GT World Challenge Europe : WRT Crowned Sprint Cup Champions as Van der Linde and Weerts Win Valencia Finale
- Brianna Gunawan
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup season ended in drama and celebration at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, where Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts powered the No.32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo to victory in Race 2 and sealed the drivers’ title. For the Belgian squad, it was a double celebration, as WRT also clinched the teams’ championship in another chapter of dominance on the Sprint Cup stage.
The build-up to the finale already hinted at fireworks. In qualifying, Jordan Pepper in the No.63 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 secured pole in a disrupted Group B session that was red-flagged and restarted as a two-lap shootout. He held off Marvin Kirchhöfer’s No.59 Garage 59 McLaren and Van der Linde’s WRT BMW, setting the stage for a showdown between Lamborghini, McLaren, and BMW at the front.
When the lights went out, Pepper led the 39-car field into Turn 1, followed closely by Aurélien Panis in the No.10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, Kirchhöfer, Van der Linde, and Louis Prette’s No.58 McLaren. The opening laps were frantic, with Kirchhöfer forcing his way past Van der Linde, who then slipped back further behind Panis and Prette. Chaos unfolded soon after as Henrique Chaves in the No.35 Walkenhorst Aston Martin spun into the gravel with a puncture, while Ben Green’s No.14 Emil Frey Ferrari also ground to a halt with tyre damage. The Safety Car was deployed, bunching up the field.
Racing resumed with 54 minutes to go, and Van der Linde wasted no time going on the attack. Using the BMW’s top speed advantage, he fought back past Panis to climb into third. At the same time, Darren Leung in the No.991 Paradine BMW, who had started from Bronze Cup pole, fell back in class as Marco Pulcini’s Ferrari and Bashar Mardini’s Lionspeed Porsche moved ahead.
At the front, the battle for the championship heated up. Pepper, Kirchhöfer, and Van der Linde ran nose-to-tail, each lap bringing more tension. The South African in the WRT BMW eventually powered past Kirchhöfer for second and set his sights on his countryman Pepper. The title was slipping from WRT’s grasp unless Van der Linde could close the gap—and close it he did. Within a handful of laps, he was right on the back of the Grasser Lamborghini.
The decisive moment came as Van der Linde pulled alongside Pepper and swept into the lead, swinging the title back towards WRT. Behind them, the Gold Cup fight was also fierce, with Chris Lulham in the No.69 Emil Frey Ferrari chasing Louis Prette. Whoever finished ahead would take the title, and pit stop strategy was about to play its part.
Penalties further shaped the race. Rodrigo Almeida’s No.11 Comtoyou Aston Martin had to serve a drive-through for causing contact with Green at the start, while Prette’s McLaren received a 10-second time penalty, dropping him and teammate Thomas Fleming out of Gold Cup contention. That handed the advantage to Lulham and teammate Thierry Vermeulen, who emerged from the pits ahead and effectively secured the Gold Cup championship for Emil Frey Racing.
In the Silver Cup, Boutsen VDS drivers César Gazeau and Aurélien Panis bounced back from mechanical trouble in Race 1 to dominate in Race 2, leading from start to finish. They crossed the line ahead of Dutch duo Mex Jansen and Maxime Oosten, with Matisse Lismont and Gilles Stadsbader completing the class podium.
Back at the sharp end, Charles Weerts took over the No.32 BMW from Van der Linde and managed the race perfectly. Despite pressure from Luca Engstler, now in the No.63 Grasser Lamborghini after Pepper’s opening stint, Weerts held firm. Even with traffic and multiple track limits warnings hanging over him, the Belgian kept his cool, maintaining a gap of just over a second. The only scare came when Weerts was warned he was one offence away from a five-second penalty, but he stayed disciplined until the flag.
Further down the order, Lucas Auer and Maro Engel in the No.48 Winward Mercedes could only manage eighth after a tough race, losing their championship lead from Saturday. Their drop meant they finished third in the final standings, behind both WRT and Garage 59.
After one hour of racing, the checkered flag fell on a season-defining moment. Van der Linde and Weerts took victory in Race 2, securing the Sprint Cup drivers’ crown and helping WRT to the teams’ title. Pepper and Engstler had to settle for second on the day, but still gave Grasser Racing a standout podium to close the year. Kirchhöfer brought the Garage 59 McLaren home in third, though the team’s title hopes slipped away in the process.
Lulham and Vermeulen, backed by Verstappen.com, celebrated Gold Cup glory, while Gazeau and Panis capped their season with Silver Cup honours. The Bronze Cup also saw movement, with Pulcini, Mardini, and Leung swapping places throughout before Pulcini held on to class victory
When the checkered flag waved, the story was clear. Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler delivered victory for Grasser Racing in the No.63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, but the bigger celebration belonged to WRT. Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts secured Race 2 victory and sealed the Sprint Cup drivers’ championship, while WRT clinched the Sprint Cup teams’ crown, proving once again why they remain the benchmark in GT World Challenge Europe.
For Weerts, it was a historic moment as he became the first driver to win four Sprint Cup championships, more than anyone else in the series, and his first since switching to BMW machinery. For WRT, the success marked their 10th Sprint Cup teams’ title in just 12 seasons, further cementing their reputation as the most dominant force in GT World Challenge Europe history.
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