Mercedes-AMG flexed its muscles on Saturday at Monza, topping both Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying ahead of Sunday’s second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup. The #17 GetSpeed crew led the way in both sessions, spearheading a strong showing for the German brand as warm, dry conditions greeted the 59-car field.

The day was not without incident. Free Practice saw three red flags, including a heavy crash for the #270 Aston Martin, while Pre-Qualifying ended five minutes early following an off for the #50 Ferrari at Parabolica.

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Free practice: GetSpeed leads Mercedes-AMG 1-5

Mercedes-AMG sent a clear early message at Monza as its cars locked out the top five positions in Saturday morning’s Free Practice for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.

Jules Gounon set the pace with a 1m45.629s aboard the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed machine, narrowly edging out Maximilian Götz in the #9 Boutsen VDS entry by just 0.005s. The top five was rounded out by Kazuto Kotaka (#611 Nordique Racing), Marvin Dienst (#81 Winward Racing), and Lucas Auer (#48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER), all within six hundredths of the fastest time.

Mercedes-AMG also led two of the four classes: the #611 Nordique Racing was quickest in Gold Cup, while Winward Racing’s #81 topped Bronze. The first non-AMG crew was the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, with Alex Aka putting the Silver Cup leader sixth.

In total, 40 cars ended the session within 1 second of Gounon’s fastest time of the morning.

Three red flags interrupted the session, including a heavy crash for Antoine Potty in the #270 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin at Ascari, which left the team assessing its participation for the rest of the weekend.

Pre-Qualifying: Mercedes-AMG remains on top in disrupted session

Mercedes-AMG continued to dominate the timesheets at Monza, with Gounon in the #17 Team GetSpeed entry setting the fastest lap of 1m46.003s in a session cut short by a late red flag. The #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG followed closely, just 0.044s behind.

Lamborghini emerged as the nearest challenger, with the #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 matching the lap time of the #48 MANN-FILTER Mercedes-AMG to the thousandth.

Pre-Qualifying ended five minutes early after the #50 AF Corse Ferrari went off at Parabolica, slamming into the tyre barriers rear-first. The car sustained heavy damage, though Arthur Leclerc was unharmed.

Only 57 of the 59 cars took part. The #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was sidelined with a power steering issue, while the #270 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 remained in the garage following its Free Practice accident earlier in the day.

Pre-Qualifying – Top 10

  1. Schiller / Gounon / Stolz (#17 Team GetSpeed, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO), 1:46.003
  2. Götz / Martin / Grenier (#9 Boutsen VDS, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO), +0.044s
  3. Bortolotti / Engstler / Pepper (#63 GRT, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2), +0.126s
  4. Auer / Cairoli / Engel (#48 MANN-FILTER, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO), +0.126s
  5. Mitchell / Michelotto / Perera (#163 VSR, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2), +0.200s
  6. Caresani / Sathienthirakul / Walker (#6 GetSpeed, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO) – Silver Cup, +0.275s
  7. Goethe / Kirchhöfer / Loake (#59 Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO), +0.278s
  8. Drudi / Thiim / Sørensen (#7 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO), +0.332s
  9. Aka / Di Folco / Perez Companc (#99 Tresor Attempto Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II) – Silver Cup, +0.353s
  10. Vermeulen / Lulham / King (#33 Verstappen.com Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO) – Gold Cup, +0.366s

Bronze Cup leader: Fleming / Ramos / Oliveira (#188 Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO), 11th overall, +0.382s

Showdown Sunday awaits at Monza

With both practice sessions complete, the stage is set for a fiercely contested qualifying on Sunday morning at 09:50 CEST, followed by the three-hour race at 15:00 CEST. Mercedes-AMG may have led the way on Saturday, but with all four classes closely matched and the field still holding its cards close, everything remains to play for at Monza.