GT World Challenge Europe - Ferrari sweep the championship in another Arabian night

AF Corse #51 crew seal the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup championship at the 6 Hours of Jeddah after the #48 Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo wins in a spectacularly dominant fashion.

Photo: SRO/JEP

QUALIFYING

The first of three qualifying sessions started cautiously, with teams hesitating to take to the track due to the tyre allocations, with many of the championship contending teams opting to wait a few more minutes. Once the laps started rolling in, the competition heated up with Lucas Auer in the #48 Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo set the benchmark with a 2:00.053, but this time quickly toppled. Christopher Haase in the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II broke the two-minute barrier with a 1:59.564, only to be beaten by Franck Perera in the #163 GRT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, just two tenths quicker. Alessio Rovera in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 posted a strong challenge, going second, barely quicker than the Haase Audi.

At the end of qualifying one, Perera was top, while Simon Gachet in the #111 CSA Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II was fastest in the Gold Cup in fourth overall, while sim-racer James Baldwin was quickest in the Bronze Cup in the #158 Garage59 McLaren 720s GT3 Evo in thirteenth position overall. The Silver Cup was headed by Cesar Gazeau in the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG in fourteenth.

Qualifying two saw the spotlight shift to the Ferrari #51 crew, with a new batch of drivers taking to the track to push their absolute limits. Sven Müller in the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R briefly held the top spot early on, before Laurin Heinrich in the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche and Davide Rigon in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari managed to raise the stakes, with the latter responding with a blistering lap time to secure the fastest time in Q2, taking the aggregate lead. 

With the end of qualifying two, the #51 Ferrari was fastest overall, while the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche sat second, with the #2 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG in third. CSA Racing managed to keep a hold of the Gold class in seventh overall, while the #991 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 snuck into fourteenth overall and top in Bronze. The #26 Sainteloc Racing Audi managed to vault themselves up to eighth, also taking the Silver class pole.

Photo: SRO/JEP

The final qualifying session of the weekend saw a flurry of fast laps as multiple teams battled for pole position in the final GT World Challenge Europe race of the year. Ricardo Feller in the #99 Audi set an awesome 1:59.000, briefly holding the aggregate pole position before Jordan Pepper pipped him in the #163 Lamborghini. Maro Engel shone in Q3, ending up second in the #48 Mercedes-AMG, while Pier Guidi managed third fastest, but was still able to claim overall pole position due to aggregate times, with a strong and consistent performance from all three drivers across all sessions.

The CSA Racing Audi dominated in the Gold Cup, claiming the pole position for the race later on, while the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche claimed Bronze honours, and the #26 Sainteloc Racing Audi in the Silver Cup. A disappointing session for the championship leading #007 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo team saw them qualify only eighteenth, leaving them with significant ground to cover in the race, especially with the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 taking pole position.

Photo: SRO/JEP

RACE

With the final race of the 2024 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season just six hours away from completion, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit would come to life with tight battles, critical incidents, and a championship on the line.

As the green flag was waved for the final time in 2024, the grid roared into action, tackling the dying light at the tight and twisty Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The race immediately saw drama at turns one and two, with Marco Mapelli in the #163 GRT Lamborghini running off the track after heavy traffic which saw Marvin Kirchhöfer’s McLaren nearly forced into the wall on the pit straight. The circuit’s narrow layout forced drivers into aggressive and calculated moves, with several cars going two or even three-wide in the opening lap.

At the front, Alessio Rovera in the pole sitting #51 Ferrari took full advantage of the many cars behind him, retaining the lead and settling into a commanding rhythm, while the pack behind him scrambled for positions, creating a gap as large as four seconds between P2 and P3 after just thirteen minutes. The midfield pack was a battlefield, with overtakes, near-misses, and jostling for track position defining the early moments, but all drivers had the same thing in their mind: the dying light, and the six hour duration.

In the early stages, the #007 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin faced significant struggles, dropping from its starting position in eighteenth to twenty-first, overtaken by several BMW’s. Meanwhile, Ross Gunn in the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin put on a determined charge, climbing thirteen positions from last on the grid to P33 within forty minutes, despite the challenging nature of the track and the amount of cars around.

After the race had got into a smooth rhythm, there were intense battles throughout the field, where one of the standout duels was between Alex Aka in the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi and Ayhancan Güven in the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche in third and fourth. Their fight with each other allowed both Loris Spinelli in the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini, and Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #188 Garage59 McLaren to close in, creating a thrilling four-way scrap. Güven ultimately emerged victorious, but not without incident, shortly after gaining the position, he suffered a puncture, forcing him out of contention.

Challenges arose as mechanical issues and tyre failures struck multiple cars. The #19 GRT Lamborghini was one of the first casualties, suffering a puncture that forced it to stop on track, prompting a Full Course Yellow (FCY) to be called out. These moments of misfortune were compounded by a series of on-track collisions, including a major incident between the #111 CSA Racing Audi and the #8 Kessel Racing Ferrari, which sent both cars into the barriers at high speed, and brought the race under another FCY. Amid these interruptions, Mapelli in the #163 Lamborghini fought back from his early off-track moment, reclaiming the lead after a brilliant move on Fuoco in the #51 Ferrari at turn one. This, however, was only the beginning of the drama, and set the scene for the rest of the race.

As the race reached the midpoint, a wave of penalties began to reshape the leaderboard. Pit stop infringements, track limit violations, and driver stint issues plagued numerous teams, with the #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche, #52 AF Corse Ferrari, #33 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, #93 Sky Tempesta Racing Ferrari, #159 Garage59 McLaren amongst others handed drive-throughs and time penalties. These infractions not only altered the race dynamic, but also tested the resilience of teams trying to recover from their mistakes.

Photo: SRO/JEP

The mid-race chaos was exemplified by the #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari spinning after minor contact, sustaining damage that included tyre rubbing and front wing issues. Simultaneously, side-by-side battles emerged, notably between the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG and #911 PureRxcing Porsche. Crucially, the #48 Mercedes-AMG team began to emerge as a contender, executing flawless pit stops and making steady progress up the order. Maro Engel, in particular, showcased brilliant racecraft, overtaking the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Valentino Rossi to take the lead of the race as the final hours approached.

The final two hours of the race saw nail-biting action, as teams fought not only for the race victory, but also for championship glory. Dries Vanthoor in the #32 Team WRT BMW was one of the standout performers, setting the fastest lap of the race while battling for fifth. Eventually the fastest lap of the race would go to Franck Perera in the #163 Lamborghini, but this late pace from the BMW crews showed the other competitors another side. Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts’ aggressive driving against the #99 Audi provided some very exciting moments, with the two going side-by-side through multiple corners for laps on end.

The championship fight reached the climax near the end, with the #007 Aston Martin, needing a strong result to claim the Endurance Cup title, climbed as high as fourth, but faltered under pressure. A critical thirty-second penalty for repeated track limit violations ruined their hopes of the championship, but also dropping ten positions in one lap shocked the Aston Martin team. The demise of the #007 crew left the door wide open for the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi and Alessio Rovera to claim the crown, adding to the heartbreak after such an excellent performance throughout the middle section of the race, as well as winning the 24 Hours of Spa in June.

Photo: SRO/JEP

The final stint of the race saw the #48 Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maro Engel, Lucas Auer and Daniel Morad cross the line to take a well-deserved victory, after controlling the race with domination and precision. The #163 Lamborghini, despite going up and down the order, secured second place, with the #51 Ferrari rounded out the podium in third place.

Other notable performances included James Baldwin in the #158 Garage59 McLaren, who battled hard for a podium finish in the Bronze Cup, and the #32 Team WRT BMW, which climbed to the top five after a stellar final stint. Sainteloc Racing took victory in two classes in Jeddah, with the #26 Audi taking the top step in the Silver Cup finishing thirteenth overall, and the sister #25 car took the top step in the Gold Cup finishing eighteenth overall.

CHAMPIONS CROWNED

PRO/OVERALL ENDURANCE: Alessandro Pier Guidi and Alessio Rovera at the wheel of the #51 AF Corse Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3 take the Overall Endurance Cup for 2024. Davide Rigon missed the previous round at Monza, therefore missed out on the overall championship. The Ferrari crew managed to seal the championship after a rough start to the season at Paul Ricard, and missing out on the win at the 24 Hours of Spa due to a stationary Lamborghini blocking the pit entry.

Photo: SRO/JEP

GOLD CUP: Paul Evrard, Gilles Magnus and Jim Pla claim the Gold Cup Championship in their #25 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. The crew won the first round at Paul Ricard, as well as the Nürburgring round and the final round in Jeddah. They took second place at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

SILVER CUP: Daan Arrow, Colin Caresani and Tanart Sathienthirakul took the Silver Championship with a round to spare, and deciding not to race in Jeddah, the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo dominated in 2024, winning the Paul Ricard and Monza rounds, while taking second at Nürburgring and third at Spa-Francorchamps.

BRONZE CUP: Eddie Cheever, Chris Froggatt and Jonathan Hui clinch the title in the Bronze Cup by just two points in their #93 Sky Tempesta Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. After a rough season for the crew, they proved that consistency, including finishing in the top six at every race proved to be a winning form. While the crew did not stand on the podium in any of the races, they now claim an invitational entry to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGT3 class, where they are set to take on two 24-hour races within the space of two weeks. 

Photo: SRO/JEP

OVERALL GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE CHAMPIONS: With dominant performances from Lucas Auer and Maro Engel throughout the year in both the Sprint and Endurance championship, they claim the overall GT World Challenge title in 2024 for the #48 Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Four race wins at Brands Hatch, Hockenheim, Magny-Cours and Jeddah, and ten podiums at Brands Hatch, Misano, Hockenheim, Nürburgring, Magny-Cours, Barcelona and Jeddah.

2025 AWAITS

With the 2024 season done and dusted with, we look onto 2025 where we will see new manufacturers take on the European scenes. Five endurance races will feature on the calendar in 2025, with Jeddah not returning to the calendar, Barcelona will return as the finale round in October.

Round 1: 6 Hours of Paul Ricard - France, 11th - 13th April 2025

Round 2: 3 Hours of Monza - Italy, 30th May - 1st June 2025

Round 3: CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa - Belgium, 26th - 29th June 2025

Round 4: 3 Hours of Nürburgring - Germany, 29th - 31st August 2025

Round 5: 3 Hours of Barcelona - Spain, 10th - 12th October 2025