This weekend, the Circuito Estoril hosted the Estoril Classics, the penultimate round of the Le Mans Classic Series season. In a setting steeped in history, the historic cars grids put on a top-notch show on this demanding track for the 20,000 spectators present throughout the weekend.
As the weekend’s final showdown, the Classic Endurance Racing 1 race perfectly encapsulated the excitement of the past three days. With Porsche 917 Ks, Porsche 908/03s, and Lola T70s literally battling door-to-door, the spectacle was mind-blowing! In the end, it was former F1 driver and Le Mans legend Jan Magnussen who took the win in his Lola, while Claudio Roddaro displayed exceptional daring to claim the silver medal in the 917 K, edging out Emile Breittmayer (Lola), the Siebenthal-Gemperle (908/03) and Peirera-Hyett (Lola) duos—the latter having been penalized. Victory in the Proto -2-liter class went to Daniel Balfour (Lola T210), and Frédéric Di Egidio (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0) claimed victory in GT1!
Maxime Guenat was one of the event’s standout performers, securing another victory in Classic Endurance Racing 2 in the Lola T286, ahead of Paul Ricard winner Stéphane N’Guyen (Lola T282). Yves Scemama rounded out the final podium in the TOJ SC304, while Jan Magnussen and Gonçalo Gomes took the top spot in the under-2-liter Protos category with their Lola T292, followed by twins Mark and Dennis Busch (Porsche 935) in GT2.
Maxime Guenat remained in the Heritage Touring Cup 1 class, with his Ford Capri RS3100 finishing ahead of the BMW 3.0 CSLs driven by Olivier and Emile Breittmayer on one side, and Guillaume Mahé and Dominique Guenat—Maxime’s father—on the other. The gaps between the cars remained narrow.
Maxime Guenat was back in action in the Sixties Endurance on Saturday evening, this time leading a one-two-three finish for Equipe Europe: the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé he shared with Guillaume Mahé finished ahead of the similar car driven by Armand Mille and Yves Scemama and the Jaguar E-Type driven by Pierre Thiriet and Philippe Lenoir.
On the track at the same time, the 1965 Porsche 911s in the 2.0 Cup once again put on a show, with Johannes Stengel and Andrew Smith taking the win ahead of Frédéric Di Egidio—the top driver in the Gentlemen class—and David Danglard.
Olivier Galant secured two more victories for the spectacular Panoz LMP1 Roadster S in Endurance Racing Legends, finishing ahead of Emile Breittmayer’s DBA 03S and the indomitable Mike Newton’s Lola GM EX264 on both occasions.
In ERL2, John Emberson and Nigel Greensall’s Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 won Race 1, a feat matched by Mark Sumpter’s Porsche 993 GT2 in Race 2.
The two Gentlemen Challenge races made for some happy winners, with Luc-Pierre Verquin (Lister Knobbly Chevrolet) and Volker Hichert (Bizzarrini 5300 GT) topping the overall standings, while the Porsche 904/6 GTS cars put on a real race within the race.
After a weekend full of twists and turns at the Circuito Estoril, all eyes are now on the last round of the season. From October 16 to 18, Imola Classic will host the Le Mans Classic Series finale at the legendary Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. While some leaders solidified their positions in Portugal, nothing has been decided yet. Every qualifying session, every pass, and every point will count toward securing the championship titles for the 2026 season.
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