At the risk of stating the obvious, Monza produced a dramatic Endurance Cup race last weekend. It began with a multi-car accident at turn 1, and concluded with perhaps the biggest shock in series history as Tresor Attempto Racing triumphed with its Audi. This was just one of the stories from a uniquely eventful contest. Now that the dust has settled, here's a look at what you might have missed.
The Audi won with a relatively straightforward strategy
While this was unquestionably a complex race, the victorious Tresor Attempto Racing Audi won with a fairly conventional strategy. When the race resumed after the initial crash, the car was 17th. It had climbed to P6 by half distance and was P3 with 45 minutes remaining, albeit still needing to stop again while some – such as the #32 BMW and the #2 Porsche – could go the distance.
The late full-course yellow put it on the optimal strategy, though still behind the #23 RJN McLaren and the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. It gained another spot when the McLaren stopped a lap earlier than was ultimately necessary, so now had just one car to clear.
It did this by beating the #87 Mercedes-AMG out of the pits, effectively putting the Tresor Attempto squad in the lead of the race. Rocco Mazzola had to survive an attack from Marvin Dienst at the restart, and was leading when the race was neutralised for the final time. Job done.
The RJN McLaren had the pace win
While no one can deny that Tresor Attempto Racing deserved the victory, the more likely underdog winner seemed to be the #23 RJN McLaren. The car was plainly very fast, especially in the hands of finishing driver Ben Dörr. When the FCY was declared 20 minutes before the end, it looked to be in the box seat.
Dörr had four minutes left on his stint time, so the crucial error was stopping immediately – presumably because the team felt it would be a short FCY – and not running another lap. As it happened, the FCY was extended when the #222 Mercedes-AMG suffered an engine failure. Without this, the RJN McLaren might well have won on Sunday.
The Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG was extremely unlucky
While the McLaren at least brought home a good result in P6 overall, the heroic efforts of the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG went entirely unrewarded. The German-American squad looked strong from the start, with Bronze driver Rinat Salikhov running in the top six overall during the opening hour.
Gabriele Piana and then Marvin Dienst kept the car at the front, the latter coming within inches of passing the #66 Audi for the win. They were at least set for P2 overall and a dominant Bronze Cup win, only to be taken out by the #9 Pure Rxcing Porsche, which had itself been hit by the #32 Team WRT BMW.
This meant that the #87 crew left Monza with nothing, a bitter disappointment after such a strong performance.
It was a rough day for the Pro and Gold Cup runners
Never before have we seen so few Pro cars among the front runners. There was just one on the podium and four among the overall top 10, while only eight of the 17 starters were classified. The Gold Cup contingent also endured a rough day, with the winning Selected Car Racing Ferrari only 14th overall.
It is interesting to note that while more than half the Pro runners did not finish, all 16 Bronze Cup runners and 13 of the 16 Silver Cup entrants were classified.
It has been a rough season for the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche
Yet again, the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche did not complete a lap. This has now happened in four consecutive races – one of which it didn't start – and in each case the car was an innocent victim. In contrast, the sister #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche has completed every lap in Sprint and Endurance this term, a total of 337. For the #2 squad, a class win at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa would be sweet redemption.
Kessel somehow grabbed the Bronze win
With 30 minutes left on the clock the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari was fifth in the Bronze Cup class. A little over half an hour later, Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall and Lorenzo Patrese were being interviewed as the winners. The car had moved to third in time for the final restart and it was on the drag to turn 1 that Marschall passed the #56 Aston Martin. When the Winward Mercedes-AMG was eliminated one lap later, Kessel inherited the win.
Marschall also set the fastest lap during the closing stages, making him the latest driver to earn a pair of customised GT World sneakers. The German posted a 1m46.396s to follow Nicki Thiim, Maro Engel and Morris Schuring in winning this new-for-2026 prize.
There's something about Monza
The strangest statistic of the weekend is that the #66 Audi won from 29th on the grid. Why is that strange? Because it's the record for the lowest starting spot for a winner and it's now happened three times – twice at Monza! This was also the first instance of a Silver car winning overall in Endurance; the previous best finish was third at – you guessed it – Monza in 2021.
There's just something about this circuit...
