Yesterday’s GT World Challenge Europe entry list announcement revealed multiple drivers for the upcoming season, most notably across the Ferrari teams in the field.
Factory outfit AF Corse has overhauled its Pro line-up, with only three of last year’s roster retained for 2026.
In the Endurance Cup, its #50 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo will be piloted by Arthur Leclerc, Sean Gelael and Lilou Wadoux, whilst the #51 Ferrari features Alessio Rovera, Nicklas Nielsen and Tommaso Mosca.
Gelael, the only member of the line-up who is not a works driver, is new to AF Corse’s GT World Challenge programme, whilst Mosca steps up from its Silver Cup effort. Leclerc and Rovera both remain from 2025, with Ferrari Hypercar driver Nielsen returning to the series for the first time since 2023.
Wadoux, notably, is set to become the first woman to compete in Pro for a full Endurance Cup campaign. The 24-year-old has previously made one-off appearances in the series with AF Corse, always in the lower classes.
In the Sprint Cup, Leclerc will share the #50 Ferrari with Thomas Neubauer for the second consecutive season. The #51 296 GT3 Evo will compete in the Gold Cup with Mosca and Matias Zagazeta behind the wheel.
Zagazeta will pilot the #52 Ferrari in Silver in the Endurance Cup, alongside Jef Machiels and Gilles Stadsbader, who will also share the car in the Sprint Cup. AF Corse’s roster is completed by the #71 Ferrari, a Sprint Cup-only Silver entry for Carl Bennett and Felix Hirsiger.
Elsewhere, JMW Motorsport has confirmed its trio for a Bronze Cup programme in the Endurance Cup. The ACO-racing stalwart is making its first entry into GT World Challenge Europe this season, after being turned away from the European Le Mans Series, and will enter the #60 Ferrari for Hunter Abbott, Rolf Ineichen and Tim Heinemann.
Jonathan Hui, Eddie Cheever and Christopher Froggatt will pilot Ziggo Sport Tempesta’s #93 car in the Endurance Cup, with Cheever’s Sprint Cup co-driver one of the few ‘TBA’ slots listed on the entry. The team though sprung one major surprise – the #93 will be a Porache and not a Ferrari in 2026!
Rinaldi Racing has signed Dylan Medler, who competed with Kessel Racing in the recent Asian Le Mans Series, for its Silver Cup effort. Medler will share its #45 296 GT3 Evo with the returning Rafael Duran and David Perel.
Kessel Racing has a second Endurance Cup entry, alongside its #74 Ferrari which was revealed earlier this week (Lorenzo Patrese Joins Kessel For Defence Of Bronze Cup Title). Team regular David Fumanelli will share the #76 296 GT3 Evo in the Bronze Cup with series debutants Alessandro Cutrera and Marco Frezza.
And in the Sprint Cup, Emil Frey Racing will field a pair of entries, with both cars running in Pro in 2026. Following Verstappen Racing’s entry into the Sprint Cup, which has led to Chris Lulham exiting Emil Frey, the team has made one change to its line-up with the signing of Matteo Cairoli.
The Italian will share the #14 296 GT3 Evo with Konsta Lappalainen, whilst Ben Green and Thierry Vermeulen will pilot the #69 Ferrari.
Ford Racing official team HRT Ford Racing has announced its first drivers for its two-car Endurance Cup effort. Finn Wiebelhaus, Maxime Oosten and Eduardo Coseteng will race its Silver Cup-entered #65 Mustang GT3 Evo, whilst Arjun Maini is the first driver listed against its #64 Pro entry.
The team has also confirmed that Max Ries will contest select rounds, including the 24 Hours of Spa.
Pure Rxcing has switched from Pro to the Silver Cup for 2026, with Aliaksandr Malykhin and Aleksei Nesov set to pilot its #9 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) for the full-season. Max Hofer will join them in the Endurance Cup.
Team RJN has moved to the Silver Cup with its #23 McLaren GT3 Evo, which will be piloted by Horatio Fitz-Simon, Maxwell Lynn and Ben Dörr in the Endurance Cup.
Porsche contracted driver Bastian Buus is listed for Lionspeed GP’s new Pro Endurance Cup effort, whilst Leo Pichler, Denny Berndt and Luca Rettenbacher are named against Razoon – more than racing’s #914 Silver Cup Porsche. Pichler and Berndt are set to drive for the full-season, with Rettenberger joining them for the Endurance Cup.
New team KPX Motorsport has entered a single BMW M4 GT3 Evo into the Sprint Cup, with the car currently set to be a family affair, with team co-founder Peter Kox named alongside his daughter Stephane.
And finally, Tresor Attempto Racing has named the crews for its Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo IIs.
Ariel Levi, Sebastian Øgaard and Rocco Mazzola will pilot the #66 in Silver in the Endurance Cup, with Levi joined by Andrea Frassineti in the Sprint Cup. In the Endurance rounds, Frassineti will share the #99 R8 LMS GT3 Evo II with its full-season crew of Alex Aka and Dylan Pereira in the Gold Cup.
The Bronze Cup-entered #88 Audi will be driven by Carrie Schriener and Daniele Di Amato in the Endurance Cup, and Øgaard in the Sprint Cup, alongside a to-be-announced Bronze-rated driver.
Tresor Attempto makes up the majority of what is set to be a reduced Audi contingent in GT World Challenge Europe this year, with Sainteloc Racing absent from the entry list. The French squad, which won the 2017 24 Hours of Spa and entered three cars last season, has competed in the series since 2012.
The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season begins at Circuit Paul Ricard on 10th to 11th April 2026, with a six-hour Endurance Cup event.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
