A record 10 manufacturers are set to contest the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, which begins this weekend at Brands Hatch.
The 30-car entry list for the season opener is headlined by the arrival of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Ford Mustang GT3 to the series, both of which are set to race on British soil for the first time, whilst all three classes present have seen growth compared to 2024.
Once the Bronze Cup, which is absent from the opening round due to paddock space restrictions, joins the action at Circuit Zandvoort the field is set to swell to over 40 entries.
Pro
Defending drivers’ champions Lucas Auer and Maro Engel return aboard the #48 Winward Racing Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. The pairing had an incredibly consistent 2024, taking three race victories and never finishing lower than fifth as they defeated Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts by just 2.5 points.
3x champion Weerts is back in Team WRT’s #32 BMW M4 GT3, upgraded to Evo specification for 2025, with new co-driver Kelvin van der Linde. Van der Linde and Weerts head to Brands Hatch leading the overall GT World Challenge Europe drivers’ standings, following their victory at last month’s Endurance Cup season opener at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Boutsen VDS has an all-new line-up for its #9 Pro entry, with Maxime Martin and Luca Stolz sharing the #9 AMG GT3 Evo, whilst Emil Frey Racing returns with an unchanged driver line-up of Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen in the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3.
Also representing the Prancing Horse is AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors, which enters the Pro class of the Sprint Cup for the first time since 2016. Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer will drive the #50, with 2015 champion Vincent Abril and reigning Endurance Cup drivers’ champion Alessio Rovera sharing the #51.
Walkenhorst Motorsport is fielding the #35 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo for Henrique Chaves and Mateo Villagomez, whilst GRT – Grasser Racing Team returns to the Sprint Cup after five seasons away with the #63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 for Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper.
Fellow Lamborghini squad Barwell Motorsport is also present, entering Pro for the first time with the #78 Huracan GT3 Evo2 for Hugo Cook and Sandy Mitchell.
Sven Müller and Patric Niederhauser took Porsche’s maiden Sprint Cup win at the 2024 finale, and the duo return to Rutronik Racing’s #96 911 GT3.R (992) in 2025. HRT – Ford Performance will give the Mustang GT3 its Sprint Cup debut, with Romain Andriolo and Jusuf Owega driving the #64.
Benjamin Goethe is joined by new co-driver Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo, whilst CSA Racing step up to the Pro ranks with the #111 McLaren for Simon Gachet and Jim Pla to complete the 13-car Pro field.
Gold Cup
Six cars are entered in the Gold Cup at Brands Hatch, with Audi, BMW, Ferrari and McLaren machinery all featuring.
Last year’s runners-up Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus remain in the #25 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. Also fielding an R8 is Tresor Attempto Racing, with Leonardo Moncini and Sebastian Øgaard set to share the #88.
Louis Prette and Adam Smalley are entered in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren, with Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen set to share the #69 Emil Frey Racing McLaren. Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann line up in the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW.
The class is rounded out by the #112 CSA Racing McLaren GT3 Evo, which is making a one-off entry in Gold before moving to the Bronze Cup from Circuit Zandvoort onwards. James Kell and Arthur Rougier will share the car at Brands Hatch.
Silver Cup
11 cars from eight different manufacturers are entered in the Silver Cup,
Defending champions Team WRT has a new livery and an all-new driver line-up for 2025, with Gustav Bergström and Gilles Stadsbader set to share the #30 BMW M4 GT3 Evo. BMW stablemates Paradine Competition won the Endurance Cup opener and will also run its #992 M4 GT3 Evo in the Sprint Cup, albeit with a completely different driver line-up of Mex Jansen and Maxime Oosten.
Steller Motorsport, fresh from its Silver-Am win in the Silverstone 500, heads to its home event following a successful maiden race with its Z06 GT3.R at Circuit Paul Ricard, where it finished second. Matisse Lismont and Jesse Salmenautio will share the #24 Corvette this weekend.
Boutsen VDS has retained the services of Cesar Gazeau and Aurelien Panis in the #10 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, whilst Baptiste Moulin and Ivan Ekelchik line-up in GRT – Grasser Racing Team’s #19 Lamborghini.
Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels share Comtoyou Racing’s #21 Aston Martin, with Ivan Klymenko and Lorens Lecertua driving Sainteloc Racing’s #26 Audi.
Jef Machiels and Marcos Siebert will drive the #52 AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors Ferrari, whilst Daniel Ali and Christian Bogle will share the #76 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini.
The #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche of Loek Hartog and Eshan Pieris, and the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi of Alex Aka and Ezequiel Perez Companc, round out the field.
The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup begins at Brands Hatch on 3/4 May.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
