Victory at the GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup at Monza went to the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER of Maro Engel, Lucas Auer, and Matteo Cairoli, who capitalised on strategic timing and clean execution to take a commanding win in a race shaped by safety cars, full course yellows, and pit lane drama.

Starting from second on the grid, the yellow-liveried Mercedes was a constant presence at the front but made its race-winning move during the second hour, timing their stop to perfection under a Full Course Yellow to leap ahead of early leader Jules Gounon in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG.

Gounon leads early amid opening-lap chaos

Gounon, who had started the race from pole, controlled the early stages, fending off Engel and surviving a chaotic opening lap that saw the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes of Maximilian Götz and the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin of Kobe Pauwels eliminated in a crash at Curva Grande, triggering the first Safety Car of the race.

The interruptions continued, with a Full Course Yellow following soon after the restart as the #611 Nordique Racing Mercedes found itself beached at Lesmo 1 following contact from the #96 Rutronik Porsche of Sven Müller.

At the restart, Dean Macdonald in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren made a forceful move on Mirko Bortolotti to take third, also inheriting the Gold Cup lead. By the end of the opening hour, Gounon led Engel by three seconds, with Macdonald just a second further back. Thierry Vermeulen in the #33 Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin ran second in Gold, circulating just outside the top ten.

Engel and Cairoli capitalise on perfect pit strategy

The pivotal moment came during the second round of stops. Engel dived into the pits under FCY conditions, while the #17 had already pitted under green. With Nicki Thiim also stopping under yellow in the #95 Aston Martin, both rejoined ahead of the #17 Mercedes, now with Fabian Schiller at the wheel and buried in traffic.

When racing resumed, Cairoli – now aboard the #48 – seized the opportunity of clean air to stretch his legs at the front. Schiller, mired in P4 and forced to fight through slower traffic, reclaimed third at the restart but found himself bottled behind Marco Sørensen in the #7 Comtoyou Aston Martin. The two ran door-to-door through Curva Grande before Schiller finally forced the move into the Roggia chicane, with Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #59 McLaren also joining the fray.

All the while, Cairoli opened up a commanding 12-second lead.

GetSpeed retires from podium contention

Drama struck in the final hour as the GetSpeed challenge unravelled. Luca Stolz, in for the final stint, was forced to retire the #17 car with a loose wheelnut just moments after taking over, ending any hopes of a race finish for the pole-sitting crew.

Lucas Auer, having taken over from Cairoli, inherited a healthy 26-second lead over Joseph Loake in the #59 McLaren and controlled the final phase of the race to secure victory for Mann-Filter.

Century and WRT battle for Silver Cup honours

Silver Cup honours saw a late-race shuffle. Ivan Ekelchik’s #19 Grasser Lamborghini suffered a dramatic tyre failure on the main straight while leading, handing the advantage to the #42 Century Motorsport BMW of Mikkel Jensen. But Jensen’s lead was short-lived as Etienne Cheli in the #30 Team WRT BMW pounced on the restart to take over at the front. Jensen regained the place in the closing minutes after Cheli was delayed by backmarkers and held on in a tense finish.

Al Manar Racing controls Gold Cup

Gold Cup was won convincingly by the #777 Al Manar Racing by WRT BMW, with Ben Tuck and Jens Klingmann delivering a clean, controlled drive to finish ahead of the #88 Tresor Attempto Audi and the #33 Verstappen.com Aston Martin.

Rutronik Porsche fends off Winward in Bronze

In Bronze, Loek Hartog in the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche fended off heavy pressure from Marvin Dienst in the #81 Winward Mercedes to claim class honours, with Thomas Fleming rounding out the podium in the #188 Garage 59 McLaren.

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RACE – TOP 10

  1. Auer / Cairoli / Engel (#48 MANN-FILTER, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO), 84 laps

  2. Loake / Kirchhöfer / Goethe (#59 Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO), +16.417

  3. Drudi / Sørensen / Thiim (#7 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO), +24.739

  4. Klingmann / Tuck / Al Zubair (#777 AlManar Racing by WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO) – Gold Cup, +25.924

  5. Van der Linde / Weerts / De Wilde (#32 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO), +33.131

  6. Schuring / Güven / Ten Voorde (#22 Schumacher CLRT, Porsche 911 GT3 R), +43.588

  7. Waberski / Moore / Jansen (#42 Century Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 EVO) – Silver Cup, +46.318

  8. Cheli / Stadsbader / Bergström (#30 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO) – Silver Cup, +46.719

  9. Perera / Mitchell / Michelotto (#163 VSR, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2), +47.430

  10. Hartog / Au (#97 Rutronik Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R) – Bronze Cup, +48.371

Bronze Cup winner: Hartog / Au (#97 Rutronik Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 10th overall, +48.371
Silver Cup winner: Waberski / Moore / Jansen (#42 Century Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 EVO), 7th overall, +46.318
Gold Cup winner: Klingmann / Tuck / Al Zubair (#777 AlManar Racing by WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO), 4th overall, +25.924

Next is the 24 Hours of Spa

The road now leads to the biggest race of the season: the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. From 25 to 29 June, GT3 teams and drivers from around the world will descend on Spa-Francorchamps for round 5 of the Endurance Cup, and a shot at the most prestigious win in GT racing.