While part of Europe is covered in a carpet of snow, the south of Europe seems more than ever the perfect location to prepare for the upcoming 2024 racing season. On January 27 and 28, in a good week, the second edition of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe will start. On the beautiful circuit of Portimao, in the Portuguese Algarve, it will once again appear that Porsche's one-make series have the wind in their sails.

“Let us once again summarize the broad outlines of our competition before looking ahead to the coming season,” Lars Plato opens the preview of the 2024 season. “There are two divisions, each with two categories. The Sport division includes the PRO and PRO-AM drivers who race in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (type 992). Gold drivers are also allowed for the second season, driving is without ABS and this division will have a standing start. In the Club division we have the AM drivers in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (type 992) fighting for the overall win and the GT4 class for the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport and the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. There are 5 hours of track time. The standard program remains: one official test day (3.5 hours track time) and one race day (2.5 hours track time). The calendar includes up to four meetings, with after Portimão, Estoril (2-3/2), Valencia (23-24/2) and Barcelona (1-2/3). Moreover, we also offer an extra optional test day of an additional 3.5 hours of track time.”

Those ingredients are clearly the right ones because the entry list of the second edition of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe filled up quickly.

“The Porsche one-make series are indeed very popular, including this Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe,” said Michael Dreiser, Director of Motorsport Sales at Porsche Motorsport. “We see drivers from all over Europe making an appearance, ranging from the true gentlemen drivers to new young talents to the seasoned professionals who, for example, come to prepare for national Porsche Carrera Cup championships or the Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup. We are delighted with this, especially since this is only the second edition of our Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe. The values of the organization of this championship are also those of Porsche Motorsport and we are of course very much looking forward to an exciting winter season.”

Full house

With more than thirty teams from all over Europe and more than sixty-five drivers who will appear during the various races of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe, there is indeed a full house. Among them we see almost forty drivers who race the entire season, with other drivers are opting for one, two or three guest appearances.

“We are particularly pleased with the quality of the entries in both divisions. Among the average of thirty drivers in the sports division, there are many well-known top drivers, in combination with many new young talents, we expect an exciting battle. The race in the club division with many experienced gentlemen drivers will be no less interesting. The perfect preparation for the summer for the drivers,” explains Lars Plato. “Our paddock will be a great reflection of the Porsche one-make series throughout Europe in 2024, with drivers and teams from all over the Europe. We will do everything we can to really do full justice to that Porsche Motorsport DNA, both on the asphalt and in the paddock – all to have an optimal training and racing environment for our teams and drivers.”

All races can be followed live throughout Europe via the YouTube channel of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe

Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@SprintChallengeSE