Carrie Schreiner makes promising start to her 2026 season with top-five at Portimao 6H
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Carrie Schreiner and her Attempto Racing squad secured an encouraging fifth place at the 6 Hours of Portimao, kicking off her 2026 season in a competitive GT Winter Series grid.Â
Despite a challenging weekend marred by persistent rainfall disrupting track activities throughout the week, the Attempto Racing Audi GT3 driven by Carrie Schreiner, Florian Scholze and Ariel Levi demonstrated resilience with an encouraging top five finish at the 6H of Portimao.
Friday's practice sessions proved fruitful, with the car consistently posting competitive lap times across all runs. It had also rained during qualifying on Saturday, but stopped before the actual sessions began. Track conditions were a mixed bag: some areas dried out while others remained treacherous with puddles, making it tough even on rain tyres.
Scholze kicked off the first qualifying session cautiously, opting for safe laps initially before pushing his pace. Other drivers, however, repeatedly spun out on those slick patches. Some, however, skillfully navigated the conditions to post remarkable lap times. Scholze ultimately trailed Mansel, the pacesetter, by 3 seconds.
Despite initial progress, Schreiner faced mounting challenges as track conditions shifted. While she excelled in the first and third sectors, her performance proved trickier in the rain-soaked middle section. This disparity allowed competitors with front-engined cars, like Aston Martin and Mercedes, to gain a significant advantage, pushing Schreiner four seconds behind the qualifying pace.
In the third session, it was almost time for slicks. Levi, driving a GT3 for the first time in his career, was able to push even harder. From the start, he was among the fastest in the session and even took provisional pole position at one point. Teams that had hoped for completely dry conditions were able to significantly improve their times towards the end, while others managed to hold onto their lead. In the end, Attempto Racing remained 3 seconds behind the leader and finished 5th in both the GT3 class and overall.
The race commenced under conditions mirroring qualifying's damp grip, yet the track swiftly began to dry even before the green flag waved. Levi, like his GT3 counterparts, lined up on wet tyres. He secured a solid start, surging to third place by the conclusion of the inaugural lap. Even on the start-finish straight, he skillfully maneuvered into second, setting his sights on the leading McLaren, which had already established a considerable lead.
The McLaren exhibited the strong pace witnessed in qualifying, pulling away decisively. Levi, its closest rival, initially trailed by a second per lap, while other pursuers fell further behind. As the gap to first place reached sixteen seconds, Levi managed to bridge the performance disparity with the leading McLaren, effectively maintaining a relatively stable deficit.
Many cars got hit with penalties after just a few laps - with eight cars handed drive-throughs because they didn't use the right starting grid formation. Even Levi's GT3 chasers were penalized, pushing them a full minute behind third place. Meanwhile, Kelly, behind the wheel of the top-of-the-line Greystone McLaren, made his first pit stop after just 55 minutes.
The unique race format features minimum pit stop requirements, with teams having to spend a minimum of 35 minutes in the pits during the first 5.5 hours, plus at least 4 minutes per refueling. Kelly's early stop put him back in the pack as Levi took over the lead for Attempto Racing. He followed suit after an hour, opting to complete a chunk of their minimum pit time, dropping them further behind. After 8 minutes, Carrie Schreiner rolled out on fresh slicks, holding strong in 8th place overall.
Determined, Schreiner pushed harder, soon getting heat into the slick tyres. Though she'd fallen to 12th overall and 7th in class on the out lap, she soon found rhythm; with each passing lap, she chipped away at the deficit, as she honed in on the competitors ahead.
The race took an unfortunate turn after debris scattered across the track at the 75-minute mark. A full course yellow was issued, followed by a safety car deployment, giving Schreiner a chance to close the gap. Unfortunately, the lack of class separation meant she was stuck behind slower cars, hindering her progress.
Despite her best efforts during the restart after 88 minutes, an early overtaking maneuver resulted in a drive-through penalty. The subsequent traffic congestion further hampered her performance, and while minor collisions occurred, they went unpunished for both Cup and GT4 cars.
The race intensified as Schreiner steadily reclaimed positions and closed the gap to the leaders. The German capitalized on the waning pace of her rivals, pushing forward with determination. Despite facing a fast Porsche in the pursuit of 6th place, she would eventually pit to maintain her competitive edge.
Scholze was still in the pit box with the Attempto Racing Team Audi when a Cup 2 Porsche went off into the gravel at Turn 4. A full course yellow was issued, followed by the safety car. The time spent in the pits did not count towards the minimum pit stop time, meaning the wait was wasted. After the restart, Scholze was able to match the pace of the leaders and make up time. However, his fast driving came at a price. During his stint, he exceeded the track limits too frequently, resulting in a 10-second time penalty for the team. He then held back but continued to close the gap. By the time the next pit stops were due, the No. 86 car was back in 4th place overall and 3rd in class.
Scholze handed off to Carrie Schreiner after an impressive stint, sticking to their strategic pit stops. Schreiner rejoined in 13th, already matching the pace of the leaders on her first flying lap thanks to efficient tyre warm-up. With clear track conditions, she consistently sets fast laps, closing the gap to 12th place held by the seventh of the GT3 cars.
Schreiner in fact soon caught the #17 Porsche's tail by the four hours mark, when the wipers started working again against the now starting drizzle. The team hit some lapped traffic at the end, but Carrie got a better exit out of turn 14 and got alongside the Porsche in the final corner, eventually completing the pass on the straight.
With 90 minutes left, the rain really started to pick up as Schreiner finished her stint; the cars started to dance around, but it was still not quite wet enough for rain tyres yet. Schreiner however needed to pit for fuel, allowing Scholze to jump back in and after a bit of a wait, he drove away for one last refuel.
The wait proved worthwhile. During the #86 Audi's pit stop, the rain intensified, and Scholze seized the opportunity. Cars spun and slid on the track, and his rivals were forced to surrender to the storm, entering the pits one by one. Scholze emerged from his stop with the right choice of tyres, climbing to 9th overall and 7th in his class. He navigated the treacherous conditions, matching the pace of the leaders. Though he couldn't close the gap immediately due to earlier pit stops, Scholze had positioned himself for a strong recovery.
At the final pit stop, Levi returned back to the driver's seat. The stop was quick, as the minimum pit stop time had already been fulfilled by the tyre change. Due to the reduced speed caused by the rain, a refueling stop was no longer necessary for the Attempto Racing team and Levi could rejoin, immediately beginning to chase the fastest lap times in the wet conditions.
The next few minutes were a mad dash to the pits as almost every car came in to fulfill their minimum stop time. With some teams stuck for more than 20 minutes, The #86 Attempto Racing Audi used this to its advantage and clawed back some precious time. After this pit cycle, Levi sat in a solid 5th place, both overall and in the GT3 class, just one minute behind the #007 Comtoyou Aston Martin and with a comfortable margin over the car behind.
With a 5-second time penalty, the Aston Martin could therefore lose some crucial time that could prove enough for Levi to snatch fourth. The Aston Martin was struggling for grip, and Levi kept chipping away at their gap, gaining an average of 3 seconds per lap, sometimes even a whopping 5.
The tension was building as the gap shrunk with every passing lap. Heading into the final lap, Levi was only 3.1 seconds behind - that would have been enough to secure fourth place thanks to the penalty. But Levi wasn't content with just that and kept pushing, trying to catch up on track. Unfortunately, it all went wrong when he spun off into the gravel. While he managed to recover, the gap was back to a massive 10 seconds and the Aston Martin escaped the penalty unscathed, with Levi finishing the race in the same position he started it.
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"The result wasn't so great, there were a few penalties," Schreiner explained. "But now I have another chance," she said. Carrie will be looking for another positive performance at the Valencia leg of the GT Winter Series next week, as she returns to a track where she achieved podium finishes in every race last year.