Sprint Cup season shifts up a gear as booming 41-car field heads to Zandvoort

• Dutch venue attracts biggest-ever grid for return of GT World Challenge powered by AWS

• Bronze Cup boosts numbers with first Sprint appearance of 2025

• Fascinating title battles in prospect after ultra-competitive opener at Brands Hatch

A 41-car field will head to Zandvoort next weekend (16–18 May) for what promises to be a hugely competitive Sprint Cup event at the historic Dutch venue.

It follows the opening Sprint meeting at Brands Hatch (3/4 May), which produced two entirely different overall podiums and a pair of class winners in both the Gold Cup and Silver Cup. Zandvoort should be even more competitive, with the Bronze Cup contenders joining the grid after skipping the British round.

This brings the field to 41 cars, by far the most ever seen at the Dutch venue and only the third time in Sprint Cup history that the grid has exceeded 40. As ever they will contest a pair of 60-minute races, one each on Saturday (15:00) and Sunday (14:45). With no margin for error and plenty of overtaking opportunities, Zandvoort is all set to serve up a thriller.

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TICKETS

Tickets for this and other GT World Challenge events can be purchased here.

TIMETABLE (CEST)

FRIDAY 16 MAY

Free Practice: 10:20-12:00

Pre-Qualifying: 15:10-16:10

SATURDAY 17 MAY

Qualifying 1: 10:00-10:10 LIVE TV

Race 1: 15:00–16:00 LIVE TV

SUNDAY 18 MAY

Qualifying 2: 09:00-09:10 LIVE TV

Race 2: 14:45–15:45 LIVE TV

ALSO RACING

• GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli (2x 60-minute races)

• GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club (2x 60-minute races)

• GB3 Championship (3x 25-minute races)

HOW TO WATCH

Extensive live coverage will be available on the GT World YouTube channel. This is free to view around the globe and includes start-to-finish action from every GT World Challenge race. Click here for more information.

Rossi and Magnussen to join star-studded Team WRT line-up at CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa

Valentino Rossi and Kevin Magnussen will add even more star power to the grid when the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa gets underway on Saturday 28 June. The nine-time motorcycle racing world champion and the former F1 driver will join Team WRT, which has revealed plans to field two additional BMW M4 GT3 EVOs, bringing its total to five cars. Just 50 days ahead of the traditional parade through the streets of Spa, it’s yet another reason not to miss the 77th edition of this legendary race, which will be staged between 25 and 29 June.

Unveiling its new headquarters on the outskirts of Liège to the press and its contacts this Tuesday evening (6 May), Team WRT announced the full driver line-ups for the twice-around-the-clock race. The team – run by Vincent Vosse, Kathleen Schurmans, and Yves Weerts – will add two more M4 GT3 EVOs. In addition to Rossi and Magnussen, two former winners of the 24 Hours of Spa and Dries Vanthoor are also among the reinforcements. The Belgian squad has made its ambitions crystal clear: to secure a third victory at the world’s greatest GT race.

A passionate fan of the Ardennes classic, Rossi will be competing at Spa for the fourth time, making his third attempt behind the wheel of a BMW. Driving car #46 – naturally! – the MotoGP legend is chasing what would be a truly historic victory. "I'm very happy to be back at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa," said Rossi. "It's a fantastic race, very demanding and difficult, on a circuit that commands respect. The level of this race, with the best GT drivers and teams in the world, is incredible. I can't wait to compete with my great teammates, Kevin Magnussen and René Rast."

To assist him in this task, The Doctor will be joined by new BMW M Motorsport driver Magnussen. Over 10 seasons in Formula 1, the Dane made 186 Grand Prix starts for McLaren, Renault, and Haas. Now 32, he has turned his hand to endurance racing, a discipline that brought fame to his father, Jan.

“I'm really looking forward to discovering the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with BMW M Motorsport and Team WRT," he said. "I'll also have to get used to the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. I have some GT experience, having competed in a race with my father, the Gulf 12 Hours, a few years ago. René and Valentino will certainly be able to help me a lot so that I can get used to the car as quickly as possible. I'm very excited to share with them. Valentino is a legend, and René, whom I know well since we're on the same team in the FIA WEC, is a true champion. It will be a pleasure to participate together at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa."

They will both count on the enormously experienced Rast. Among his many achievements, the German is a two-time CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa winner with Phoenix Racing (2012) and Team WRT (2014).

Three more international stars will get behind the wheel of the #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, notably the winner of the 2023 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, Marco Wittmann. He will be joined by two drivers who have already twice finished on the podium in the Ardennes classic: Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor. Runner-up in a thrilling 2021 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, Vanthoor is still chasing his first win at the Ardennes event. A three-time GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup champion, Spa remains one of the major goals of his career – and this could be the year.

Alongside the two additional cars, Team WRT will field a third BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the Pro class. Winners of the opening round of the 2025 Endurance Cup at Circuit Paul Ricard, Kelvin van der Linde (Sheldon’s older brother), and Belgian stars Charles Weerts and Ugo de Wilde will be aiming for overall victory in the #32 machine.

Team WRT will also compete in the Silver Cup with the #30 BMW, driven by Gilles Stadsbader, Gustav Bergström, and Étienne Chéli. Lastly, under the AlManar Racing by WRT banner, the #777 BMW will be entered by the team now based in the Liège region. Aiming for Gold Cup victory, Al Faisal Al Zubair, Ben Tuck, and Jens Klingmann could also contend for a strong overall finish.

“We are very proud to be competing in the biggest GT3 race in the world with such a strong line-up,” said Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport. “We will have 11 BMW M4 GT3 EVOs at the start, including five in the Pro class to aim for the overall victory. It’s fantastic! We’ve never had so many GT3 cars at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The fact that we can have Valentino Rossi, Kevin Magnussen and René Rast sharing a car should really excite the fans who will be at the track or in front of their screens.”

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The Final Word: Brands Hatch

GT World Challenge powered by AWS made its annual visit to Brands Hatch last weekend for the traditional Sprint Cup season opener. As has so often been the case over the years, the event brought sunshine and a very healthy crowd to the Kent circuit. Sunday morning's pit walk was especially busy, with large numbers of fans gathered around each garage, taking the opportunity to grab autographs and selfies with the drivers.

On the track, the spectators were treated to more variety than ever before. The grid featured 10 different brands, the most ever seen at a Sprint Cup event, while Brands Hatch drew its biggest field since 2017. The racing was ultra-close too, which bodes well for a highly competitive season. This is the Final Word on the 2025 Sprint Cup opener.

AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors began the season with overall victory thanks to the #51 Ferrari pairing of Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera. An extra lap at the end of the first stint and a strong pit stop made the crucial difference for the Italian squad. This was the sixth win for Ferrari in Sprint, half of which have come courtesy of AF Corse.

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Abril secured his first Sprint Cup triumph since the series visited the Hungaroring in 2019, while Rovera won his very first race. The last driver to achieve this was Thomas Neubauer at Brands Hatch in 2019. Lucas Auer won on his debut weekend last season, though the Austrian's victory came in Race 2.

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Speaking of Auer, he and teammate Maro Engel appear fully motivated to secure back-to-back Sprint Cup titles. They took the #48 Mercedes-AMG to a flawless victory in Race 2, ensuring that they and Winward Racing enjoy a narrow lead in both the teams' and drivers' standings.

Garage 59 appears closer than ever to returning McLaren to the top step of the podium after finishing a close second in Race 1. Marvin Kirchhöfer and Benjamin Goethe both looked quick and aggressive, the latter making a decisive move around the outside of Druids to secure runner-up spot.

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Team WRT delivered typically impressive pit stops at Brands Hatch. Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde were frustrated by a lack of pace in Qualifying but seized upon a mega stop in Race 2 to secure a runner-up finish. The #32 BMW will enjoy better days in 2025, so the points scored at Brands Hatch should prove crucial.

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Another team that showed impressive speed in the pits was Rutronik Racing. The #96 Porsche completed the second-best stop in Race 2, helping Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller on their way to a P3 finish. Across the board, the Rutronik squad has progressed significantly since making its Sprint Cup debut at Brands Hatch last season.

Emil Frey Racing led the opening stint of Race 1 thanks to pole-sitter Thierry Vermeulen, who looked very comfortable at the wheel of the #69 Ferrari. This was impressive, though not a shock given the speed that both driver and team have shown over the past two seasons. A slightly slower pit stop compared with AF Corse ultimately cost Vermeulen and teammate Chris Lulham the win.

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Lulham was the revelation of the weekend. The esports ace is making a huge step up this season, but he looked entirely at home when racing the likes of Maro Engel, Vincent Abril and Sandy Mitchell. He also qualified second overall for Race 2, just 0.027s shy of defending champion Engel.

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Brands Hatch made it clear that the Sprint Cup will be intensely competitive this season. For the first time since the series began visiting the track in 2014, six different crews scored an overall podium across the two races. The battle for class honours also looks set to be fierce this term.

In addition to an overall podium, Emil Frey Racing scored a commanding Race 1 victory in the Gold Cup. The car ran second overall and led its class again in Race 2 but slipped back after a delayed pit stop.

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In contrast, the #777 AlManar by Team WRT BMW received a lightning-fast service to vault into the class lead. Indeed, with a time of 40.667 seconds between pit-in and pit-out, this was the best stop of the weekend. It was not quite enough to secure victory in the Pit Stop Challenge, with the sister #32 Team WRT BMW crew delivering a better combined time across the two races.

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AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors took the opening Silver Cup win with its #52 Ferrari. Though he has scored several class podiums, this was Jef Machiels' maiden series win. Marcos Siebert bagged victory on debut and looked strong from the start, running close to the overall top 10 during his stint.

Rutronik Racing won the opening race on the road but was pegged back by a pit infringement penalty. Nevertheless, its drivers can be pleased with their performances. Loek Hartog made a superb start and ran towards the front of the overall order, while Eshan Pieris did well to maintain the lead on what was his first-ever visit to Brands Hatch.

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Silver Cup title favourite Boutsen VDS won Race 2 thanks to Aurélien Panis and Cesar Gazeau. The #10 Mercedes-AMG completed the third-fastest pit stop in Race 2 before Panis fought off fellow Silver Cup veteran Ezequiel Perez Companc (#99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi) during the closing stages.

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Thierry Vermeulen and Maro Engel both earned a Rowe Pole Award in Saturday afternoon's back-to-back qualifying sessions. The former secured his first-ever overall Sprint Cup pole, becoming the first Dutchman to start from P1 since Robin Frijns at Zolder in 2017. Engel booked P1 on the grid for the first time since Valencia 2021.

HRT Ford Performance carried out overnight repairs to its #64 Mustang after Romain Andriolo hit the barriers during Pre-Qualifying. The German squad's hard work ensured that the car made its first competitive appearance on British soil when racing got underway on Sunday.

* * *

On Sunday morning, a pit walk and autograph session brought a huge crowd of spectators to the Brands Hatch pit lane; indeed, the queue stretched all the way to Druids. As is typically the case, the venue felt very busy and fans were provided with plenty of off-track entertainment.

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The Sprint Cup resumes in two weeks’ time at Zandvoort. The Dutch venue returns to the calendar following a one-year absence, hosting a pair of 60-minute races over the weekend of 16-18 May. Just before that, the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue runs on 13/14 May.

Monster entry for Indonesia’s GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS debut

• 34 GT3s ready for Mandalika’s maiden international car races

• Giancarlo Fisichella amongst championship debutants

MANDALIKA ENTRY LIST

Mandalika International Circuit and Indonesia both make their long-awaited GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS debuts this weekend when a bumper 34-car entry writes history on the scenic island of Lombok.

The 4.3km-long, 17-turn venue has hosted MotoGP and the FIM Superbike World Championship since its completion in late 2021. However, SRO’s event will feature the first international car races ever staged at the circuit, while Indonesia becomes the sixth country and Mandalika the 12th different track to host a round of Asia’s biggest GT3 series.

Its tropical island location has also, perhaps, partially contributed towards such a sizeable entry! Only once in series history has the championship exceeded 34 cars, when GT World Challenge Asia and Japan Cup grids were combined at Fuji in 2023.

Mandalika’s list features this year’s 33 full-season entries – including the Porsche Center Okazaki and Absolute Corse cars that didn’t compete at Sepang – and one guest Ferrari, which also raced in Malaysia. Four Indonesians are amongst the 68 drivers: reigning Am champion David Tjiptobiantoro, Setiawan Santoso, Anderson Tanoto and Andrea Anatra.

But there are also several debutants, including Formula 1 Grand Prix race winner Giancarlo Fisichella who shares LM Corsa’s Ferrari with Shigekazu Wakisaka.

As ever, qualifying and both 60-minute sprint races are live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel this Saturday and Sunday.

Sprint Cup season shifts up a gear as booming 41-car field heads to Zandvoort

TIMETABLE (CEST)

ALSO RACING

HOW TO WATCH

Rossi and Magnussen to join star-studded Team WRT line-up at CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa

The Final Word: Brands Hatch

Monster entry for Indonesia’s GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS debut

Track Night, SCCA & VETMotorsports Team Up in May!