Euro Cup 2025
Portimao Citroën C1 24 Hour
At the beginning of December we flew out to Portugal for our final event of the year, the Citroën C1 Euro Cup, 24 hours of non stop C1 action around the iconic Algarve circuit. After a season of sprint racing, this is a nice way to end the year.
Qualifying
The weekend began positively with a strong qualifying performance, securing 16th on the grid and placing the team in a competitive position ahead of the race.
Stint 1
Our race was disrupted almost immediately. One of my teammates was involved in an incident in the initial stages of the race, leading to an unscheduled 45 minute trip to the pits. This dropped the car back down to 44th, last place, turning the race into a recovery mission from the get go. However, I hoped in the car for my first stint and started to gain back some ground, leaving the car in 42nd after my first outing.
Stint 2
Taking over the night stint, the focus shifted to consistency and survival. While I gained no positions on track, the rest of the team had gotten us up into 37th. With 36th place 5 laps ahead when I jumped in the car, the approached remained calm and patient. After all, endurance races are a marathon, not a sprint.
Stint 3
Momentum began to build during the penultimate stint. Strong pace and clean driving allowed for significant progress through the field, advancing to 29th and setting our sights firmly on the top 20.
Stint 4
The recovery continued into my final stint, reaching 23rd position. This stint also featured a personal highlight, with a new fastest lap of the race for me. At this stage it was over to the rest of the team to continue the fight to the finish.
The finish
Despite an extremely challenging start, we delivered an impressive comeback to finish in 22nd. Given the early setback and time lost, this result was a testament to our resilience, strategy and determination throughout the race.
