GT World Challenge Europe Preview: Monza

Credit: SRO/JEP

The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe (GTWC EU) season continues this weekend, with Endurance Cup action resuming at the ‘Temple of Speed’ as teams prepare for an important three-hour Race.

It’s the turn of Monza to host the third round of the GTWC EU and second for the Endurance Cup, with 57 cars from all classes battling it out over the iconic Italian circuit.

Since 2014, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza has hosted 11 races for the series, its iconic layout being the next battlefield for teams and drivers alike. Fresh off two spectacular Sprint Cup races at Brands Hatch, Monza is bound to bring an amazing Race.

Entry list

After being absent from the Brands Hatch round due to capacity restrictions, the Bronze class entries return to action, with 16 of them ready to go racing. Alongside them, there are 41 more cars, split across the usual Pro, Gold and Silver classes.

You can view the full entry list here.

Championship standings 

After two rounds, Winward leads the way in the overall standings with 40.5 points, with Comtoyou four points behind in second place and WRT in third, 7.5 points away.

Credit: SRO/JEP

CSA Racing sits atop the Gold class standings with 50 points, whilst WRT is first in the Silver class with 54.5 points. 

On the driver front, the Winward duo of Maro Engel and Lucas Auer head the Overall/Pro standings with 39 points, five ahead of Comtoyou’s Nicki Thiim, who sits in second and six ahead of Thiim’s team-mates, Mattia Drudi and Marco Sørensen, who will only compete in Endurance Cup rounds. 

CSA Racing’s Simon Gachet leads the Gold standings, after his class win in Race 2 at Brands Hatch, having 48 points, with Garage 59’s duo of Tom Fleming and Louis Prette on 46.

The young and highly rated WRT pair of Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro have made a huge impact in the Silver class, holding the lead in the standings with 54.5 points, 11 ahead of second-placed Alex Malykhin and Alexey Nesov of Pure Rxcing.

The track 

Credit: Racing Circuits Info

One of the first-ever purpose-built circuits and motorsport’s cathedral, the 3.60-mile (5.793km) Autodromo Nazionale Monza is world-renowned and loved, though mainly for Formula One.

That said, it has proved to be a popular destination for the GTWC EU, the fifth most visited by the series. Its relatively simple layout has many traps for any drivers who fail to respect it, as long high-speed sections and tricky, fast corners require precision and caution.

Schedule

Track action begins on Thursday, 28th May 2026, with the Bronze-only Test session taking place at 15:45 local time (13:45 GMT). Friday, 29th May 2026, brings the Official Paid Test Session 1 at 16:50 (14:50 GMT). 

The two Free Practice sessions are scheduled on Saturday, 30th May 2026, at 09:00 (07:00 GMT) and 14:25 (12:25 GMT) respectively. 

Then on Sunday 31st May 2026, Qualifying takes place at 09:50 (07:50 GMT), and the three-hour Race starts at 15:30 (13:30 GMT). 

The Qualifying session and the Race will be free to watch for everyone on the GTWorld YouTube channel, as will all the supporting series’ races, such as the opening rounds of the McLaren Trophy Europe and GT2 European Series seasons, alongside some GT4 European Series action. 

Edited by Pranav Sharma