Jordan Pepper has claimed a crucial pole position for the final race of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Circuit Ricardo Tormo Valencia.
Pepper’s #63 GRT – Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 triumphed in a disrupted Group B session for the Pro and Gold Cup runners, which was interrupted by a Red Flag that set up a two-lap shootout for pole position.
Kelvin van der Linde, piloting the championship-leading #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo, was fastest on his first flying lap with a 1:31.419. The South African improved on his second attempt with a 1:31.245, only to be beaten by a 1:31.221 from Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo.
Pepper, the final title challenger to complete his qualifying run, then crossed the line with a 1:31.115 to score his first pole position of the season and, with it, score a vital championship point. This means the #63 Lamborghini, which started the season with a pair of non-scores at Brands Hatch, is now only 2.5 points off the top of the table.
“That wasn’t ideal for anyone out there,” an ecstatic Pepper said. “The Red Flag wasn’t easy, we were lucky to get in just as it went red, so at least we had hot tyres, which was good.
“[It was the] Lap of my life. I apologised to the team, I was like, there’s nothing more on the table as I crossed the line, and they replied with ‘that’s P1!’”
Critically, Pepper was the only driver faster than Aurelien Panis, who led Group A in the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Panis scored Silver Cup pole with a 1:31.156 and will start from the front row of the grid this afternoon.
Kirchhöfer and van der Linde will share the second row, with another title contender, Sven Müller’s #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), qualifying fifth.
The Silver Cup title-winning #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo of Jamie Day was sixth, ahead of Gold Cup pole sitter Louis Prette in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren. Prette successfully ended Chris Lulham’s run of four consecutive Gold Cup pole positions, reducing his deficit to the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari crew in the championship to only 3.5 points.
Henrique Chaves, best of those in Group B who set a time before the Red Flag, wound up eighth in the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin, with Lulham’s #69 Ferrari and the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche completing the top 10.
The Red Flag was triggered by an off for Thomas Neubauer in the #50 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari, who dropped a wheel on the entry to Turn 12 on his first flying lap and ended up beached in the gravel.
It was a disappointing session for defending drivers’ champion Maro Engel, who qualified 16th. The German backed out of his first flying lap in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG after encountering traffic in the form of Chaves, and his second lap, a 1:31.646, was not enough to match his title rivals.
In the Bronze Cup, defending drivers’ champion Darren Leung scored his first pole position of the season in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW. Leung set a 1:32.567 on his first timed lap, going half a second clear of the opposition, but that advantage was chipped away at to an eventual 0.037 pole margin.
“It’s a massive relief to be honest,” Leung admitted. “It’s been really tough at points, and yesterday [when they retired on Lap 1] was another kick between the legs. It was just really nice to post something up for everyone to get excited about and try and get a bit of momentum going again.”
Dustin Blattner qualified second in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari despite losing his first two laps to track limits and traffic, respectively, whilst title rival Bashar Mardini was sixth in the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche.
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup’s 2025 season finale takes place this afternoon at 14:45 CEST.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
