The International GT Open season resumes this weekend at the Hockenheimring after its summer holiday recess, hosting the fifth sprint race meeting of the 2026 campaign for Rounds 10 and 11.
Steeped in history, this fast and technical circuit is situated just outside the town of Hockenheim, in the Upper Rhine valley in south-west Germany. It will host a grid of 27 GT3 cars across the Pro, Pro-Am and Am categories.
Toms Emson and Lebbon are at the top of the championship standings for the British team Elite Motorsport.
The #17 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo pairing secured their fourth win of the season last time out in the south of France. Despite the highs and lows so far, they lead the team’s most successful GT Open season on 102 points.
Team Motopark’s #71 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo is driven by season debutant and open-wheel racing graduate Christian Mansell and his teammate, Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maximilian Götz. They are Elite’s nearest threat, six points behind, having leveraged consistency so far with four second-placed finishes.
Along with regulars Marcelo Ramírez and Dominik Baumann in the #28 Mercedes, Motopark has its #99 Mercedes entry shared by former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin and Mercedes-AMG junior driver Lin Hodenius — both marking their GT Open debuts.
On 80 points, ZRS Motorsport’s #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Alex Fontana and Pietro Armanni scored more points at the previous Paul Ricard meeting than either of the two teams ahead of them in the standings, making them a formidable duo ready to spring into action if and when the #17 Ferrari and #71 Mercedes run into difficulty.
McLaren GT3 Junior driver Zac Meakin is fourth in the standings on 76 points in the Greystone GT #33 McLaren GT3 Evo, which he reunites with McLaren factory star Dean Macdonald after Joseph Loake substituted for the Scotsman last time out.
Briton McKenzy Cresswell and Spaniard Alejandro Geppert share Greystone’s additional #44 McLaren in the Pro category too.
AF Corse’s usual two cars further represent Maranello machinery with Rafael Durán/Tommaso Mosca in the #51 Ferrari, and Yaroslav Veselaho/Lorenzo Ferrari in the #96 Ferrari.
Villorba Corse’s young talents Leonardo Moncini and Rodrigo Testa share the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 and are keen to break through to their maiden race win.
Double TT Racing continues the theme of fielding young blood with defending Italian GT Endurance champion Leonardo Colavita, aged 21, sharing the #62 Ferrari with Belgian driver Gilles Renmans, aged 25 — rounding out 11 Pro-class competitors.
There is also a four-way fight at the top of the Pro-Am championship, led by Swiss youngster Alexander Fach on 64 points, sharing the #11 Porsche with Alexander Schwarzer (on 49 championship points) at the Hockenheimring — with Fach having gone solo at Misano to score more points this season.
Blackthorn Racing’s Charles Bateman is second on 59 points, having also driven solo at Misano, and is joined by Aston Martin factory driver and two-time Le Mans class winner Jonny Adam in the #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO. They won both Paul Ricard races in Pro-Am last time out, and it will be the Scotsman’s back-to-back race meeting, having finished on the LMGT3 podium at the Lone Star Le Mans.
Karol Basz and Marcin Jedliński lie third in the Pro-Am standings on 49 points for the #777 Olimp Racing Ferrari team, chasing their first class win of the season, but consistency has kept them within a shout of the championship lead.
Team ISR Racing’s Czech duo, Libor Milota and Filip Salaquarda, broke their streak of four consecutive Pro-Am podiums and are eager to rejuvenate their success to close down on the Pro-Am title protagonists in the #75 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2.
Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler of the #54 CBRX by SPS Mercedes are another pairing capable of winning, having scored two second-placed finishes and three third-place finishes
French drivers Michaël Blanchemain and Jim Pla are looking to bounce back after being unavoidably collected when Müller triggered a multi-car incident in Race 1 at Paul Ricard, leaving their #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi damaged and unable to compete in the next day’s Qualifying and Race 2.
McLaren are represented by Track Focussed’s #88 machine shared by Darren and James Kell, and Greystone GT’s #24 entrant shared by Oli Webb and Andrey Borodin.
Into Africa by Dragon Racing’s #25 Ferrari, Xolile Letlaka and Axcil Jefferies, rounds out nine cars in Pro-Am.
Adrian Lewandowski has the Am championship lead heading to Hockenheim on 72 points, 10 ahead of his father Andrzej, with whom he will share the #6 Baron Motorsport Ferrari (pre-gen).
AF Corse’s Galid Osman and Marcelo Hahn left southern France scoring their third Am win and continue their hunt for championship glory with 59 points in the #16 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.
Joel Monegro Reyes (56 points) and Lucas Wolf contest in Fach Auto Tech’s #12 Porsche together for the remainder of the season, as Stanislaw Jedlinski and Kristian Korzeniowski front Olimp Racing’s #5 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.
The only solo drivers are Alfredo Hernández in the #77 Grupo Prom RT Mercedes and Seweryn Mazur in the #79 Sendom Racing Lamborghini, as newcomers Förch Racing by Atlas Ward will compete through to the end of the 2026 season in the hands of Jakub Dwernicki and Tomasz Magdziarz in the #67 Porsche.
Qualifying 1 takes place from 09:55-10:20 CEST on Saturday 12 September, setting the grid for the 70-minute sprint Race 1 at 14:10-15:20.
On Sunday 13 September, the action continues with Qualifying 2 at 09:05-09:30, followed by the 60-minute Race 2 at 13:05-14:05.
Images courtesy of GT Sport
