The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup season opener at Brands Hatch looked set to go the way of Verstappen Racing’s #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, which catapulted to the lead from third with a perfectly executed pit strategy.
But it was one of nine cars dealt a post-race 30-second time penalty for a yellow flag infringement, dropping it to 13th. After the penalties were applied and the final order was shuffled, the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer inherited the victory.
The foundations for what would have been the Max Verstappen-owned team’s first-ever win were laid by Daniel Juncadella. He held station in third during the first half of the race for the team, keeping the AMG within shouting distance of the pole-sitting #80 Lionspeed Porsche and #50 AF Corse Ferrari in second.
By staying out an additional two laps during the pit window and using clear air to his advantage, the Spaniard was able to pit for the driver change and give his teammate Chris Lulham the lead when he rejoined.
“We thought about this strategy last night. I had a good start, and in my stint, I was managing it to be quick at the end, so when people triggered on the pit stop, I could push and make up time on track. It worked perfectly!” Juncadella explained.
A Full Course Yellow in the second half of the race to recover a stranded Tresor Audi at Stirling’s allowed Neubauer, who emerged from the pit lane ahead of the #80 Lionspeed Porsche (which lost pace and eventually retired with a steering issue), to fill up Lulham’s mirrors and ramp up the pressure. But the Frenchman was unable to keep tabs with the Briton, who eased away in the closing stages when the race returned to green.
There were two dollops of late drama, though, for the Verstappen Racing team, the second of which cost them victory.
The first was a five-second time penalty for a pit infringement, which forced Lulham to push to extend his lead in the final three laps of the race. With Neubauer falling into the clutches of third-placed Dorian Boccolacci in the #3 Boutsen VDS Porsche, he dug deep and created a 6.2-second margin that was reduced to 1.2 after the flag with the penalty applied.
In the end, however, jubilation in the garage quickly turned into disappointment, as by the time Lulham had pulled into the pit lane, news began to filter through that the Ferrari had been promoted to first.
Like the #50 AF Corse crew, the drivers in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche benefitted handsomely, slotting in second, adding to the reward for Boccolacci’s impressive stint.
The #32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo completed the podium, leading a train of Belgian-flagged entries home. In the end, the #31 would take fourth, and both the #46 and #30 (the runaway leader in the Silver class) would receive the same penalty as the Verstappen AMG, dropping them outside the top 10 to 16th and 17th.
The #14 Emil Frey Ferrari would be classified fifth, with the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG sixth, leading home the #9 Pure Rxcing Porsche of Alex Malykhin and Alexy Nesov that nabbed the Silver cup victory. Optimum Motorsport, in its first ever Sprint Cup outing, moved up to an impressive second with its #5 McLaren.
In the Gold class, the #51 AF Corse Ferrari took the honours with an eighth-place finish. Matias Zagazeta led home the #58 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo, which finished second in the category and ninth overall.
All the late and post-race shenanigans came after the race was red-flagged for a huge incident on the opening lap at Stirling’s involving Boutsen VDS’ Robin Knutsson. The Swede was rudely fired off the track on driver’s right by the #914 Razoon Porsche of Simon Birch, severely damaging his #10 911 GT3 R Evo and the barriers on impact.
Thankfully, Knutsson walked away, but it added to his torrid start to the season. He also retired from the Endurance Cup opener at Paul Ricard last month in the shunt on the approach to Turn 1 on the opening lap.
Initially, the teams followed the safety car, but race control soon stopped the race with just under 55 minutes remaining to allow circuit officials to repair the stretch of armco that bore the brunt of the hit. Birch, meanwhile, was handed a drive-through, which dropped the car from 20th to 33rd. Magnus Gustavsen brought it home 29th.
Towards the bottom of the timing screens, it was a tough outing for the pair of Lamborghini Temerario GT3s in their first Sprint Cup appearance. The #96 from Rutronik Racing finished 21st overall, and the #163 Gold Cup-entered example from VSR followed on in 28th after losing time and track position when Mattia Michelotto suffered a spin on the exit of Druids on Lap 1.
Race 2 later today is next up; it’s set to get underway at 15:45 local time in the UK.
Image courtesy of SRO
