Lionspeed GP has made a strong start to its quest to win the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Drivers’ Championship this weekend, with its #80 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) fastest across today’s pair of 80-minute Free Practice sessions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Free Practice 1
Championship leader Bastian Buus was quickest in Free Practice 1, after setting a 1:40.389 on his first timed lap aboard the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2).
The 23-year-old went 0.219 seconds quicker than Alex Aka, who had led at the conclusion of the first half of the session, which was reserved Silver and Bronze-ranked drivers. Aka, piloting the Gold Cup-entered #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, led a flurry of improvements moments before before the Platinum and Gold drivers were permitted to take to the circuit.
Aka held on to finish FP1 in second overall, ahead of the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Maro Engel.
Fourth overall, and best of the Silver Cup competitions, was the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi courtesy of a 1:40.894 from Andrea Frassineti.
The Bronze Cup was led, in fifth overall, by the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Marvin Dienst with a 1:40.961.
The #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche, #6 GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros Mercedes-AMG, #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing AMG and #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo completed the top 10.
The #10 Boutsen VDS and #89 Lionspeed GP Porsches shared the top of the mileage chart, with both cars completing 36 laps, whilst at the other end of the spectrum the #80 Porsche only covered 13 tours of the 4.657-kilometre circuit.
The 80-minute session was interrupted by a single Red Flag, after Simon Reicher ended up in the gravel in the opening sector aboard the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi inside the opening 10 minutes.
Reicher, Comtoyou Racing’s Arthur Dorison and Team WRT’s Amaury Cordeel have all received five-place grid penalties for speeding under the Red Flag.
Jop Rappange, meanwhile, has earned a five-place grid penalty after picking up his third behaviour warning point of the season. The Dutchman, driving the #77 KPX Motorsport BMW, made contact with the rear of the #27 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Marco Pulcini at pit entry. Both drivers were reprimanded, with Pulcini found to have been driving excessively slowly.
Kessel Racing’s #74 Ferrari has undergone a late change of driver line-up for this weekend. Regular Bronze driver Dustin Blattner has been declared unfit, with Constantin Dressler replacing him alongside Dennis Marschall. Dressler previously substituted for Blattner at August’s Nürburgring Endurance Cup round, where the #74 Ferrari finished third in Bronze.
Blattner’s withdrawal is significant for the full season Bronze Cup Drivers’ Championship battle, with the American currently leading Dienst and Rinat Salikhov by only 0.5 points. Paradine Competition’s Darren Leung is just one point further behind, and the #222 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG of Kiern Jewiss and Charles Dawson is also within six points of Blattner.
Free Practice 2
Boutsen VDS’ Gilles Magnus was fastest in a wet Free Practice 2, which saw cars circulate around 15 seconds off their FP1 pace.
The Belgian recorded a 1:54.557 on his first timed lap aboard the Gold Cup-entered #10 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2), a time which held until the chequered flag as conditions marginally worsened.
Marvin Dienst was second fastest, and best of the Bronze Cup runners, aboard the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO with a 1:55.005.
The #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Ben Green was third, ahead of the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche and #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Lionspeed GP’s #80 Porsche was seventh, one position ahead of the sister #89 entry, aboard which Gustav Bergström led the Silver Cup courtesy of a 1:55.569.
The #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG and #59 Garage 59 Mclaren GT3 Evo made up the top 10.
The #9 Pure Rxcing Porsche completed the most laps, 35, which was one more than a quartet of runners including the #59 McLaren and #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing AMG.
The #6 GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros Mercedes-AMG didn’t take to the track during Free Practice 2, which ran without interruption outside of the now traditional end-of-session Full Course Yellow test.
The #222 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG covered just five laps, whilst the #77 KPX Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo emerged only at the very end of the session in the hands of David Pittard.
Race 1 of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup finale will take place at 14:00 CEST tomorrow, with the grid being set in Qualifying 1 at 9:50 CEST tomorrow morning.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
