Vincent Abril, sharing the #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3 with Alessio Rovera, held off a tightly packed lead group to win the opening race of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch. The pair emerged victorious after a well-executed pit strategy put Abril in control for the second half of the race. He fended off heavy pressure from Benjamin Goethe in the #59 Garage 50 McLaren 720S GT3 and Chris Lulham’s #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, who completed the podium in second and third respectively.

Pole-sitter Vermeulen leads early stages

Thierry Vermeulen started the race from pole position in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and made a clean getaway to lead the field through Paddock Hill Bend. The Gold Cup contender quickly established a margin over Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3, building a lead of over two seconds during the opening stint. Behind them, Alessio Rovera in the #51 Ferrari ran third, followed by Ben Green in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, and Arthur Leclerc in the #50 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3.

As the pit window approached, Vermeulen’s gap over Kirchhöfer began to shrink, setting up a crucial round of stops. A well-timed stop by AF Corse allowed Alessio Rovera to hand over the #51 Ferrari to Vincent Abril, who stayed out one lap longer than his rivals and rejoined just ahead of Chris Lulham, now in the #69 Ferrari. Lulham attacked through Paddock Hill Bend but couldn’t make the move stick, and was soon passed by Benjamin Goethe, who had taken over the #59 McLaren from Kirchhöfer.

Abril withstands pressure in frantic closing laps

The closing stages saw Vincent Abril leading a tightly packed lead group consisting of Benjamin Goethe, Chris Lulham, Konsta Lappalainen in the #14 Ferrari, Patric Niederhauser in the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Maro Engel in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, and Louis Prette in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3. With ten minutes remaining, Kelvin van der Linde joined the train in the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 and made a move past Prette into Westfield to take eight place.

Despite heavy pressure, Vincent Abril held firm to secure the win for himself and Alessio Rovera in the #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3, edging out Benjamin Goethe in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 in a tense sprint to the flag. Chris Lulham brought the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 home in third, securing Gold Cup honours for himself and teammate Thierry Vermeulen. Teammates Konsta Lappalainen and Ben Green took fourth for the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, while race 2 pole sitter Maro Engel finished fifth in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 shared with Lucas Auer. Kelvin van der Linde managed a hard-fought seventh place for himself and Charles Weerts aboard the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, while Louis Prette rounded out the lead group in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 to take second place in the Gold Cup alongside Adam Smalley with eight place overall. The #96 Rutronik Porsche of Niederhauser and Sven Müller were demoted to ninth after a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Silver Cup: Pieris penalised, AF Corse inherits win

In the Silver Cup, Loek Hartog took the early lead for Rutronik Racing in the #97 Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Marcos Siebert second in class in the #52 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3, though several overall positions behind on track.

Hartog extended his stint before handing over to Eshan Pieris, who retained the class lead after the stops. Although Jef Machiels in the #52 Ferrari began to reduce the gap in the final phase, he came under pressure from Sandy Mitchell in the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3, limiting his ability to challenge Pieris for the lead. Pieris looked set to delivere the class win for Rutronik Racing, bringing the #97 Porsche home just ahead of Machiels. However, a post-race penalty for exceeding the pit speed limit, dropped the Porsche back to fourth in Silver Cup and handed Machiels and Siebert the class win.

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Racing resumes later today with race 2 of the Brands Hatch weekend. Follow the action live at GT.REPORT/live.

Top 10 finishers: Ferrari and McLaren dominate the front

1. #51 AF Corse Ferrari – Alessio Rovera / Vincent Abril
2. #59 Garage 59 McLaren – Marvin Kirchhöfer / Benjamin Goethe
3. #69 Emil Frey Ferrari – Thierry Vermeulen / Chris Lulham (Gold Cup winner)
4. #14 Emil Frey Ferrari – Ben Green / Konsta Lappalainen
5. #50 AF Corse Ferrari – Arthur Leclerc / Thomas Neubauer
6. #48 Winward Mercedes-AMG – Lucas Auer / Maro Engel
7. #32 Team WRT BMW – Charles Weerts / Kelvin van der Linde
8. #58 Garage 59 McLaren – Adam Smalley / Louis Prette (Gold Cup)
9. #96 Rutronik Porsche – Sven Müller / Patric Niederhauser (5s penalty)
10. #78 Barwell Lamborghini – Hugo Cook / Sandy Mitchell