Here is a wild logistical puzzle for you: exactly six drivers will attempt the mad dash of double duty this weekend, splitting their commitments between the World Endurance Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the GT World Challenge Europe finale in Portimao. As Motorsport.com reports, SRO Motorsports Group brought the three-hour Portimao endurance race forward to Saturday evening specifically to help drivers travel between Spain and Portugal, while WEC and ACO adjusted the Barcelona schedule to prioritize LMGT3 before Hypercars.
Now that the entry lists are fully out, we know every single one of these busy racers comes from the LMGT3 ranks. Official Aston Martin Racing driver Mattia Drudi leads the charge, pulling double duty by steering the #27 Heart of Racing Vantage in WEC before switching overalls for Comtoyou Racing in the GT World Challenge, jumping into the #7 Vantage alongside Ross Gunn and Nicki Thiim while regular driver Marco Sorensen stays in the WEC Valkyrie.
The McLaren camp and Garage 59 bear a heavy load of this scheduling madness. Thomas Fleming and Benjamin Goethe will first pilot the #10 and #58 McLaren 720S LMGT3 machines in Spain before flying to Portugal to share the #58 Gold Cup car with Louis Prette. Thankfully, the British manufacturer spared Marvin Kirchhofer from the exhausting travel, slotting Jack Hawksworth into the #59 PRO CUP 720S alongside Dean Macdonald and Joseph Loake, while Antares Au and Riccardo Pera stay put in Spain.
Over at BMW, Darren Leung faces his own frantic weekend balancing WRT's #32 M4 LMGT3 in the world championship with his Paradine Competition Bronze Cup entry, the #991 Bavarian GT3. Joining them is the legendary veteran Peter Dempsey, who is literally changing car brands on the fly: the Irishman drives the #34 TF Sport Corvette in Spain before hopping over to pilot the #93 Tempesta Racing Porsche in Portugal, fresh off their Bronze Cup Sprint title.
The sixth and final driver caught in this whirlwind is Rui Andrade. While he normally wheels an Iron Lynx-Mercedes in WEC, he has been called up by the Motopark team to race the #19 AMG GT3 in the Silver Cup at Portimao.
Other potential double-duty scenarios were resolved differently across the paddocks. Formula 1 star Max Verstappen takes center stage by stepping into his own team's #3 Mercedes alongside Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat, while Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon stick with Genesis and Alpine in Barcelona. Ferrari and AF Corse managed their lineups cleanly since they are out of the GT World Pro title fight, keeping Nicklas Nielsen and Alessio Rovera in their 499P and 296 LMGT3 seats while Lorenzo Ferrari and Nicola Lacorte step in at Portimao for the #51 296 Pro entry, though Sean Gelael misses out on the #50 Maranello machine due to his WRT-BMW LMGT3 duties, opening the door for Albert Costa to partner Lilou Wadoux and Arthur Leclerc.
BMW M also sorted its shuffled pack swiftly. Raffaele Marciello stays in the #15 M Hybrid V8, with Dan Harper and Augusto Farfus holding down WRT's #69 and #32 M4s in LMGT3, while Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann take over Marciello and Farfus's Rowe Racing #98 seats at the Algarve to support Jake Dennis, and Neil Verhagen steps into the #46 M4 alongside Valentino Rossi and Max Hesse. With Rutronik Racing pulling its #97 Porsche from the Bronze Cup entirely, the stage is set for a truly frantic weekend of motorsport logistics.
