The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season is up and running following last Saturday's six-hour opener at Circuit Paul Ricard.
The French venue drew a superb crowd for what was a busy weekend on and off the track. BMW emerged as the big winner as it captured overall victory and a Silver Cup win, while there were also triumphs for McLaren in Gold and Ferrari in Bronze.
With seven brands earning at least one podium over the weekend, the series was at its competitive best. This is the Final Word on the first encounter of 2025.
The event was a big hit with the public, drawing a crowd of 31,500 spectators to Circuit Paul Ricard over the course of the weekend. The Fan Village provided a central gathering point, with big screens showing the race, food and drinks stalls, and a DJ set providing a party atmosphere.
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On Saturday evening, fans at the track and those watching at home witnessed the 13th win for BMW since the Endurance Cup began in 2011. This is comfortably more than any other brand, while Team WRT earned its eighth overall triumph in the series. Kelvin van der Linde scored his third victory, Charles Weerts took his second, while Ugo de Wilde became a first-time winner.
Porsche finished second and third overall thanks to the #96 (Rutronik Racing) and #22 (Schumacher CLRT) respectively. This matches the brand's number of Endurance Cup podiums from 2024 and is the first time that Porsche has placed a pair of cars in the top three since the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in 2020.
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Five of the 10 competing brands were represented among the overall top 10: BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin and McLaren. Among the other five, the best overall finishers were Ford (P11), Lamborghini (P12), Ferrari (P15), Corvette (P19) and Audi (P21).
CSA Racing completed a perfect maiden weekend with McLaren. The #111 entry took class honours in the Gold Cup and finished seventh overall. This was a strong weekend all round for the Gold runners as Verstappen.com Racing and AlManar Racing by WRT also finished among the overall top 10.
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The #58 Garage 59 McLaren also deserves mention. Dean MacDonald was the star of the opening two stints, charging to the overall lead while comfortably heading the Gold Cup order. Louis Prette ran in the top five for the middle phase, but there was heartbreak at the penultimate stop when the car ground to a halt at the pit exit.
Paradine Competition took Silver Cup honours, securing the British squad its first Endurance Cup class win. The #60 VSR Lamborghini dominated the race before being passed with just over an hour remaining. It subsequently received a drive-through penalty for track limits and fell to sixth at the finish.
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Kessel Racing has now earned back-to-back Bronze Cup wins at Circuit Paul Ricard, triumphing last year in the three-hour race and this year over six hours. Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall also won the final race of 2024 driving a Rutronik Racing Porsche, while Conrad Laursen triumphed on his series debut.
The fastest lap of the weekend was set by Klaus Bachler (#22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche) who posted a 1m53.091s in Qualifying 3, while Charles Weerts ran the fastest race lap (1m54.826s) in the winning Team WRT BMW. Neither was able to topple the respective record time.
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The race ran without a single appearance from the new Maserati GT2 Stradale Safety Car, though the Maserati MC20 Leading Car could not be missed as it led the field away for the formation lap. There were five short full-course yellow periods, but all were dealt with quickly and racing was able to continue.
This marked the first time since 2016 that a six-hour race has not featured a safety car intervention. However this year's event fell slightly short of the record number of laps completed at Circuit Paul Ricard, which was set at 183 in 2023. Saturday's race ran to 179 laps.
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In addition to a wealth of off-track entertainment, fans at Circuit Paul Ricard were also treated to six support races from the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club, GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo. More than 150 cars were present for almost 12 hours of competitive action.
The 2025 season continues with the Sprint Cup opener at Brands Hatch on 3/4 May. The next stop on the Endurance Cup schedule is Monza, which will stage a three-hour race on 30 May–1 June, while teams must also factor in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue on 13/14 May and a Sprint event at Zandvoort on 16–18 May. The season is underway – and it's already getting very busy!