40 cars are entered for this weekend’s GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup round at Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, with the title battles set to intensify at the penultimate Sprint Cup event of the season.
The entry has decreased by three compared to the previous round at Misano. As well as the #41 Razoon – more than racing Porsche 911 GT3.R (992) and #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo, both of which were one-offs in Italy, the #1 GRT – Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 is also absent. The #1 Lamborghini was involved in a significant accident at Misano, when Georgi Donczew was behind the wheel.
Team WRT’s Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts saw their drivers’ championship lead cut to a single point on the Adriatic Coast after a quiet weekend for the #32 BMW by the Belgian squad’s lofty standards.
Tied for second position are defending drivers’ champions Lucas Auer and Maro Engel in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, and Benjamin Goethe and Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo which took victory in the second Misano encounter.
The fight for the overall GT World Challenge Europe drivers’ title is even closer, with Auer/Engel and van der Linde/Weerts tied on 100 points. Currently, the #48 Mercedes-AMG is ranked ahead of the #32 BMW, courtesy of having had more fourth-placed finishes so far this season.
In the Teams’ Championship, for both Sprint and Overall, WRT are six points ahead of Winward. Both outfits can expect to be in the mix this weekend, as the #32 BMW and #48 Mercedes-AMG shared the honours at Magny-Cours in 2024, each winning one race and finishing second in the other.
Without a standout performance from an outsider, the fight for the Sprint Cup drivers’ title is down to five crews. Rutronik Racing’s Sven Müller and Patric Niederhauser, who won on the road at Magny-Cours last season in the #96 Porsche 911 GT3.R (992), are 7.5 points behind in fourth, whilst Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera are a further 8.5 points in arrears in fifth aboard the #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3 at Misano.
Sixth-placed Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper, in the 24 hours of Spa-winning #63 Grasser Lamborghini, are 30.5 points off the lead after a difficult Misano, and need to remain within 35 to stand a mathematical shot at the title at September’s Valencia finale.
The Grasser pairing is amongst those who could make Sprint Cup history in Race 1 at Magny-Cours, as a record-breaking seventh different winner in as many races.
Other leading contenders for this honour from the 13-car Pro field include the #50 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors and #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferraris, as well as the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, all of which have scored a top-six finish so far this year. The top five in the championship, as well as the #46 BMW, have all already won this season.
In the six-car Gold Cup, Emil Frey Racing’s Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen hold a 14-point championship lead in both the drivers’ and teams’ contests aboard the #69 Ferrari, the largest advantage across any of the eight Sprint Cup competitions.
A pair of second-placed finishes last time out means that Sainteloc Racing’s #25 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus is now the closest challengers to the Emil Frey pairing, after a difficult weekend saw AlManar Racing by WRT’s Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann fall from second to fifth in the standings.
The Silver Cup, which again features nine cars this weekend, has seen Tresor Attempto Racing’s Alex Aka and Ezequiel Perez Companc pull away in the championship battle after becoming the first team to take multiple wins this season.
The #99 Audi duo has established a nine-point advantage over Sainteloc Racing’s #26 Audi of Ivan Klymenko and Lorens Lecertua, with Cesar Gazeau and Aurélien Panis a further 0.5 points behind in the #10 Mercedes-AMG.
The form team in Misano was Comtoyou Racing, with Kobe Pauwels and Jamie Day claiming their first podium of the season in Race 1, before winning Race 2 aboard the #21 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo. Day, Pauwels and Comtoyou now sit fourth in their respective championships, only 15 points behind the #99 Audi.
With the absence of the #1 Lamborghini, the Bronze Cup features 12 cars this weekend.
A lowly 10th-place in Race 2 at Misano has restricted Kessel Racing’s advantage in the championship, with its #74 Ferrari of Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall having its lead over Lionspeed GP’s Bastian Buus and Bashar Mardini cut from 16 points to seven.
Bronze is the only class to feature driver changes compared to the previous event. Rafaele Suzuki, who missed the Italian round due to a clash with the Stock Car Pro Series, is set to return to his seat alongside Ricardo Baptista in the #270 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin.
Meanwhile, Marvin Dienst has replaced Gabriele Piana alongside Rinat Salikhov in the #81 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. Dienst has served as the crew’s third driver in the Endurance Cup so far this season.
For the second consecutive year, the Sprint Cup will host a night race as part of its double-header at Magny-Cours. Race 1 begins at 20:30 CEST on Saturday 2nd August, with Race 2 taking place at 15:15 CEST on Sunday.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
