GT World Challenge Europe (Endurance Cup) - Round 1 - Team WRT masterclass seals stunning victory at Paul Ricard

Precision, pace, and perfect strategy earn Team WRT a commanding win in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup opening round at Paul Ricard.

QUALIFYING

The first segment of qualifying began with only a few cars venturing out on track early on, with teams hesitant on strategy. Richard Lietz struck first in the #911 Pure Rxcing Porsche 992 GT3 R, before being displaced by Lucas Auer in the #48 Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, setting a rapid 1:53.998. Drama unfolded when Christian Krognes in the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo spun in sector three, bringing a brief yellow flag. In the closing moments, lap times tumbled, with Mirko Bortolotti surging to second position in the #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, while Luca Stolz in the #17 Team GetSpeed Mercedes slotted into third, but Auer was able to go quicker once again with a 1:53.646.

Marvin Kirchhöfer kicked things off for the second session in the #59 Garage59 McLaren 720s GT3 Evo, clocking in a 1:54.318, before shaving it down to a 1:54.258. Charles Weerts jumped into second in the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo, but any hope of improvements evaporated with a few drops of rain, just enough to unsettle grip. Late on, Matteo Cairoli continued his teammates pace, topping the charts with a 1:53.940 in the #48 ‘Mamba’.

The final session saw a stunning run from Klaus Bachler in the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, setting the fastest lap of the weekend with a blistering 1:53.091, while Tom Fleming and Benjamin Goethe in the #188 and #59 Garage59 McLarens kept the pressure on. However, the combined effort saw the #48 Mercedes emerge with overall pole, while McLarens filled the Gold and Bronze cup poles, while a VSR Lamborghini secured Silver pole.

RACE

Maro Engel made a strong launch from pole in the #48 Mann-Filter Mercedes, leading cleanly through lap one, while behind there was carnage. Nicolas Baert’s Aston Martin bonnet was flapping dangerously, forcing the car to pit as soon as possible to repair, while Dean MacDonald in the #58 Garage59 McLaren from the Gold class started making his way up the overall order, passing Jules Gounon and Mirko Bortolotti in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes and #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini for second place with a move around the outside at Signes.  

With just forty minutes of the race completed, the first full course yellow was prompted by Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #59 McLaren, who started to suffer from gearbox issues, eventually stopping mid-way down the Mistral straight. Just minutes after this full course yellow, another one was triggered by the #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren of James Allen, who brought his car to a stop on the start of the Mistral straight, with many teams reacting accordingly by pitting their cars during the full course yellow. 

MacDonald’s charge didn’t stop one bit, but he was unable to pass Engel for the lead of the race on pure merit on track, but pitted and came out ahead of the #48, while the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche and #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche jumped both first and second, while Jules Gounon had noticeably exceeded his stint timer, and was later given a drive-through penalty for this infraction. Moments after the pit stops, MacDonald passed Ayhancan Güven for the lead of the race, while a three-way battle for fourth ensued between #48 Engel, #32 De Wilde and #17 Gounon, with the latter getting past the BMW of De Wilde for fifth position. 

Once the second round of pit stops had occurred, Charles Weerts was on a mission in the #32 Team WRT BMW, passing Schiller, Cairoli and Bachler, to eventually get into third position within just ten minutes of racing. As the half-way point came, fireworks were set off around the track as a celebration.

A fierce battle for third in the Gold cup between the Verstappen.com #33 Aston Martin of Chris Lulham and Team RJN #23 McLaren of Alex Buncombe saw slight contact between the two, but the #33 Aston Martin losing out on the position. Meanwhile, De Wilde was rapidly catching the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche of Alessio Picariello, with the gap within tenths. The two pitted with just over two hours to go, but status-quo out of the pits. A few laps later, freshly entered Kelvin van der Linde was on a charge, using the BMW’s top-speed advantage over the Porsche to pass Niederhauser for the lead of the race. A battle of opposites was in effect in the Bronze class, with Loek Hartog in the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche getting past the #991 Paradine Competition BMW of Daniel Harper, with the latter far from a slouch. Another battle with a BMW saw the #992 Paradine Competition M4 of Charles Clark pass Alessio Deledda in the #60 VSR Lamborghini for first position in Silver.

Sixty-one minutes remained, and the leading two cars came in to make their final stop of the race, while the #48 and #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin came in just a few laps later. Drama struck late on for the #30 Team WRT BMW of Gilles Stadsbader, who came to a halt on the Mistral straight, prompting the penultimate full course yellow of the race, which was quickly retrieved and resumed. In the closing stages of the race, the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Ferrari 296 GT3 of Eddie Cheever, Chris Froggatt and Marco Pulcini received a five-minute stop and go penalty for exceeding track limits, with the team accumulating twenty-five violations in the race so far.

A breath remained, but the #333 Lamborghini of Maximilian Paul was seen slowing and coming to a stop, prompting the final full course yellow of the race, with the race getting back to green with seven minutes to go. The final lap came, and saw Kelvin van der Linde leading Niederhauser by four seconds, but rain began to fall, threatening the final laps, making it treacherous and sketchy for all the drivers. Van Der Linde kept his cool, and crossed the line to take a WRT masterclass, after starting in ninth position. 

The #111 CSA Racing McLaren secured Gold victory, with the #33 Verstappen.com Aston Martin second, while the #777 AlManar Racing by Team WRT BMW finished third, tenth in overall. Paradine Competition won the Silver class with their #992 entry of Charles Clark, Pedro Ebrahim and James Kellett, with the debuting #24 Steller Motorsport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in second, and the #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi in third. Bronze Cup honours went to the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, followed by the #991 Paradine Competition BMW and #8 Kessel Racing Ferrari.

GT WORLD CHALLENGE GOES TO BRANDS HATCH AND MONZA

GT World Challenge splits off from now, seeing the Sprint Cup head to Brands Hatch on 3rd - 4th May, while the next round of the Endurance Cup heads to the Temple of Speed at Monza on the 30th May to 1st June.

Images © SRO/JEP