HTP Winward on Pole for 24H Portimao

Photo: Petr Fryba/Creventic

Philip Ellis has scored pole for this weekend’s Hankook 24 Hours of Portimao, in the return of real-life motorsports to Europe.

Driving the No. 84 HTP Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, Ellis reeled off a 1:43.848 lap time to edge out the pair of Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Rs for the top spot in the 90-minute session.

It marked the American-German team’s first pole in 24H Series competition since last year’s season-ending Hankook 24H COTA.

Ellis will share driving duties with Bryce and Russell Ward and Indy Dontje in the twice-around-the-clock enduro.

The No. 921 Muhlner Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, featuring Jeroen Bleekemolen, meanwhile, qualified fourth overall and first in the 991 class, ahead of the similarly prepared Speed Lover Porsche.

A total of 15 cars are on the entry list for the event, which is the first international sports car race to be held since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

The event in the Algarve region of Portugal is being run with a number of new safety-related protocols and social distancing measures.

The race gets underway Saturday at 12 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) with live coverage on the series’ official website and 24H Series YouTube page, featuring commentary from Radio Show Limited.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John