GT racing continued without pause following the triple 24-hour midsummer rolling straight into a packed weekend of sprint and endurance action across Europe. From a landmark DTM debut win for Jordan Pepper to Corvette’s first-ever ELMS triumph and a nail-biting 24H Series finish under the lights at Paul Ricard, this was a weekend that had it all.

DTM – Norisring: Pepper and Preining split the wins in sweltering Norisring sprint weekend

Race 1

Fresh off his Spa 24 Hours triumph, Jordan Pepper carried his momentum into Norisring with a lights-to-flag victory in Race 1. Driving the #63 TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT, the South African controlled the race from pole, surviving a slightly delayed pit stop to claim his maiden DTM win. Thomas Preining (#91 Manthey EMA Porsche) and Maro Engel (#24 Winward Mercedes-AMG) completed the podium after a dramatic opening phase.

Read the full Race 1 report.

Race 2

In Race 2, Preining struck back. Right from the start, the Austrian climbed through the order, benefitted from a lightning-fast final pit stop, and passed Jack Aitken for the lead. He held on to take his third career win at the Nuremberg street circuit. Aitken and teammate Thierry Vermeulen secured a double podium for Emil Frey Racing, while Engel and Arjun Maini (#64 HRT Ford Mustang) rounded out the top five. Championship leader Lucas Auer recovered to eighth, just behind René Rast, while Pepper finished ninth.

Full Race 2 report here.

European Le Mans Series – Imola: First-ever ELMS win for Corvette as VDS Panis triumphs overall in wild 4 Hours of Imola

LMP2

VDS Panis Racing claimed its first win of the 2025 season with a gutsy drive from Charles Milesi, who kept his cool through multiple Full Course Yellows and a frantic final splash-and-dash to cross the line first in the #48 Oreca 07-Gibson. Teammates Esteban Masson and Oliver Gray helped keep the car at the front as weather disruptions and pit strategy played a pivotal role in a race that saw five FCY periods, a red flag, and rain intensifying around the halfway point.

Inter Europol Competition (#43, Dillmann/Smiechowski/Yelloly) finished second despite late contact with Vector Sport, while Algarve Pro Racing’s #25 car (Pourchaire/Novalak/Kaiser) completed the overall podium. Victory slipped away from several front-runners due to spins, penalties, and misjudged pit calls in the treacherous conditions.

AO by TF doubled up on its LMGT3 victory with Louis Delétraz, PJ Hyett, and Dane Cameron prevailing in a tense Pro/Am class fight.

LMP3

CLX Motorsport’s dream season continued as the #17 Ligier-Nissan (Theodor Jensen/Marius Fossard/Paul Lanchère) scored a third straight win. The car overcame an early drive-through penalty for contact at the start, reclaimed the lead mid-race, and finished a full lap clear of the #31 Racing Spirit of Léman and #11 Eurointernational. Despite several FCY resets, the #17 car was untouchable in pace and consistency.

LMGT3

The story of the day came in GT3, where Charlie Eastwood, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Rui Andrade delivered Corvette’s first-ever European win in the #82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. It marked TF Sport’s first ELMS GT class victory since 2022 — also at Imola.

The battle for the win was fierce, with Eastwood fending off Miguel Molina’s #74 Kessel Ferrari until a penalty for the Ferrari eased the pressure in the final minutes. Célia Martin led early on in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche but lost the lead after a trip into the gravel during a rain shower, eventually finishing outside the top three.

The LMGT3 podium was completed by AF Corse’s #51 Ferrari in second and Kessel Racing #74 in third despite its penalty.

NLS-Light – Nürburgring: Max Kruse Racing makes history with alternative-fuel win in NLS-Light debut

Max Kruse Racing wrote history in the inaugural NLS-Light race as Nico Otto and Timo Hochwind took the overall victory in the #10 Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 24h, marking the first-ever overall win for a car using sustainable E20 fuel in the 49-year history of the series. The pair beat the #55 Plusline Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 of Philipp Gresek and Richard Gresek to the finish after teammates Benjamin Leuchter and Heiko Hammel suffered a heartbreaking failure while leading with just 15 minutes to go.

Toyo Tires with Ring Racing secured third overall with the #160 Toyota Supra GT4 driven by Kazuto Kotaka and Miki Koyama, benefiting from a time penalty for the #146 GITI Tire Motorsport BMW of Carrie Schreiner and Janina Schall, who fell to fourth after a pit stop infraction.

24H Series – 12H Paul Ricard: Proton Huber Porsche takes emotional win in tense Paul Ricard night finish

Proton Huber Competition claimed an emotional overall win in the Michelin 12H Paul Ricard with the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), holding off a charging Red Ant Racing Mercedes by just 3.4 seconds in a dramatic night-time conclusion. Mark Wallenwein, Jörg Dreisow, Manuel Lauck, and Klaus Bachler shared driving duties, with Wallenwein absorbing immense pressure in the closing laps after two late Code 60 periods.

Red Ant Racing came agonisingly close with the #903 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Kobe de Breucker, Kenneth Heyer, and brothers Yannick and Ayrton Redant, while the #15 TFT Racing Mercedes of Benjamin Paque, Jordan Boisson, Patrick Charlaix, and Nico Bastian completed the GT3 podium.

International GT Open – Hungaroring: All-British breakthrough and Reicher-Haase masterclass mark milestone weekend in Hungary

Race 1

Tom Lebbon and Tom Emson stormed to a commanding maiden victory in Race 1 for Elite Motorsport & Entire Race Engineering, giving Ferrari its first overall win of the 2025 International GT Open season. Starting from pole, Lebbon controlled the opening stint before Emson extended the advantage post-stops to win comfortably in the #63 Ferrari 296 GT3.

It was an all-British podium, with Michael Porter and Zac Meakin taking second in the #72 Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3, and James Kell and Dean Macdonald completing the podium in the #76 Greystone GT McLaren.

Race 2

Simon Reicher and Christopher Haase celebrated a landmark first win of 2025 by triumphing in International GT Open’s 300th race, leading from pole to flag in the #54 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3. The reigning champions now lead the standings after a flawless drive in scorching conditions.

The #50 AF Corse Ferrari of Carl Bennett and Tommaso Mosca took second, while Levente Révész gave the Hungarian fans something to cheer by finishing third alongside Philip Ellis in the Motopark Mercedes-AMG.

Up next: WEC storms Brazil, IMSA goes flat-out in Canada, GT3 action across Europe

FIA WEC returns to Interlagos for the first time in over a decade with the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo, a key race following the 24 Hours of Le Mans just a few weeks ago. In Canada, IMSA hits the high-speed Mosport Park, while across Europe, British GT returns to Snetterton, ADAC GT Masters supports the Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and Italian GT hosts sprint races at Mugello.