holding GTWC Europe programmes.
Marvin Kirchhöfer, Benji Goethe, Tom Fleming and Antares Au all compete across both championships. Garage 59 team boss Andrew Kirkaldy had already described the WEC and GTWC Europe clash as a major logistical challenge before BMW confirmed its changes.
Au appears set to follow the BMW trio in prioritising WEC. He had been due to race a Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo at Portimão but is expected to contest only the Barcelona event that weekend.
The clash only emerged after changes to the WEC calendar. The championship originally planned to conclude its season in the Middle East, but the FIA and WEC replaced the Qatar and Bahrain rounds with Barcelona and Monza following regional freight and travel concerns.
That placed the new Barcelona round directly against GTWC Europe’s Portimão finale and created an unavoidable conflict for drivers contesting full-season programmes in both championships.
Portimão finale faces further line-up changes
The confirmed BMW substitutions are unlikely to represent the final changes before the GTWC Europe season concludes.
With 18 GTWC Europe regulars also competing in WEC, several teams still need to balance their Portimão commitments against the Barcelona race. The GTWC Europe finale takes place from 16–18 October, the same weekend as the WEC’s first visit to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
For BMW, the priorities are now clear. Marciello will focus on the manufacturer’s Hypercar campaign, while Farfus and Harper remain committed to Team WRT’s LMGT3 programme. Wittmann, Eng and Verhagen will consequently step into their GTWC Europe seats as ROWE Racing and WRT complete the Endurance Cup season without three of their regular factory drivers.
The changes provide the first concrete example of how significantly the late WEC calendar reshuffle will affect the GTWC Europe finale, with further substitutions likely as teams finalise their plans for one of the busiest weekends of the endurance racing season.
