- Charlie Thornton
- May 22, 2025
- 9 min read
GT World Challenge Europe (Sprint Cup) - Round 1 - Pole battles, penalties and perfect pacing at Brands Hatch!
The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup springs to life at Brands Hatch with controversy, comebacks, and class-defining battles set the championship alight from the very first green flag.
QUALIFYING
Qualifying started quite slowly, but as the benchmarks started to come through, and once the track conditions evolved and the grip improved, the lap times began to fall sharply. With just over three minutes of the opening qualifying session to go, Arthur Rougier in the #112 CSA Racing McLaren 720s GT3 Evo leapt to the top of the standings with a 1:24.098. However, Rougier didn’t stay on top for long, as Arthur Leclerc in the #50 AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3 responded with a 1:23.848.
The pace intensified as we dropped below two minutes remaining, with the sister #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera delivering a stunning 1:23.559, meanwhile the Emil Frey Racing #14 Ferrari of Ben Green managed to slot himself in third position. The final moments saw a rapid reshuffling of the leaderboard, with Rovera improving once again, while Lucas Auer in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo slotted into second. The drama continued though, with good runs from Luca Engstler and Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 and #59 Garage59 McLaren 720s GT3 Evo respectively, but the final word belonged to Thierry Vermeulen in the Gold entered #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, who set a lightning fast second sector and edged ahead to claim pole position with a 1:23.374.
In qualifying two, the times began to tumble, with the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 of Sandy Mitchell surging to the front with a 1:23.318, and mid-session performances from Patric Niederhauser in the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 992 GT3 and Jordan Pepper in the #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini saw them complete the top three momentarily.
The competition remained intense as the clock ticked down, with Thomas Neubauer in the #50 Ferrari, and Benjamin Goethe in the #59 Garage59 McLaren made late charges, positioning themselves second and third respectively with two-and-a-half minutes to go. But it was eventually Maro Engel in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes who made the biggest statement in the closing minutes, pulling off a rapid 1:23.240, seizing pole position. The battle for the final spot in the front row was far from over though, with Pepper responding, setting a lap just thirty-five hundredths slower, and reclaiming second position, but was then beaten by Chris Lulham in the #69 Ferrari, who got within twenty-seven hundredths of Engel’s flyer.
RACE 1
Before the opening race of the weekend, as well as the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, controversy was in the air as both of the Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini entries were disqualified from both qualifying sessions due to Balance of Performance non-conformity, demoting both of them to the back of the grid, leaving them with a mountain to climb.
As the race went green, it was an immediate shuffle into turn one, with the #59 McLaren of Marvin Kirchhöfer surging through to second place overall, and becoming the the Pro class leader since the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari of Chris Lulham was competing in the Gold Cup category. This aggressive opening set the tone for a race rich with movement through the field. By the end of the first lap, several standout performances were already emerging. The #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche of Loek Hartog had made a lightning start, gaining six places to climb into ninth position overall, and the lead of the Silver Cup class, similarly, the #52 AF Corse Ferrari of Marcos Siebert stormed up six places into twelfth position overall, placing second in the Silver class.
Meanwhile, not everyone enjoyed a clean getaway, with the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini of Hugo Cook dropping four spots to eleventh place, and the #26 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Lorens Lecertua suffered a particularly rough opening, tumbling seven places down the order to nineteenth position overall.
Tension began to build as the race settled into a rhythm, and with forty minutes to go, Thierry Vermeulen in the leading Ferrari had already collected four track limit warnings, teetering on the brink of a penalty. Soon after, the pit window opened and saw a flurry of frontrunners diving in early, including Vermeulen, Kirchhöfer, Leclerc and Müller amongst others. Those who stayed out included Rovera, Green, Smalley, Auer, Hartog and Siebert, temporarily cycling them into the top positions.
Just a lap later, the leading trio of Rovera, Green and Smalley also made their pitstops, leading Lucas Auer in the #48 Mercedes as the only front-runner yet to pit, and once the #51 Ferrari of Vincent Abril rejoined the track, he found himself effectively in the lead, narrowly ahead of both the #69 Ferrari of Lulham and the #59 McLaren of Benjamin Goethe, however, the fight ignited instantly, with Goethe overtaking Lulham out of Druids just seconds later, establishing himself as Abril’s primary challenger.
The final driver to stop was Loek Hartog in the leading Silver Cup #97 Porsche, and he handed the car over to Sri Lankan driver Eshan Pieris, but dropped to tenth position overall once he rejoined. Unfortunately for the team, the sister #96 car, driven by Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller, were handed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, which although they sat in sixth position at the time, the tight gaps between cars at the front meant the penalty would have serious implications.
As the race entered its closing phase, incidents continued to influence the outcome, with the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Jamie Day going slowly after contact with the #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, who started from the back. The incident was later decided with a drive-through penalty for Jordan Pepper in the #63, who served it in the dying minutes, removing himself from any further progress or success. The final moments featured a noteworthy overtake from Kelvin van der Linde in the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 on Louis Prette in the #58 Garage59 McLaren for eighth position overall. Despite the loss of position, Pretty retained second position in the Gold Cup.
When the checkered flag fell, it was the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Vincent Abril who secured a hard-fought victory, having executed a clean in-lap and holding firm under pressure. He was followed by Benjamin Goethe in the #59, and Chris Lulham in the #69 in third, though Lulham claimed the top honours in the Gold Cup. The #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche of Niederhauser/Müller ultimately dropped to ninth position overall following their five-second time penalty.
RACE 1 PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
RACE 2
The second race of the weekend was no less dramatic than the first, and as the lights went out and the field charged toward turn one, the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini of Sandy Mitchell got a great launch, briefly pulling ahead into second place by out-braking the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari of Chris Lulham. However, Lulham held firm through Graham Hill bend, reclaiming the position and retaining second position as the field completed the opening lap. By the end of lap one, Maro Engel in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo had already built a healthy margin at the front, leading #69 Lulham and #78 Mitchell, meanwhile the action was unfolding further down the field as well, with the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Henrique Chaves making a confident move past Benjamin Goethe in the #59 Garage59 McLaren to climb into eighth position overall.
In the early laps, Lulham was visibly closing the gap to Engel, mounting pressure on the race leader as the clock ticked on. Meanwhile, stewards were already busy, with the #19 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Baptiste Moulin handed a ten-second penalty for a jump start, and just minutes later the sister #63 car of Jordan Pepper received a drive-through penalty for causing contact with James Kell in the #112 CSA Racing McLaren 720s GT3 Evo at turn four.
Drama unfolded further with forty minutes to go, when the Moulin in the #19 Lamborghini slid off into the gravel at Sheene Curve, prompting a full course yellow to recover the stricken car. The neutralisation would eventually escalate into a full safety car with thirty-three minutes remaining, delaying the mandatory pit window, and bunching the field back up.
When racing resumed with thirty minutes to go, Engel continued to lead, followed by Lulham and Mitchell very closely. The pit window opened just moments later, triggering a flurry of activity in the pit lane. Engel, Lulham, Mitchell, along with van der Linde, Niederhauser and Chaves were among the first to dive in. Compounding the chaos, the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche found itself stranded in the gravel, though no additional neutralisation was triggered yet.
On the next lap, several more contenders made their stops, which shuffled the order, and one of the biggest winners of this was Charles Weerts in the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo, who emerged in second place thanks to a perfectly timed stop, as well as clean in and out laps.
The race was once again slowed by another full course yellow, and upgraded to a safety car further compressing the field. When the race restarted with just over eleven minutes to go, it was Lucas Auer leading the field now behind the wheel of the #48 Mercedes, leading the #32 BMW and #14 Ferrari of Ben Green. Despite multiple restarts, and pressure from behind, Auer maintained control in the final stint, and crossed the line to claim a well-earned victory in race two, followed by the #32 BMW of Charles Weerts, and the #96 Porsche of Müller in third, who capitalised on their race pace and clean execution to round out the podium.
RACE 2 PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS
After the opening two races of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch, the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo crew of Lucas Auer and Maro Engel lead the Overall standings with 22 points, the #51 AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3 of Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera are tied on 16.5 points with the #59 Garage 59 McLaren crew of Benjamin Goethe and Marvin Kirchhöfer, and the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts sits third with 15 points.
After a dominant weekend, the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen lead with 30.5 points, with the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW of Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann sit second with 22.5 points, while the #58 Garage 58 McLaren of Louis Prette and Adam Smalley sit third with 19.5 points.
Boutsen VDS’ #10 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of César Gazeau and Aurélien Panis lead the Silver Cup with 27 points, ahead of the #52 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Jef Machiels and Marcos Siebert, while the all Dutch lineup of the #992 Paradine Competition BMW in Mex Jansen and Maxime Oosten sit third with 18 points.
SAND DUNES AWAIT IN ZANDVOORT
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup will resume on the 17th - 18th May at the Circuit Zandvoort, where the Bronze Cup will join the party with twelve additional cars on the sand dunes on the Dutch coast.
Images © SRO/JEP
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