Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER will start from pole position for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup opener at Circuit Paul Ricard. The result comes after the team delivered steady lap times across all three qualifying sessions.

Qualifying Sessions

Garage 59 set the early pace in Qualifying 1, with Joseph Loake putting the #59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO on top with a 1:53.450. The sister car #58 Garage 59 driven by Thomas Fleming  followed closely in second, while Mattia Drudi put #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin completed the top three.

The #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER driven by Lucas Auer placed fourth in the session, ahead of the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi and the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche. Other notable results included the #46 Team WRT BMW in eighth and the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche rounding out the top ten.

In Qualifying 2, the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER improved its performance to take the fastest time with a 1:53.402 with Luca Stolz behind the wheel. The #111 CSA Racing McLaren of Arthur Rougier was just 0.021 seconds behind in second, followed by Max Hesse in the #46 Team WRT BMW in third. The #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed finished seventh, while the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing completed the top ten.

Qualifying 3 saw Fabian Schiller in  the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed take the top spot with a 1:53.049. Nicki Thiim in the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin secured second place, while Jules Gounon in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing finished third. Both Garage 59 McLarens, the #59 and #58, stayed in the fight and kept their positions inside the top seven.

Combined Qualifying

Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER finished on top in the combined qualifying standings and will start the race from pole. The #58 Garage 59 McLaren secured second overall, followed by the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin in third.

The #59 Garage 59 McLaren ended the session in fourth, while the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche completed the top five. The #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed took sixth place, just ahead of the #111 CSA Racing McLaren in seventh. The #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing finished eighth overall.

The opening race of the 2026 GT World Challenge powered by AWS season gets underway at 18:00 CEST