Max Verstappen team second after test day in GT World Challenge at Portimao

Max Verstappen made his official debut in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS.

During Thursday’s Paid Test Session at Portimao, the Mercedes-AMG of Verstappen Racing showed promise by finishing second with regular driver Chris Lulham behind the wheel.

Meanwhile, the four-time world champion focused on gathering crucial data.

The Endurance Cup weekend in Portimao kicked off with a two-hour test session.

Sixty of the sixty-one entries took to the track, with only the Lamborghini from Grasser Racing Team remaining in the garage.

Aside from one minor incident, in which Alex Malykhin spun his Pure Rxcing Porsche at turn 15 without causing damage, the session was incident-free.

Several drivers incurred stop-and-go penalties for exceeding track limits, meaning they had to spend at least ten minutes in the pits.

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Verstappen Racing cocks second fastest time

Fabian Schiller set the pace halfway through the session in the GetSpeed-Mercedes-AMG, car-sharing with Ralf Aron and Maxi Gotz, posting a time of 1:42.974 early on.

Later, Chris Lulham edged into second place with a lap of 1:43.076, just 0.102 seconds behind Schiller. Arjun Maini, along with teammates Thomas Drouet and Fabio Scherer in the Haupt-Mustang, completed the top three with a 1:43.102 lap.

The top trio held their positions during the second half of the test, leaving Verstappen Racing in third overall.

Ben Barnicoat started the stint behind the wheel before handing over to Lulham and finally to Verstappen himself, who registered a best time of 1:43.203 during his final push. It’s clear that his team’s main focus was on collecting data.

In the closing phase of the session, the Eastalent-Audi of Christopher Haase, Simon Reicher, and Markus Winkelhock - rivals on the Nurburgring - stepped up.

Their performance was ultimately beaten by the Garage 59-McLaren driven by Jack Hawksworth, Joseph Loake, and Dean Macdonald, who rounded out the top four.

How did Valentino Rossi fare?

Meanwhile Valentino Rossi's WRT team, including Neil Verhagen and Max Hesse, driving a BMW M4 GT3 were 28th fastest, with Verhagen recording a time of 1:43.736, around seven tenths of the fastest time.

At 5:40 PM on Thursday, a separate Bronze Test session is scheduled for amateur drivers, though Verstappen will not be participating.

Friday promises to be a busy day for the champion, with two free practice sessions and the all-important qualifying taking place.