• Lead changes back and forth between duelling German brands
• Season now in full swing with 10 of 29 rounds complete
• Upcoming events in America and Australia followed by CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa
• Global standings
Just seven points separate Mercedes-AMG from Porsche in the scrap for GT World Challenge powered by AWS supremacy as this year’s global GT3 contest passes one-third distance.
All four continental series have been in action over the last five weeks and will be again at least once before the summer break in August. The list of upcoming events is dominated by the world’s biggest GT3 race – the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – at the end of June following America and Australia’s outings at Road Atlanta and Queensland Raceway, respectively, this weekend. Asia, meanwhile, returns to action at Fuji in early July following Shanghai’s postponement.
The recent stretch of races began on 25/26 April with GT World Challenge America staging its second round at Circuit of the Americas. Known universally as COTA, the Texan track is motor racing’s answer to a greatest hits compilation, with corners inspired by Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone and Interlagos among others.
Porsche was number one thanks to the Wright Motorsport pairing of Dave Musial Jr. and Ryan Yardley, though Mikaël Grenier took the chequered flag first in his JMF Mercedes-AMG before being pegged back by a post-race penalty. The McCann Porsche completed a good day for the Weissach brand by finishing third, sending it to the top of the charts with a nine-point advantage.
The weekend of 2/3 May saw two series in action at Mandalika (Asia) and Brands Hatch (Europe). This doubleheader showcased the diversity of the GT World Challenge calendar: one track is located on a coastal resort in Indonesia and opened in 2021, while the other is sited on ancient Kent countryside and celebrates its centenary this year.
Cheng Congfu and Yu Kuai led an FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom one-two in Mandalika's opening contest, seizing on a timely safety car to beat the sister R8 of Andrés Pato/Jaxon Evans and local hero Sean Gelael's Garage 75 Ferrari. The Phantom Global Porsche of Anthony Liu and Loek Hartog triumphed in the second outing, beating the Absolute Racing-run 911 in a Weissach one-two, with the Evans/Pato Audi placing third.
At Brands Hatch, Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer gave Ferrari the opening Sprint Cup win of the season by triumphing for AF Corse, though Verstappen Racing took the chequered flag first only to be penalised for a yellow flag infringement. With the AMG falling down the order, the podium was completed by crews representing Porsche (Boutsen VDS) and BMW (Team WRT).
Lionspeed's Porsche had dominated the opening contest from pole before being sunk by technical problems, but Race 2 was plain sailing as Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus cruised to victory. Mercedes-AMG squads occupied the second and third steps of the podium, with Verstappen Racing rebounding from its opening race disappointment in second and Winward Racing taking third.
The combined results from these two events saw Porsche stretch its advantage considerably, with 46 points now the deficit to Mercedes-AMG, but the pendulum swung just as quickly in the other direction with another doubleheader on 9/10 May.
GT World Challenge Australia tackled The Bend for its second event of the year. Already a winner in the opener, Tigani Motorsport did the double at the South Australia track by taking Race 1 honours with Brendon Leitch/Sergio Pires and adding the Race 2 win courtesy of Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti. This made Tigani the first team – though not the first brand – to secure a weekend sweep in 2026.
Audi also put up a strong showing at The Bend with two podiums for Team BRM and another for Melbourne Performance Centre. Ferrari squad ARGT picked up the remaining rostrum, but this was unquestionably a weekend for the AMG-Audi contingent.
Australia is not a happy hunting ground for either Porsche or BMW, but both are well represented in GT World Challenge America. So, while its rivals were cleaning up Down Under, the American event at Sebring International Raceway represented a chance to hit back.
Again, the JMF Mercedes-AMG was the class of the field, but a terminally smoky engine destroyed what looked set to be a commanding win and allowed Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg to secure BMW’s first global victory of 2026. Dollahite Racing was second, giving the Ford Mustang its best result of the season, while AF Corse completed the podium with its Ferrari. Porsche filled the next three spots, but the results from Australia and America cut its lead to just three points.
The back-to-back doubleheaders were followed by a two-week break – one of only three between March and November – after which the season resumed with GT World Challenge Europe heading to Monza for its third event of the year.
Though still competitive, the Audi R8 had not won an Endurance Cup race in Europe since 2022. But by making all of its stops under full-course yellow conditions in a race punctuated by multiple accidents – including major incidents at the start and the finish – the Tresor Attempto squad was able to snatch a remarkable win. Mercedes-AMG finished second thanks to Winward, while McLaren completed the podium courtesy of CSA Racing.
This edged AMG back in front of Porsche, though with a lead of just seven points the positions could just as easily flip next time out. The gap to third-placed Ferrari is more than 100 points, with BMW and Audi close behind the Italian marque. McLaren, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ford and Chevrolet complete the table after 10 of 29 rounds. The next events take place in Australia and America on 13/14 June, followed two weeks later by the marquee CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa (27/28 June).