2010 FIA GT1 Algarve round

As part of the FIA Balance of Performance, Ford GTs were allowed the team to increase the size of their air restrictors for more power, although the cars also had to carry an extra 12 kg (26 lb) of ballast.

7 Young Driver which won the previous round at the Nürburgring carried 40 kg (88 lb), while further top four finishers Reiter, Phoenix, and Hexis also gained ballast.

Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini of Vitaphone retained the Drivers' Championship lead they had held since the Paul Ricard round, holding a fourteen-point gap over Thomas Mutsch of Matech.

Phoenix's Marc Hennerici was able to put the team's sole Corvette on pole position in the final qualifying session by a margin of three hundredths of a second.

After the pit stop and driver change, Sumo Power's Peter Dumbreck was able to catch up to leader Marc Hennerici, eventually passing the Corvette into Turn 1 in the final ten minutes of the race.

The Vitaphone Maserati of Andrea Bertolini, following close behind the two, was eventually able to also pass Hennerici and secure second place Following the Qualifying Race win, the Sumo Power Nissan led into the first turn, ahead of the No.