The 2024 season is very nearly complete for Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya staged the deciding round of the Sprint Cup last weekend, with four sets of champions crowned at the Spanish venue.
It concluded what has been a particularly competitive year for the series. Indeed, not a single title was decided before Sunday’s final 60-minute race, with almost nothing to choose between the championship protagonists in each class.
With the short-format season in the books, just one stop remains on the 2024 schedule. Before attention turns to the Endurance Cup decider, this is the Final Word on the Sprint Cup showdown.
Winward Racing Team Mann-Filter earned the overall series titles, coming from behind to beat Team WRT in both the teams' and drivers' standings. The #48 crew of Maro Engel and Lucas Auer finished third in Race 1 and fourth in Race 2. This was their smallest points haul of the season, with both drivers taking a cautious approach to ensure that they brought home the trophy.
* * *
It was an especially sweet success for Engel, who has twice missed out on the Sprint Cup title at the final hurdle. Indeed, he lost the 2019 crown on a tie-break after finishing level on points with FFF Racing Lamborghini duo Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli.
* * *
This was the first time that Mercedes-AMG had taken the drivers’ title since Raffaele Marciello and Michael Meadows triumphed in 2018, while Winward Racing gave the brand its first teams' crown since AKKA ASP in 2019. Auer became champion in his debut Sprint Cup campaign, a feat not achieved since Maximilian Götz in 2014.
* * *
Fellow Mercedes-AMG squad Boutsen VDS was also celebrating in Spain after clinching its first-ever overall win in Race 1. It marked a maiden Sprint Cup victory for Jules Gounon, while fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Götz triumphed for the first time since 19 October 2014, when he won at Zolder for HTP Motorsport.
* * *
Rutronik Racing earned Race 2 honours to give Porsche its first-ever Sprint Cup win. The result had been coming: the #96 crew of Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller won on the road at Magny-Cours only for a post-race penalty to demote them to third. They had already shown their speed by securing runner-up spot in the opening Barcelona contest.
The 2024 Sprint Cup season has been challenging for Comtoyou Racing, making the second-place finish that Nicolas Baert and Mattia Drudi scored on Sunday all the sweeter. This was a first overall podium for Baert, who sustained significant pressure during the closing stages to seal the result.
* * *
Garage 59 also earned its first overall podium of the year in Race 2 with Benjamin Goethe and Tom Gamble finishing third. Indeed, this was the team's first in Sprint since Rob Bell and Álvaro Parente won at the Nürburgring in 2016. It capped a season in which the #159 McLaren drivers scored points in every race, their best result coming in the final contest.
* * *
Sunday's outing was the only Sprint Cup race this season in which neither the #48 Mercedes-AMG nor the #32 BMW finished on the overall podium. Engel and Auer collected eight podiums this term, only missing out in Misano Race 1 and Barcelona Race 2.
* * *
Liqui-Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup claimed the Gold Cup crown thanks to a P2 finish for Luca Engstler and Max Hofer in the deciding race. The German squad can claim the unique distinction of winning its class with two different cars, having swapped its usual Audi for a Lamborghini at Hockenheim.
* * *
The #111 CSA Racing Audi won the opening Gold Cup contest and started the decider half a point ahead of Engstler/Hofer. Ultimately the outcome was settled when Simon Gachet sustained damage on the opening lap, spoiling what could have been a brilliant battle between the two Gold Cup contenders.
The #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi of Lorenzo Patrese and Lorenzo Ferrari clinched Gold Cup honours in Race 2, concluding the season with a fourth win from six races. Across that stretch, the Italian drivers were comfortably the top points scorers in their class
* * *
Calan Williams won the Silver Cup title solo after Sam De Haan was forced to withdraw at late notice for personal reasons. The #30 Team WRT BMW dominated its class for the first three Sprint Cup events, but faced a tricky final two rounds, particularly after De Haan's withdrawal.
* * *
In urgent need of a Silver driver, Team WRT called upon the experienced Sean Gelael. He only arrived from Indonesia on Friday afternoon, missing the Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying sessions. Gelael did an admirable job in the circumstances, holding on to P2 in the second contest to ensure Williams and Team WRT were crowned champions.
* * *
Boutsen VDS made Team WRT sweat by sweeping the weekend with its #10 Mercedes-AMG. Aurélien Panis and César Gazeau were both impressive, the latter delivering his most polished performance yet in Fanatec GT Europe. The French pairing finished just five points short of snatching the title away from Williams.
* * *
While they just missed out on the Sprint crown, Panis and Gazeau were crowned overall Silver Cup champions with a round to spare. The teams’ title remains up for grabs, though Boutsen VDS holds a 26-point advantage over Winward Racing with 34 points left to score in the Endurance Cup finale.
Simon Reicher and Karol Basz earned a brace of Silver Cup podiums at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The #84 Eastalent Racing Audi was making its second Sprint Cup outing of the season and its first in Silver. Basz also secured class pole for Sunday's contest to cap a fine weekend for the new squad.
* * *
In the Bronze Cup, Darren Leung and Dan Harper followed up last year's British GT title by winning the Fanatec GT Europe Sprint Cup crown. The #991 Paradine Competition BMW pairing did so with a pair of podiums, fishing second in Race 1 and third in Race 2.
* * *
The #188 Garage 59 McLaren of Miguel Ramos and Louis Prette finally scored a deserved first victory of 2024 by taking Race 1 honours. Rutronik Racing sealed the Bronze Cup win in Race 2, a result that promoted Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall to third in the final standings.
* * *
Patrick Kujala scored pole for Saturday's race aboard the #72 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini. This was the first overall pole position for the team and its long-serving driver, as well as the first for a Bronze Cup car. Kujala had previously earned a front-row start at Misano in 2021.
* * *
The best story of the weekend was Dylan Pereira's escape from the dramatic accident that occurred at the start of Race 1. Though his Audi was damaged beyond repair, the Tresor Attempto Racing driver climbed from the wreckage without assistance. Indeed, the #66 crew was able to compete in Sunday's race using one of the team's spare cars.
Barcelona marked the second time this season that Lamborghini Super Trofeo was part of the Fanatec GT Europe support line-up. Next year, the popular one-make series will be present at all five Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup events, continuing a long and successful partnership between the Italian marque and SRO Motorsports Group.
* * *
The 2024 Fanatec GT Europe season will conclude with a deciding six-hour Endurance Cup contest at Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia (28–30 November). The Sprint Cup will return in 2025, with Brands Hatch set to stage the opening round on 3/4 May. The series will maintain its familiar five-event schedule, with Zandvoort, Misano, Magny-Cours and Valencia also on next year’s calendar.
* The results from Race 1 at Barcelona, as well as the final Sprint Cup classification and champions, remain pending subject to an appeal lodged by Team WRT.