Saintéloc Junior Team completed its 2026 Michelin 24H European Series campaign with both the overall and GT3 Pro-Am championships after the season-ending Michelin 24H Barcelona at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Elia Erhart, Stéphane Tribaudini and Pierre Kaffer led Saintéloc’s title effort throughout the campaign in the No.18 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. The French squad finished fourth overall and won GT3 Pro-Am in Barcelona, giving it enough points to end the five-round season 14 clear of HOFOR Racing in the overall standings.
Saintéloc also used Michael Doppelmayr, Ernst Inderbitzin and Iron Dames driver Célia Martin during different rounds of the season. The championship success gives Erhart and Kaffer another 24H Series title after the pair previously won the 2022 championship with Phoenix Racing alongside Doppelmayr.
The Barcelona finale settled several other championship battles. HOFOR claimed GT3-Am honours in its final full Creventic campaign, Mühlner Motorsport completed a late comeback to win the 992 title, HRT Performance secured 992-Am, CP Motorsport took GT4, Not Only Motorsport survived a close TCE-TCX contest and Vortex completed its GTX championship season.
Saintéloc capitalises on 24H Series points system
Saintéloc did not contest every event on the 2026 calendar, but the Michelin 24H European Series points structure allowed the team to remain firmly in championship contention.
Creventic permits full-season championship entrants to drop one score from the five-round European campaign. The system prevents a single missed event or poor result from automatically eliminating a team from contention and played an important role in Saintéloc’s season after the French outfit skipped the second round at Spa-Francorchamps.
However, Saintéloc maximised its opportunities whenever it competed. The No.18 Audi opened the campaign with overall victory at Mugello, immediately establishing the team as an outright championship contender.
After missing Spa, Saintéloc returned at Circuit Paul Ricard and added another podium. It then finished sixth at the Nürburgring, leaving the team second in the overall standings before the season finale and within reach of championship leader GetSpeed Team JR286.
Barcelona therefore offered Saintéloc a clear opportunity. Although the Audi lacked the outright speed to challenge Up2Race for victory during the 24-hour race, the team kept the car among the leading contenders, collected substantial points at halfway and completed the race fourth overall.
Most importantly, Saintéloc won GT3 Pro-Am and converted its consistent season into both class and overall championship success.
HOFOR falls 14 points short but claims GT3-Am crown
HOFOR Racing provided Saintéloc’s closest challenge in the final standings and completed the season only 14 points behind the French squad.
The Swiss team established itself as a serious championship contender when it won outright at Circuit Paul Ricard. HOFOR remained in contention through the Nürburgring and carried its title hopes into Barcelona, where the No.11 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo again fought near the front.
HOFOR eventually finished third overall at the 24H Barcelona. While that result could not prevent Saintéloc from taking the overall championship, it proved enough for the team to secure the GT3-Am title in a closely contested class battle.
The championship carried additional significance because HOFOR had already confirmed that 2026 would mark its final full season of Creventic competition. The experienced 24H Series squad therefore ended its full-time programme with another class championship and an overall podium in the finale.
GetSpeed title challenges unravel in Barcelona
GetSpeed Team JR286 entered Barcelona in an even stronger position than Saintéloc and HOFOR. The No.286 Mercedes-AMG held a narrow advantage in both the overall GT3 and GT3-Am standings after winning the Nürburgring round.
However, its race changed dramatically when a gearbox failure forced the team into the garage. Mechanics replaced the gearbox, but the repair cost more than an hour and effectively removed the car from the championship fight.
Team JR286 eventually recovered sufficiently to finish the season third in the overall championship, but Barcelona turned what had started as a championship-leading position into a frustrating conclusion.
GetSpeed Team PCX Racing suffered a similar fate. The No.28 Mercedes-AMG had displayed front-running pace throughout the year and started Barcelona from pole position, but mechanical problems again prevented the team from converting its speed into the result it needed.
A wheel-bearing problem sent the car into the garage during the race and dropped it out of contention for both the overall and GT3 Pro-Am championships. Team PCX eventually finished fifth overall in the season standings.
Together, the problems for the two GetSpeed entries created the opening Saintéloc needed to complete its championship charge.
Viper Niza uses consistency to claim fourth
Viper Niza Racing quietly assembled one of the strongest championship campaigns outside the leading title contenders. The Malaysian squad ended the year fourth overall despite scoring only one outright podium during the season.
Rather than relying on race-winning pace, Viper Niza repeatedly finished inside the top 10 while several of its rivals encountered mechanical failures, accidents or missed rounds. That consistency steadily moved the No.65 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo up the standings.
The team also emerged as one of the surprises of the Barcelona finale when it led outright during the night. Although it could not maintain that position through the second half of the race, another strong finish completed an impressive championship campaign.
Viper Niza ultimately finished ahead of Team PCX in fifth and Ajith RedAnt Racing in sixth.
Ajith RedAnt brings extra attention to 24H Series
Ajith RedAnt Racing also featured prominently during the European campaign and ended the season sixth overall.
The Belgian team regularly demonstrated strong Mercedes-AMG pace and challenged near the front in Barcelona, while its driver line-up also attracted attention beyond endurance racing through the involvement of Indian actor and racing driver Ajith Kumar.
Although the squad could not convert its performances into an overall championship challenge, it finished only one point behind Team PCX and continued to establish itself as a competitive GT3 Pro-Am entrant.
Two races lift Up2Race to seventh
Few teams made a greater impact in fewer appearances than Up2Race.
The German squad entered the Michelin 24H Series for the first time at the Nürburgring, where it immediately finished second overall with the No.88 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo. That debut alone placed the team firmly on the radar before it returned for the Barcelona finale.
Up2Race then dominated much of the second half of the Michelin 24H Barcelona, using strong pace, fuel efficiency and well-executed strategy to secure its maiden series victory.
The team collected maximum championship points both at the 12-hour checkpoint and at the chequered flag. Those two near-perfect events propelled Up2Race to seventh in the final overall standings despite contesting only the Nürburgring and Barcelona rounds.
HAAS RT followed in eighth after changing from Audi to BMW machinery during the season. The team ended its campaign with second overall and GT3-Am victory in Barcelona, providing a strong conclusion to its first events with the BMW M4 GT3 Evo.
Proton drops down standings after Barcelona withdrawal
Defending teams’ champion Proton Competition had remained among the leading championship contenders for much of 2026 but slipped to ninth after missing the season finale.
The squad withdrew from the 24H Barcelona after Jorg Dreisow suffered injuries in a cycling accident. Without an opportunity to score in the double-points finale, Proton dropped behind several teams that produced strong Barcelona results.
Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport completed the overall championship top 10 after another campaign with its Audi.
Mühlner completes 992 championship comeback
The 992 championship produced one of the most dramatic turnarounds of the season as Mühlner Motorsport defeated Red Camel-Jordans.nl in the Barcelona finale.
Mühlner and Red Camel had fought throughout the year with their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. Mühlner initially established an advantage through consecutive class victories, but a major Nürburgring accident significantly damaged its championship position before the final round.
Red Camel therefore entered Barcelona with the opportunity to secure the title, only for a mechanical failure to force the No.909 Porsche out of the race.
Mühlner kept its own car running and eventually inherited the class lead after additional late drama for other contenders. Victory delivered enough points for the Belgian squad to overturn the championship deficit and secure the 992 crown.
The result also gave Mühlner the final championship for the 992.1-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup before Creventic moves away from the model.
Meanwhile, HRT Performance secured the separate 992-Am championship with the No.928 Porsche.
Vortex wraps up GTX title early
Unlike several of the championship fights that continued into Barcelona, Vortex had already settled the GTX contest before the finale.
The French manufacturer and team won the opening three rounds of the season, establishing an advantage that none of its rivals could mathematically overturn. Lower and less consistent participation in the GTX category compared with several other classes also helped Vortex secure the championship before the final round.
The squad still contested Barcelona and added another class victory to conclude its title-winning season.
CP Motorsport takes GT4 championship
CP Motorsport arrived in Barcelona with the GT4 championship still to decide and produced the result it needed by collecting maximum points.
The team controlled much of the GT4 contest with its BMW M4 GT4 and converted that performance into both victory and the season championship.
The result formed part of an especially successful Barcelona weekend for CP Motorsport, which also claimed the TCE-TCX race win with its Cupra.
Not Only Motorsport survives late TCE-TCX fight
The TCE-TCX championship produced one of the narrowest final margins of the season.
Not Only Motorsport entered Barcelona fighting asBest Racing for the title, but its finale began disastrously when the No.114 Ligier JS2 R suffered an engine-bay fire during the opening hours. Further technical problems subsequently cost the car additional time.
However, the Italian team kept fighting and recovered enough positions to secure the points it needed.
Not Only Motorsport ultimately beat asBest Racing by only six points in the final TCE-TCX standings, completing a championship campaign that looked under serious threat during the opening stages of the 24-hour finale.
Saintéloc leads champions into 2027
Saintéloc ultimately emerged from Barcelona with the biggest prize after a season built around strong results rather than participation in every round.
Victory at Mugello gave the team an immediate foundation, while its Paul Ricard podium and Nürburgring finish kept it in contention despite missing Spa. Then, when several championship rivals encountered major problems in Barcelona, Saintéloc delivered the clean result it needed.
Erhart, Tribaudini and Kaffer therefore finish 2026 as both overall Michelin 24H European Series and GT3 Pro-Am champions, while Saintéloc ends the campaign 14 points clear of HOFOR Racing. GetSpeed Team JR286 completes the top three after its Barcelona gearbox failure transformed the championship picture.
Mühlner Motorsport, HRT Performance, Vortex, CP Motorsport and Not Only Motorsport also leave the European season with class championships after Barcelona settled the final outstanding battles.
The Michelin 24H European Series will return in 2027, beginning at Mugello in March. Before then, Creventic will stage another 24-hour event at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa after moving its traditional early-season endurance race away from Dubai.
